Bloodline Audiobook is Out!!

It seemed like a long wait, but I hope that it was worth it!

Here it is: Audible site with sample

I'm excited to be taking this new road, and I hope that it leads somewhere!!! :)

December 18th, 2014

Christmas is fast approaching!

Do you ever get a little...weary of people always asking each other if they are "ready for Christmas"? Like it's a burden, rather than a time of joy and love. I feel that a lot of people have become a bit overburdened by the holidays, due to the commercialization. So in answer: no. I am not ready. I never am, because I'm not good at time management and therefore am always the one in line at the post office on the last day that a package can be shipped out priority to get there on time. :)  But I still love Christmas, because as I said, it isn't about the gifts. Right? Right.

I'm still waiting for the final production of the Bloodline audiobook to be released (drumming fingers)...should be anytime now! It's been over a week since it was approved. I am not a patient person. Have I mentioned that before?

Meanwhile, I have decided to run a Kindle Countdown on The Mystery of Hollow Inn, since sales have most definitely stalled. If I thought it was hard to find an audience for my Young Adult books, that's not near as hard as the Middle Grade genre! I guess I need to target the moms...or something. I don't know, I haven't figured it out yet! Anyway, here is the link. Only 0.99 for the firs three days of the promo. So if you haven't read it, now is a good time to pick it up, or give it as a gift! You don't have to be a middle grader to read or enjoy it. I know I have gone back and re-read my Trixie Beldon and Nancy Drews many times as an adult!

Amazon link to the Mystery of Hollow Inn .99!

I will post again before Christmas...but keep your chin up! Throw out some lights, don't spend too much on needless trinkets, and maybe donate instead to your local charity, or go give out some gift cards at your local grocery store. (I've done that a couple years in a row now...it's a great experience!)

I will leave you with a picture of our family project this year. It was a group effort, but I think I chose the worst part: painting! About 20 hrs later, after lots of tracing/cutting/nailing/painting and planning:

December 9th, 2014

Our weather continues to be undecided as to if it's winter or spring! Here it is, fast approaching mid-December and it's over 60 degrees. The bad news, is that it's accompanied by rain and this equates to lots of melting snow up in the mountains, and more flooding down here on the Skagit. I posted about our local flooding less than two weeks ago, and the river predictions are looking like it's going to be the same scenario by Thursday. Praying that the rain eases up, and we get by without any local damage.

This past weekend was an exciting one for our small town of Sedro Woolley! Our local high school football team took the 2A state title! This is the first time in the history of our school, so it's pretty amazing! My son played Woolley football for six years and was a first-pick conference offensive line and 2nd pick defensive line his senior year (2 years ago), so I spent plenty of time under the 'Friday night lights'! I'm so happy for these kids and I hope it ends up creating college career opportunities that they might not have had otherwise. It's hard to get noticed in football, no matter how good you are, when you're on a 2A team...unless you make it to a state game! Way to go CUBS!

Last night I played around with a unique site called, The Imagine Film List. It gives people the opportunity to make movie suggestions based on books, etc, and even match up actors to characters. Take a look at what I have going for Bloodline, and maybe give it a bump if you agree with me that it'd make a great movie!  IF List

I haven't done this on my blog yet, but I know a fellow Indie Author who is running a 0.99 cent promo on her book, Dangerous Liaisons, and I'd like to give her a mention:

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DANGEROUS LIAISONS by SARAH STUART

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M9CU1Z6 

eBook & Paperback

Lizzie, daughter of a wealthy Scottish laird, inherits a Book of Hours passed down the illegitimate female line from a 16th century queen. It carries a Royal Command: find love. Lizzie, and Michael, a backstreet boy determined to escape the poverty trap with a successful career in the theater, develop a passionate relationship. Sparks, ignited by decoded secrets recorded by the queen’s unscrupulous, vengeful, granddaughter, break the bounds of marriage, the law, and the church.

19 4 & 5 star reviews on Amazon

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I have to admit that I haven't read it yet (now that I'm working on writing The Secret of Camp Whispering Pines), I am back to my reading hiatus. I just can't mix others words around in my head while I am writing, but I have added it to my TBR pile and I plan on getting to it soon. It looks like a good story, so check it out!

Speaking of Whispering Pines, I will be doing a cover reveal soon, so be on the lookout for that!

I FINALLY finished the audio book for Bloodline!!!!!  I'm just waiting for it to be approved and then processed for distribution. I am pretty excited about this. The editing process just about kicked my butt, but I learned a lot from it. (mainly that I am WAY too picky and need to lighten up if I also do Heritage and Descent)

I will let you all know when it is out, and offer up some free codes for it!

On the photography front, I still have my work up on display at out local hospital, United General, and I'm still averaging several sales a month. I've created a couple of new images for Christmas cards, so I will leave you with one of them!

December 1st, 2014

Oh my gosh, where did November go?!

I can't believe it is already December, and I sit here looking at the naked Christmas tree, waiting to be decorated.

I like the holidays, but I think that I am not alone in that there is also a certain amount of stress and pressure to get things done that come along with them. It is always this time of year that I try and slow things down and remember what the season is really all about. NOT giving and giving gifts, but LOVE.

So take a deep breath and hug someone. :)

I am STILL working on finishing up the audiobook for Bloodline,  but I can see the finish line. I will cross it this week and then it should be available the following week. I'm excited to get it out there!

I am also excited about my next book: The Secret of Camp Whispering Pine (Book #2 in the Samantha Wolf Mysteries) I just got the proof for the book cover and I LOVE it! I will be planning a reveal for it in a week or so.  I'm still hoping to get the book out by the end of the year, but we'll see. While I always try and keep the deadlines that I set for myself, it will never be at the cost of the story quality. I'm behind on it as of now, due to the audiobooks taking me longer than anticipated, but it will just depend on how fast the writing goes these next few weeks. Either way, it will be soon and I think readers will like this next installment!

I've had a blast doing senior pictures these past couple of months and I just completed a really fun shoot yesterday. It flooded this past week on our street, and then froze. So we took advantage of this unique setting and literally went out on the ice! The pictures turned out great, and I always feel privileged to be a part of such an important time in their lives. I continue to charge just $50 for everything (including copies of all the pictures), because I can't stand to take more. My son just graduated two  years ago, and I know that the going rate for a professional photographer starts at around $250. These kids already have so many expenses, and there are a lot that can't afford the pictures. (I also do some free ones each year)  I will end up doing about eight senior portraits this year, and I hope to continue it!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Oct 22nd, 2014

So, I've been slacking!

I've been caught up this past week in homecoming for my daughter, and finishing my first audiobook!

The Mystery of Hollow Inn is now available on Audible.com, Amazon and Itunes in audio format.

Audible.com
Amazon

I'm actually thrilled with how it turned out, and I've already started recording Bloodline!


Oh...and homecoming was a success, too! I am blessed with a gorgeous daughter on the inside and out!

October 13th, 2014

Last night, I accomplished a 'first'! I completed my submission for the audiobook version of my book, The Mystery of Hollow Inn.

This story has special meaning to me. I began writing it when I was sixteen. I can still remember sitting in detention (for being late to class. I was a pretty good kid. :) )  writing my book. I was thrilled to be detained in the small room, isolated so that I could write uninterrupted. I guess I was always a bit weird.

I didn't finish it until I was twenty, and then I tried to get it published. This was back when you had to mail out your manuscript to the publishers...after painfully printing it off the dot matrix printer. I gave up very quickly.

This manuscript sat in a box for over twenty years, until I took it out last year, in between writing Bloodline and Heritage. I was taking a 'break' from the trilogy, but got bored. So I decided to revisit Hollow Inn. I ended up re-writing the whole thing, changing the POV and adding a couple of chapters.

I just love this book and the nostalgia it evokes. As soon as I finished Descent, I went back to it again and concentrated on giving it a new cover and doing the audio. The cover that Mel at Melchelle Designs made is just so absolutely PERFECT, that I can't get over it. I employed a couple of family friends to model for me (putting my photography skills to use), so that I could capture exactly what I was hoping for. Mel has a way of taking the image and blending it and matching it up with the perfect concoction, to produce a near perfect match with the image I have in my head.

Here is the new cover for The Mystery of Hollow Inn, #1 in the Samantha Wolf Mysteries

I is a middle grade book, (ages 9-12, but a fun read for anyone!) Amazon link

October 10th, 2014

The fog is thick outside this morning, but it sure makes for a gorgeous sunrise! I wish I had my camera with me, while taking my daughter to school.

The season has most definitely turned, although the temps are still mild. I've enjoyed the weather this summer/fall, although we'll see what that means for our winter. I think it's either going to continue to be unseasonably warm and dry, or else we'll get hit hard with a severe and rapid change.

I am nearing completion on my first audiobook! The Mystery of Hollow Inn should be uploaded by this weekend. Since this is my first attempt, I have no idea how long the review process takes and I'll be crossing my fingers that none of the files get rejected. I'm doing my best at the mastering level, to make sure everything meets the specs...but we'll see.

I am also VERY excited to be revealing the new and incredible cover, soon. Mel at Melchelle Designs has done it again! Along with some willing models for me to photograph, we've come up with what I see as a perfect image.

I'll leave you with a picture I took a few years ago of the fog and sunrise combination in our backyard: