Tuesday Task Tally #1: Where did the week go? #tuesdaytally

As I promised last week, come hell or high water, and regardless of what a slacker I may look like by sharing this information, this is the Tuesday Task Tally post #1. The plan is to track my little tasks and progress as I work with my publisher, Inkspell Publishing to debut Call of the Sea.

Tasks Assigned by Inkspell (so far):
1. Write the book blurb for Call of the Sea – DONE (sent to editor for review)
2. Get in touch with designer regarding cover art – finalize artwork – DONE – (Cover reveal 2/20/2012)
3. Blog post for Inkspell’s blog (should do semi regularly) –DONE –  sent for review
4. First run edits on the manuscript need to be sent to my editor.
5. Bookmarks and swag discussions. Logline for bookmarks need to be sent to editor and designer – DONE (cant wait to see these)
6. Free read for the Inkspell website (promotion materials) – DONE – Sent to editor for first run editing
7. Stay up to date on publisher website group posts and join their Goodreads group. – DONE
8. Publicist introductions and beginning of promotions brainstorming. – DONE – Intro email sent. Getting started on Cover reveal schedule.

Tasks I’ve Assigned Myself
1. Write a new short story for the Make Believe anthology (J. Taylor Publishing) – IN PROGRESS (1.5k words in — 5-10k goal)
2. Critiques due for other authors on Scribophile. – WAY BEHIND –  major slacker!
3. Set up cover reveal blog posts with other author and book sites. – In Progress – still coordinating with bloggers/authors
4. Contact local book store to see about having them stock the book on their shelves – Not started
5. Contact Barnes and Noble regarding books by local authors in their store. – Not started

So looking at the above, I am ahead of schedule on some things, and behind on a few others. Will have to see what new tasks are added in this week, but I think right now the priority is getting the first round of editing done and sent to my editor, so I can work some creativity into the short story I’ve put on my plate.

If you are a published author, debut or otherwise, how do you keep yourself organized? Do you have suggestions for things to be addressed that maybe I don’t even have on my list? Very curious to see if others experiences are similar.

Six Sentence Sunday: From the Bloody Archives #sixsunday

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my first publication credit, Blood and Fire, which was originally published in the Sinisterotica anthology, and what, if anything, I would do with the story when rights revert to me in April. Anyway, I’m still “thinking” on all that, but for now, here is a little taste from the archive — a snipit from Blood and Fire.

Would that have been me if Bartholomew hadn’t chosen me tonight?

Matt sat in a heap on the bloody floor beside them. Rocking back and forth, he stared at nothing and muttered to himself while his index finger dipped into the black pool of his mistresses blood.

My breath hitched when he lifted the wet finger and traced scarlet circles around each of his nipples.

Frozen dread had seized me by the time Bartholomew laid me on the satin sheets with gentleness. His gossamer wings blocked my view of the carnage, the truth he’d allowed me to see.

That bit still gives me the shivers. 🙂 Thanks for stopping in. As usual, feel free to drop a comment if you are inclined. If you click the banner at the top of this post, you can visit with the other authors offering excerpts this week.

See ya! 😛

Six Sentence Sunday: Things that go bump in the night #sixsunday

I’m completely amazed by how much has changed for me in the short time since I announced my debut novel, Call of the Sea would be published. So much so, I wasn’t able to get any new writing done on the short story I posted a snipit of last week. So this week, I am flopping back to a scene from Call of the Sea, set to debut from Inkspell Publishing on June 21, 2012.

Without further ado…

A shuffle in the darkness drew him[Daniel] upright. “Who’s there?” The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he squinted into the pitch. The faint beam of moonlight streaming in the tiny window by the table did little to aid his cause. Daniel stared into the dark as he fumbled to light the lamp.

With only one way in or out, whatever lurked in the shadows would have to go through him to escape.

Thanks for stopping in. As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Be sure to click the link at the top of this post and visit with the other writers posting sentences this week.

Take care 🙂

Cover Reveal: Tidal Whispers Anthology

Today’s cover reveal is for an ocean themed anthology being published by J. Taylor Publishing with a release date of June 3, 2012. The anthology contains ocean themed stories by Jocelyn Adams, Claire Gillian, Julie Reece, and Kelly Said.

I am quite looking forward to this one.

From the Back Cover:

Heart’s Desire by Julie Reece

After a terrible accident, Tessa returns to her family beach house to heal. She doesn’t expect to see her first summer crush from seven years before. Cameron, though, reappears and ignites a relationship that’s far more intense than ever before. The only problem? Summer is once again coming to an end, and this time, Tessa will have to decide whether to choose life with Cameron or to never see him again.

The Sweetest Song by Claire Gillian

Under Poseiden’s rule, Circe is the most destructive siren in the Pacific ocean, her songs luring ships and their crew to their watery graves. Not Otis, the best halibut fisherman in the Alaskan waters. His ship, the Calypso, has avoided disaster each time Circe set her sights on him.

Given one last chance to deliver Otis to Davy Jones’ locker, Circe takes to land to waylay the handsome captain. Instead, it may be Otis himself who hooks the Siren.

Pearl of Pau’maa by Kelly Said

Should Miki choose to wed the local wealthy boy she doesn’t love, her stomach will stop grumbling. Her soul, however, will suffocate. With one last opportunity before she must concede, she sneaks off for a final dive to her hidden crate at the bottom of the seabed. What waits for her is more than a captured lobster. It’s a treasure she cannot claim without great sacrifice or true love.

The Undergarden by Jocelyn Adams

Nixie, a water sprite, lives a solitary existence as she struggles to understand the strange world beyond her waters. When she meets one of the pink ones, a curious boy named Wyatt, their friendship blooms into a love that can exist only upon the sands that divide his solid ground from her underwater paradise. Some love, though, once born, cannot be undone, even in the face of death.

For more information on this, or any other novels published by J. Taylor Publishing, please visit their website at: http://jtaylorpublishing.com

You can find out more about the authors whose stories are featured in this anthology by visiting their websites (links listed below):

Julie Reece: www.juliereece.com
Claire Gillian: www.clairegillian.com
Kelly Said: www.kellysaid.com
Jocelyn Adams: www.joceadams.com

Caught in the Middle of a Million Tasks: The Start of a New Feature

Generally speaking, I tend to be a rather organized person. Sure, I may be what some call a slob, but I know where everything is and each item and task has a place in my world. At least, that is what I used to think.

In the short time since I announced I had signed with Inkspell to publish Call of the Sea and now, I have learned just how unorganized and unprepared  I really am most of the time.

I am sure some of this has to do with my not having a clue what is involved in the release of a novel. There are, of course, the expected items, like having to do editing rounds until the story is just right, but there is so much more involved than I ever would have expected, and all of it is soooooooo exciting. (enough o’s ya think?)

Despite my recent lack of postings aside from the regular weekly Six Sentence Sunday excerpts, I will do my level best to keep the blog, and by extension, all of you, informed of updates and happenings as they occur.

The way I figure it, if by sharing my experiences on the road to publishing a debut novel I can help just one other author know what to expect, or know how to avoid a specific pitfall, than the journey and the effort to document it all is well worth it.

So to that end, I am going to start posting updates of my experiences in what I am calling Tuesday Task Tally – Every Tuesday I will update the blog with what has happened with me and the publishing of my novel.

Maybe by keeping tabs here publicly, you all will kick me in the arse when I fall off track, and if you don’t, at the very least I will have a journal of the things I am supposed to be getting done as the weeks between now and launch day tick by.

Cover Reveal: Crux by Julie Reece

This is a busy week at the Book Nook, as I have another cover reveal to share with you all today.  Sweet, right?

Today’s reveal features the cover for the YA Paranormal Romance, CRUX by Julie Reece. Ms. Reece is also an author with J. Taylor Publishing, and this particular book is a personal favorite of mine, as my 17 year old daughter had the opportunity to Beta read this novel for Ms. Reece and absolutely LOVED IT. 

Without further ado, here is the fantastic cover for CRUX, set for release on July 9, 2012.

From the Back of the Book:

She should have run. Now, she’ll have to fight.

Eighteen year old Birdie may be homeless, but she’s surviving, that is until a mysterious guy throws money in the air like a crazy game show host, and she grabs some with the idea she’ll be able to buy dinner that night.

In that singular moment, unassuming Birdie becomes the girl in everyone’s viewfinder. Thugs want to kill her. Money-guy wants to recruit her. The very hot, very rich and very out of her league, Grey Mathews, wants to save her.

Birdie, though, wants nothing to do with any of them, until she realizes fate didn’t bring them all together.

Her heritage did.

Now, with only twenty-one days left, she’s got to decide whether to follow in the footsteps of those before her or risk her life for people she’s only just met.

 
To learn more about this or the other novels offered by J. Taylor Publishing, please visit their website at: http://jtaylorpublishing.com
You can also visit the author’s website at: http://juliereece.com

Cover Reveal: Oracle by J.C. Martin

I’ve managed to fenagle another cover reveal for all you lovely readers out there. This one is for J.C. Martin’s debut novel, a thriller titled, ORACLE (published by J.Taylor Publishing). I am not sure who does the cover art for J. Taylor, but I have yet to see one come out of that publishing house that wasn’t knockout gorgeous and eye catching. This one is no exception.

From the Back Cover:

As the countdown begins, the body count rises.

With London gearing up to host the Olympics, the city doesn’t need a serial killer stalking the streets, but they’ve got one anyway.

Leaving a trail of brutal and bizarre murders, the police force is no closer to finding the latest psychopath than Detective Inspector Kurt Lancer is in finding a solution for his daughter’s disability.

Thrust into the pressure cooker of a high profile case, the struggling single parent is wound tight as he tries to balance care of his own family with the safety of a growing population of potential victims.

One of whom could be his own daughter.

Fingers point in every direction as the public relations nightmare grows, and Lancer’s only answer comes in the form of a single oak leaf left at each crime scene.

You can learn more about this and J. Taylor Publishing’s other releases at their website: http://jtaylorpublishing.com

Six Sentence Sunday: Cinu-what? From a WIP #sixsunday

I’ve been working on and off for the past week on a new short I hope to have ready to sub for the recent anthology titled MAKE BELIEVE (published by J. Taylor Publishing. For this week’s six, I decided to switch gears and give you all a taste. Thoughts and opinions always welcome.

Enjoy and Happy Sunday!

She[Jyslin] had slept little, thoughts centered on her impending Cinuint. Despite years of preparation and training, Jyslin really had no idea what to expect from the journey. She knew what was supposed to happen, what she’d been told to expect, but each Etherian’s destiny was different, making their Cinuint a completely unique experience.

Jyslin lifted the cup, blew a stream of cooling breath on the liquid and dared a small sip. Sweetened heat trickled down her throat. Her muscles relaxed in slow degrees.

Be sure to click the banner at the top of the post to visit with the other participants in this weeks postings. See you next time.

Six Sentence Sunday: I Love a Man Who Knows What He Wants #sixsunday

For this week’s sample, I decided to go with something that gets my motor running. A man who takes control. *licks lips* Tasty. Even if it is a little sinful for a Sunday post. These six are from my erotic short, Routine Maintenance.

Enjoy!

Without making a sound, Jacob was behind her, his calloused hands sliding along her smooth skin, along the curve of her hips, up to cup her breasts. His breath fanned her cheek while his fingers pinched her taut nipples, sending shockwaves of pleasure through Kara’s limbs.

She arched her back, leaning her head against his chest. Her hands gripped his thighs as she succumbed to her need, lips parting to release a sigh.

“That’s my girl,” Jacob whispered against her ear. “Let go of your fear. Give yourself to me.”

Be sure to click the banner at the top of this page and visit with the other authors participating in this weeks Six Sentence Sunday.

Book Review: The P.U.R.E. by Claire Gillian

The P.U.R.E. by Claire Gillian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ve never been much of a fan of the contemporary romances or any type of Mystery/suspense, so I wasn’t entirely sure how much I would enjoy this debut novel when I received the Advance Copy in my review email. As an avid reader of historicals and fantasy novels, I was curious to see if this one would really hold my interest in the same way as those types of stories generally do.

I was pleasantly surprised by The P.U.R.E. Not only did I enjoy the book a lot more than I had expected, I actually finished the novel in a day. That is how good it was. I couldn’t tell you the last time I have done that — even with a fantasy novel.

Ms. Gillian does a stellar job of drawing the reader in from the first page and keeping them hooked throughout the story. The main character, Gayle Lindley is smart and sassy, definitely not a simpering sort by any stretch, and I just loved that about her. Her love interest in the novel, her co-worker, Jon Cripps is the perfect blend of mysterious and sexy.

The best thing about this novel for me, was the fact that the mystery was so well written. I didn’t know who the bad guy really was until the last chapter, despite “thinking” I knew far before that. Some great twists and turns in this one.

Even with all that suspense and mystery, Ms Gillian still finds the time to woo us with some steamy hot love scenes and fabulous descriptive writing.

A must read for anyone who enjoys suspense peppered with a hearty helping of romance.

View all my reviews