The New Year is approaching

And it's a big one - 2012. Anyone out there think the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012? If it does, my cat, Freki, will be one of the forces of destruction. It will all start at my house, probably at 6:00 AM eastern time - that's when she's most mischievous.

Back from our trip...

which was wonderful! Now we're getting ready for Christmas!

Just a small part of the wonderful things we saw in the Christkindlesmarkt in Nurnberg!

Going on a little trip

I'm so excited! Tomorrow I'll be leaving for a two-week trip. I'll be tagging along with my hubby, who'll be working part of the time. But I get to enjoy the sights while he's slaving away! One of the sights we'll get to see is the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Germany:

picture from this site

I'm so looking forward to the lebkuchen! We'll also see the Christmas market in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a medieval, walled city, and the holiday decorations in Paris.

I'll post pictures when I'm able. We'll be back mid-December.

Gaa!

How exciting was it to see this, this morning? (click on it to see it larger):

Let's just say it did a better job at jolting me awake than my cup of coffee did. I know the #1 position won't last, but I never ever thought I'd be there. Many, many thanks to everyone out there who've put My Twelfth Christmas at the top of the list!

Me with my book in The Learned Owl Bookshop

My husband and I went out to eat in our quaint little downtown the other night. After our meal we strolled down Main Street to The Learned Owl Bookshop where we found my Christmas book on display in their holiday section. I was so excited, I had hubby snap a photo with his phone:

In other news, I planted 26 cloves of garlic yesterday in hopes of a good garlic crop next spring and summer. I bought the bulbs of garlic from an organic garlic grower at the farmer's market this past summer. Last year I planted about nine cloves, only to have six of them dug up that same night by some animal because I forgot to put a thick layer of mulch over top. I mulched them really good this time!

Making caramel a little early

I usually don't make caramel until December so that I can send it off to friends and family far away. Today as the warm, sweet caramel smell filled my kitchen, I had to keep reminding myself that it's not December. This batch of caramels won't be tucked in with Christmas gifts, though. I'll be selling it at my booth at the upcoming Art and Crafts fair I'll be attending this Sunday.

Who wants to lick the pot?

 I'll also be selling my homemade herbal products, handspun yarn, and some of my husband's photos.

Caramel poured out and cooling.

And, of course, I'll have copies of my books on hand. I usually sell a few at these types of things, and with Christmas looming closer, some people might be interested in my Christmas book, My Twelfth Christmas. It certainly smells like Christmas in my kitchen right now!

Congratulations to the book giveaway winners!

The My Twelfth Christmas book giveaway at Goodreads is now over and Goodreads has announced the winners:

Jennifer from Alabama
Jennipher from Texas
Kari from Indiana

Congratulations! Your copies of My Twelfth Christmas will go out today!

And thank you to the over 600 people who entered to win a copy!

My local, independent bookstore will be carrying My Twelfth Christmas over the holidays!

I'm very excited about the fact that my local, independent bookstore will be carrying My Twelfth Christmas over the holiday months!

Many thanks to The Learned Owl Book Shop, in Hudson, Ohio!

Goodreads Book Giveaway Starts Tomorrow - Sept.1st!

My Goodreads givaway for My Twelfth Christmas starts Sept. 1st and ends Sept. 30. Enter for a chance to win one of three copies being given away!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

My Twelfth Christmas

by Linda Ash

Giveaway ends September 30, 2011.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Selling books at The Crooked River Fiber Fling

Over the weekend my daughter and I sold our wares at The Crooked River Fiber Fling in Peninsula, Ohio. It was a hot and muggy weekend, but it was a lot of fun.

We sold my handspun yarns and hand-dyed rovings, displayed various fibers that spinners spin, and gave combing, carding, and spinning demonstrations. Here's our vendor booth - I was The Roving Spinner:

Of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to bring my books along, a few of my salves, and my poison ivy itch relief spray. Here we are on the second day, taking a lunch break behind all of our non-fiber wares:

We had a great time talking with people about processing fiber and spinning, and my daughter was a great help. We sold quite a bit of everything, even books!

On the last day of the Fiber Fling, the last set of musicians who played over at the live music tent did a shout out for Linda over at The Roving Spinner. They played one of my favorite songs - Marie's Wedding. They had all come over to our tent earlier to ask all about processing fibers and spinning, and when they said they played Celtic music, I had asked if they knew that song. It was so fun to hear them play it for me!

Farmer's Market Dinner

My book signing tent at the farmer's market a couple of weeks ago was positioned right next to the cooking demonstration tent. The cook was given a certain amount of money by the market coordinators with which to buy ingredients from the vendors around her. She then transformed those ingredients into one tasty dish after another for market patrons to sample. Everything she made was delicious (I sampled them all).

We had guests over for dinner last night, and while thinking of what to serve, I was inspired by the cook at the market. On Saturday, my daughter and I went to the local farmer's market and gathered the ingredients for the meal. What we ended up serving was:

• Chicken burgers made with herbed chicken patties from locally-raised, free-range chickens, garnished with tomatoes and lettuce.
• Green beans (half from our garden, half from the farmer's market), steamed and then sauteed briefly in butter.
• Handmade spinach linguine and mushroom linguine noodles mixed with zucchini, yellow squash, onions, and shitake mushrooms sauteed in olive oil and doused with cream and parmesian cheese.
• Fern cakes (little pastry tarts filled with apricot and almond goodness and topped with a frosting glaze), and gelato which I made with blueberries from the market.

Everything but the buns for the burgers, the shitake mushrooms, cheese, cream, lettuce, butter, and olive oil, was either from the farmer's market or from our garden. It was all delish!

Thank you farmer's market cook lady for inspiring me!

Book Signing Saturday

I'll be doing one more book signing in the Cuyahoga National Park this Saturday.

What?
Book signing at the farmer's market!

Where?
Countryside Conservancy Farmers' Market
Howe Meadow, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
4040 Riverview Road,
Peninsula, OH 44262

When? 
9AM - 12PM, Saturday, July 23rd.

If you're in the area, stop by to experience a fabulous farmer's market, and don't forget to stroll over to the book signing tent!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II

All I can say is, if you go to see it, don't forget the tissues.

Winners of The Witch of Starmont book giveaway!

Thank you to all 1312 people who entered the giveaway at Goodreads! It's now over and the winners have been chosen by Goodreads.

Aaaand the winners are:

Margaret and Aravi, both from Canada, and Amy from the good ol' USA.

Congratulations!! Your books are on the way.

And thanks again to everyone who showed an interest and entered!

Smashwords Summer/Winter sitewide promotion - Rose of Par Kluhnd is FREE for the month of July!

Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale, is now FREE for the month of July, only at Smaswords! Use the code SSWSF at checkout to get this ebook for FREE. Here's the link: Rose of Par Kluhnd sale.

Smashwords only sells ebooks. If you want the paperback, you'll have to go to Amazon, which is not having a sale, sorry to say.

!!!!

Book Club Night

Last night my book club met for our monthly meeting. The book we read was Stiff, the curious lives of human cadavers, by Mary Roach. I was the host, so I took the liberty of placing a book-themed centerpiece on the finger-food table.

The old gal had spent the past few years packed away in a closet.

We created her several years ago for a Halloween decoration, and she hasn't had many excuses to leave her closet since then.

I think she was glad to get out and about  for a night.

The book was extremely interesting, if a little nauseating at times, but I would recommend it to the curious.

And also for the curious, if you'd like instructions for creating your own mummy, visit this post on my other blog.

Farmers' market book signing

I attended a book signing yesterday, sponsored by the Akron Manuscript Club, the oldest writing group in Akron at almost 80 years old.

It was hard to sit at the table the whole time and not walk around the farmers' market where the signing took place.



I did manage to step away a couple of times to make a few purchases. I bought home baked cookies and lemon-blueberry scones, honey-blueberry jam, and a tie-dyed T-shirt, the proceeds of which are going toward a high schooler's trip to China with the Confucius Institute.

Needless to say, I spent more than I made selling books : ) But that's not hard for me to do at a venue like this.

Book signing this Saturday!

I'll be signing books in Cuyahoga Valley National Park this Saturday! How awesome is that?

When:
Saturday, June 18th, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Where:
Countryside Conservancy Farmers' Market
Howe Meadow, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
4040 Riverview Road,
Peninsula, OH 44262

What:
A book signing at the Farmers' Market!

If you're in the neighborhood, stop by to experience a great Farmers' Market, and come say 'hello' at the book signing tent!

Book Giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Witch of Starmont

by Linda Ash

Giveaway ends July 15, 2011.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

My book giveaway for The Witch of Starmont over on Goodreads will go live withinn the next 48 hours. I'll be giving away three paperback copies to celebrate its paperback release! [EDIT: The book giveaway is now officially live - enter at Goodreads for a chance to win one of three paperback copies being given away!]

Getting two books ready for paperback release!

I've been hard at work getting My Twelfth Christmas and The Witch of Starmont ready for paperback release. I won't have my hands on the proofs until next week.

I'm excited about them becoming available in paperback for two reasons. One is that I'll be able to offer paperbacks of The Witch of Starmont for sale along with my herbal salves and teas and tinctures when I participate in an arts and crafts fair in early June. The Witch of Starmont is about a woman who runs her own herbal remedy and skin care business, but who also harbors a secret. There's a lot in the book about collecting and growing beneficial plants, so it will be a nice addition to everything I'm offering for sale at the craft fair. Those interested in my wares may also be interested in the book.

The other reason is because My Twelfth Christmas is my best seller and it might be the type of book that people want to have a hard copy of. It's small and will be very inexpensive, likely under $4.00. So when the Christmas season rolls around (although it sells pretty steadily all year round), the paperback version will be there, too, for those who may want it in that format.

Spider Silk

photo from this site

The picture at right is a traditional royal Madagascar weaving done in spider silk. That's right. Spider silk. The silk was milked by hand from golden orb spiders found in the wild in Madagascar. More information about the cloth and the process that went into its creation can be found here.

This is one of the most beautiful textiles I've ever seen, and I'm doubly interested in it because in my book, Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale, there is an area in the Lands of Shey which produces textiles made from spider silk. In fact, Rose, from time to time in the story, wears armor made from spider silk.

Spider silk ounce, for ounce, is stronger than steel, but my use of it as armor in the story is poetic license. It turns out that spider silk is extremely elastic, so although it might be able to stop a sword or a bullet, it would stretch so much in the process that the sword or the bullet would actually go right through you anyway. For a tad more information about spider silk, visit this post in my other blog.

And here is a little clip featuring this amazing, golden cloth woven from the silk of spiders:

Steel

I just finished reading Steel, by Carrie Vaughn. I really liked this book and I admire Carrie Vaughn for putting the story together the way she did. She researched her topics well and grabs the reader's attention with all of the adventurous details of life at sea as a pirate, but also shows the day to day knitty gritty of the hard work behind what was ultimately a hard life.

I really like what Vaughn did to get Jill, the main character, to go back in time 300 years. The device is clever and I really liked how the story worked. Several years ago I wanted to write a story about pirates and include the women of the pirating world. I did my research, but I never pulled a story together. Carrie Vaughn has done an excellent job with Steel. I'm jealous, but I've also learned a lot about approaching stories that you want to tell.

If I were still in junior high or early high school, I would eat this book up. If you know any adventurous pre-teen or teen girls out there, give them this book to read.

You can see more of what I thought by reading my review over at Goodreads.

Some fairy tales end this way:

And for some, it's only the beginning...

Big Al's Books and Pals

Rose of Par Kluhnd has been reviewed over at Big Al's Books and Pals. If you're not familiar with this site, it's the one that went viral with this review and the author's responses. As a result, Big Al now has over 1,000 followers.

So, of course, I'm thrilled with the very nice review, and tickled with Big Al's interpretation of my author self in the 'about the author' section. Here's a tidbit from the review:

"As with the best stories of any stripe, Rose of Par Kluhnd is a grand adventure."  - Big Al's Books and Pals

To read the rest, click here.

My new book trailer!

I'm so excited about the book trailer for Rose of Par Kluhnd!



What do you think?

Another review, and Parth's song

Rose of Par Kluhnd received another nice review over at Goodreads, so that's made me happy. I haven't written much of anything for a while, for a couple of reasons. One being I'm not sure if what I have already written is good enough for me to keep writing (so good reviews are nice, although bad ones are often helpful, too).

The other reason being that I know there is a big idea inside somewhere, but it hasn't risen close enough to the surface of all of my thoughts for me to really see the shape of it and start developing another story.

Anyway, in the latest nice review, the reviewer said

I like how the author developed the love between Parth and Rose.

Parth is my favorite, and when I hear this song, I think of him, I think of it as Parth's song. The song is All the King's Horses, by Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation, and it can be found on their Mighty Rearranger CD:

You can now read first chapters!

In case you haven't noticed, I've added a few links over there on the left sidebar under Pages. Those links will take you to the pages where you can now read the first chapters of each of my books! Hope you enjoy!

The Ogham Alphabet



From the Triskelle Irish History Website.

This is the Ogham Alphabet, a form of ancient Celtic writing often found carved on standing stones.

Each letter is also associated with a type of tree. Different types of trees held their own special meanings - mystical, magical, or sacred - for the long-ago users of Ogham.

I borrowed the Ogham alphabet and use it here and there in my book, Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale. There are a lot of links to ancient Irish myth and legend in this book, for those who care to look for them. You don't have to be at all acquainted with Irish lore in order to enjoy the book, but it's there for those who want to delve a little deeper.

Book Giveaway is over, congratulations to the winners!

My book giveaway at Goodreads is over and the winners have been announced! Congratulations to the five winners:

Bitsy Anderson
Kendra Swallow
Fiona Clark
Dana Palmer
Gabbie Jonhson

They will each receive a copy of my book, Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale. Thanks to everyone who entered!

A couple of things...

ONE: There are only three more days left to enter my book giveaway at Goodreads - it ends March 31st. I'm excited to learn who the winners will be. I have the books right here, waiting to go out to their new owners.

TWO: I read a negative review for a self-published book today, and rejoiced. I've read samples of several self-published books which were not very good, and yet they had several reviews which rated them very highly. When I see that I wonder if it's all family and friends writing the reviews, or acquaintances who are too embarrassed to say what they may have really thought. When a one star review pops its head above the crowd of accolades, I do a fist pump and say, "Yes!"

Why? Well, the particular review that I'm alluding to here, mentioned poor writing, grammatical and syntax errors, and the overall poor flow of the story, among other things. And I would have to agree with the reviewer for the book in question. As a writer, I want to know about these things - preferably before my work goes out to the public. But if I've published trash, I also want to know that. I'll want to improve my writing, or take a good, introspective look to see if I should leave writing behind and allot my time to other things.

I have three self-published books out there and very little feedback. One of the things that is stressed by other writers, self-published or not, is that writers must keep writing. Self-published writers tell each other that continuing to write and publish is one of the things which must be done in order to pave the road to success. I haven't gotten much feedback on the work I have out there, and because of that, I haven't really written anything for a while. I don't want to be throwing muck out there, if that's what it is.

So I'm waiting for feedback. I'm not afraid of honest reviews, in fact I crave them. It's hard to improve when everyone is just smiling and patting your back and gushing. Hey, I've gushed over books before, but I honestly felt the love. You can see some of my gushes over on my other blog under Recommended Books. I don't do reviews, per se, I do book recommendations over there. I will do reviews on Goodreads, and I've occasionally given a bad review, but the books were exceptionally horrible. These weren't self-published books, but I think that if self-published authors hit that 'publish' button before their work is truly fit for public consumption, they should be ready to hear about it - and be grown-up enough to take the criticism and use it to improve their craft.

I hope I'm grown-up enough to hear the truth about my books.

The Full Moon

Over the weekend, the moon's elliptical orbit brought it the closest to earth that it's been in 18 years.

photo by Steve Ash

My husband and I had tickets on Saturday night, the full moon night, to see the Celtic band, Runa, perform in the cozy venue of a nearby national park lodge. My husband dropped me off and went to take a few pictures of the moon. He finally joined me at intermission, so he was able to enjoy the last half of the concert, which was fabulous.

photo by Steve Ash

We came across a herd of deer grazing at the edge of a forest on our way to the lodge. We snapped a few photos of them, too.

Click on any of the pictures to see them even bigger, and then hit the back arrow to come back to the blog.

Hope your weekend was enjoyable, too. And Happy Spring!

First Review for Rose of Par Kluhnd!

My first review! Rose of Par Kluhnd has been reviewed by Books, Off the Page blog. They've also posted the review to Goodreads, and with their handy widget, I've included the review below:

Rose of Par Kluhnd reviews

I am, of course, thrilled with this review! Please visit Books, off the Page to find more ebook reviews.

What takes up some of my spare time?

I've taken up spinning. No, not the exercise kind, the old fashioned Rumplestiltskin kind. Although I have yet to spin straw into gold.

This is what I've been spinning:

That's a storage tub full of raw sheep's fleece. It smells like a barnyard. I'll take a little bit out of the storage tub every so often and plop it into the bathtub for a wash:

You can see that, although this is only the first soaking (the washing has to be done gently so the fiber doesn't felt), it's already vastly improved over this:

You can even see some white in there!:

After it's been washed and has dried, I comb it out with my wool combs (which would beat any ninja weapon in a contest for most lethal-looking). After the combing, which aligns the fibers even more than carding does, I pull the combed fiber off of the wool combs through a small hole in a tool called a diz. This organizes the fiber into a long rope, which gets rolled up into these puffy balls of wool: 

From here I'll either dye the roving (which is what the ropes of fiber are called) and then spin it, or I'll spin it into yarn and then dye it. Here are a few remnants of dyed yarn that I made from this same fleece. They're left-over from a couple of projects that have already been knitted and given away as gifts:

So that's some of what occupies my time when I'm not writing or promoting.

Good Writing

Once when I was having a stressful, hectic week, I grabbed one of the Harry Potter books on my way up to bed. My husband looked at me, "Harry Potter?"

 I said, "I have to go to Hogwarts for a while."

I read to be taken somewhere, to experience new things. A good writer can take story and writing and create something wonderful. A good story combined with good writing can transport the reader away from all immediate cares and deposit them in another world. And that is exactly what I need sometimes, to go someplace else for a while before coming back to deal with all of the day-to-day stuff again.

Writers have to keep this in mind. Work on the story, work on the writing, until it can take the reader away to someplace they want to be.

I think that with the new (relative) ease of self-publishing in the ebook format, some writers are a little too anxious to get their work out there. I've seen many 'indie' books that could have used a lot more work before the author hit the publish button. The story may have merit, but sometimes the writing brings it down. Usually it's the writing. I would caution all writers out there who are thinking of going the self-publish, or indie, route, to slow down. Hone your craft. Hone your work. Let it sit and come back to it, especially if it's your first piece.

Quality is worth the wait. Quality is worth the cutting and the rewriting. Did you know that Markus Zusak rewrote The Book Thief several times from different points of view until he hit upon writing it from Death's perspecive? Sometimes excellence takes lots of work. Don't be afraid of excellence.

And read, too, copius amounts. Then have the smarts to learn from what you read.

Ebook Promotion Week at Smashwords!

Smashwords is repeating their annual Ebook Week special promotion starting Sunday, March 6th and ending Saturday, March 12th. I'm participating in the promotion with Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale. For one week only at Smashwords, my book will be 50% off with this ecoupon code, to be used at checkout:

RAE50

Click here for Rose of Par Kluhnd's Smashword page, and use the coupon at checkout to receive this ebook at the discounted price of $1.50, only at Smashwords.com! The promotion begins Sunday, March 6th and ends Saturday, March 12th.

Sad news for libraries and ebook lending

This article in Library Journal states that Harper Collins will now limit the number of times a library can lend one of their ebook titles to 26.

The article states:

Josh Marwell, President, Sales for HarperCollins, told LJ that the 26 circulation limit was arrived at after considering a number of factors, including the average lifespan of a print book, and wear and tear on circulating copies.

This is an incredibly terrible idea. I can't imagine what libraries will do when faced with having to repurchase their ebooks after they've been circulated only 26 times.

UPDATE: Here's another link to a story in the NYT about HC, in it you find out that Macmillan and Simon & Schuster don't even make their ebook titles available to libraries.

Book Giveaway!

I'm giving away five copies of Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale at Goodreads!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Rose of Par Kluhnd

by Linda Ash

Giveaway ends March 31, 2011.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

The contest ends March 31st. Goodreads will randomly select the winners at that time, notify me, and then I'll send the books to the winners!

I'm celebrating the release of Rose of Par Kluhnd in print at Amazon.com, and drumming up notice for it in both its print and ebook forms.

Enter to win a copy!

Vote for my story!

The Gatekeepers Discovery Writing Awards

I've entered this contest! It's being hosted on Wattpad.com.

It's a contest for Young Adult novels. I've entered Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale.

To see my entry and to vote for it, click here.

In the first round, currently running, the first 50 pages of the story are posted. The top 100 stories with the most votes move on to round two, where the next 50 pages are posted. If you make the round two cuts, your full story is posted and the judges pick the winner.

Featured on another blog!

Rose of Par Kluhnd is featured today on Karly Kirkpatrick's blog, Young Adult Author in an Epublished World, in her Bookaday post. Thanks, Karly!

In other news, Rose of Par Kluhnd will be available in print at Amazon.com on February 22nd. It is available right now through Createspace if anyone is anxious to get a print copy. Here's the link:

Rose of Par Kluhnd in paperback at Createspace, $9.49

Click the cover at right for more information about availability and where to purchase Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale.

Goodreads...

...is addictive. And because of it, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably.

Now Available for Nook

My novella, The Witch of Starmont is now available at Barnes and Noble for the Nook and Nook Color!

Click the book cover to go the the Barnes and Noble page.

I'm fond of this little novella. It has a touch of fantasy, a touch of romance, and a bit of gardening. It's a quick, light read, just right as a distraction from the daily grind.

Why don't you prove it?

In the Harry Potter movie, Chamber of Secrets, when Harry accuses Malfoy's father of slipping Riddle's diary into Ginny's possesions, Mr. Malfoy says, "Why don't you prove it?" but he delivers the line exceptionally well.

My daughter and I sometimes use that line in banter:

Me: "You ate the last piece of chocolate!"

Daughter: "Why don't you prove it?"

Well, now I have proof!

This is my proof copy of Rose of Par Kluhnd. I'm going over it now, getting ready for the print version to become available. I laughed when I saw this on the very last page. I showed it to my daughter the first time she said, "Prove it!" after I'd gotten it in the mail.

She said, "Gaaah!" in frustration, claiming it wasn't fair.

Mwah ha ha! Too bad! Now I have proof.

Featured on a blog!



Kindle in the Wind
Bringing the best eBooks
to your attention



Rose of Par Kluhnd is featured today on the Kindle in the Wind blog! 

This is the beginning of more exposure for this book. On the 16th it will be featured on Karly Kirkpatrick's blog, and I have a few blogger reviews lined up in the coming weeks and months.

I'm not the best at promotion, but I'm learning!

Finished!

I'm done! I finished the scarf I was knitting for my mom for her birthday from handspun/hand-dyed yarn.

Now I can move on to other things, like going over the proof for Rose of Par Kluhnd so that I can make the print version available soon.

And don't forget, Rose of Par Kluhnd will be featured on Kindle in the Wind blog tomorrow!

With a new book out, I should be extremely busy

I should be working really hard on promotion, etc. Instead, I'm knitting. My mom's birthday is in a few days and I'm busy trying to finish the scarf I'm knitting for her from homespun yarn.

But on Saturday (my mom's birthday), Rose of Par Kluhnd will be featured on the Kindle in the Wind blog, and on the 16th of Feb. it will be featured on Karly Kirkpatrick's blog, Young Adult Author in an Epublished World, in her Bookaday post. Hooray!

New Kindle-focused blog will soon feature Rose of Par Kluhnd



Kindle in the Wind
Bringing the best eBooks
to your attention

 A new Kindle-focused blog, Kindle in the Wind, will soon be featuring my book, Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale.

This new blog features ebooks which are available for the Kindle. They feature various titles, with links to purchase sites, and they list reviews and information about the author. If you have an ereader, go check out Kindle in the Wind!

Operation E-Book Drop, getting free ebooks to our troops overseas



Logo design from the Imagination
and Graphic Artistry of
K.A. M'Lady & P.M. Dittman

 I've just signed up to participate in Operation E-Book Drop, a program in which authors can give coupons to troops overseas for free downloads of their books. As of Jan. 22nd there are 590 authors participating in this program and it's estimated that 2 million coupons for free ebooks have been dropped to our troops overseas since Sept., 2009.

If you're an author and have books in eformat, click the logo to find out how to participate.

Some people aren't through with the holidays

I have to smile a little. I thought that sales of My Twelfth Christmas would cease pretty much when Christmas was over, but people are still buying it. It makes me happy to think that people aren't through with the holiday spirit yet.

My Twelfth Christmas actually hit #6 on Amazon's children's Christmas ebook bestseller list at one point during the holidays, and it was ranked consistently in the top 20, and often in the top 10. I was thrilled with that. I had a grin whenever I thought about it through November and December because the book is self-published and had no advertising. It rose to those rankings on its own merit, and I'm very happy about that.

And thank you to all of you who helped My Twelfth Christmas do so well. I hope you enjoyed the story.

Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale

Click the cover for Amazon.com page for Kindle

Click here for a sample

In paperback from Createspace

Now available in paperback at Amazon!

Rose isn't sure she wants to be captain of her soccer team, much less queen of a strange place - that's about to be overrun by invaders. When she slips into a strange world where her grandmother may have been a queen, she just wants to get home. But when enemies seek her out, finding a way home may be the least of Rose's worries... and then, there's that empty throne waiting, possibly, for her.

My new blog!

I'm so excited about my new author blog. It's brand new, so this is the inaugural post! I'll be tweaking it as I go along and will slowly be adding more to it. I'm so glad you stopped by!

My Twelfth Christmas

Click left cover for Smashwords.com page for all ereaders

Click right cover for Amazon.com page for Kindle

And available at B&N for Nook

Also available at Diesel eBooks

Sony eStore

Click here for sample

When young Rachel and her family visit Aunt Bethany in her small town for Christmas, it sets the stage for many years later when her own young sons want to know the truth about Santa. On that Christmas long ago, Aunt Bethany entrusts a very important secret to Rachel, and in addition, asks Rachel to help her fulfill a lifelong wish involving snow, a sleigh, presents, and her entire small town. Young Rachel discovers the true nature of Santa that Christmas and shares the adventure many years later with her own sons. A heartwarming tale of cozy Christmas traditions and surprises, My Twelfth Christmas will touch the heart and delight the whole family.

The Witch of Starmont

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With a little romance, a little fantasy, a little gardening, and a cottage in New England, what's not to love?

Mara seems happy growing herbs and running her herbal remedy and skin care business. Her deepest desire, however, is to run back to the life she had before her failed marriage. But there is a secret pinning her here, a secret seemingly straight from a fairytale.

When Jonathan Perry enters Mara's life, she finds a person in whom she can confide. But her ex-husband holds the key to her astounding secret and won't relinquish the control he still has over her.

Mara struggles with the call of her old life while beginning to find happiness in Jonathan's steadying presence. But will her ex-husband let her keep any happiness she may find?

Now Available - Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale

My new ebook is now available - for only $2.99!

Rose isn't sure she wants to be captain of her soccer team, much less queen of a strange place -that's about to be overrun by invaders. When she slips into a strange world where her grandmother may have been a queen, she just wants to get home. But when enemies seek her out, finding a way home may be the least of Rose's worries... and then, there's that empty throne waiting, possibly, for her.

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Click here to see Rose of Par Kluhnd's Amazon.com page for Kindle