Friday, August 14, 2020

My Author Booth at the #RRBC #WCBE2020

 

As many of you know, I am a proud member of the Rave Reviews Book Club. This week has been filled with so much fun as we participate in the 5th Annual Writers' Conference & Book Expo. Although it's completely virtual, I have not missed out on anything. The workshops have been informational and helpful. The author booths have been fabulous. The Bingo and Fact-or-Fiction games have been fun. And listening to authors read their own stories has been such a treat!

The author booths are open to the public.

As a reader myself, I always love to learn about new books and new authors. I have my favorites that I always go to, but I enjoy learning about new writers. This conference has 26 author booths that are open to the public. 

Each author booth will help you get to know the author along with several of their books. Some author booths also contain book trailers. And EVERY author booth is giving away a prize just for leaving a comment. You don't have to be a paying member of the conference to participate in winning the author booth prizes. So, I encourage you to spend some time learning about amazing authors and possibly winning a prize or two.

I would love it if you could stop by MY author booth and take a look at it. Once you are there, please do me a favor and tweet it out and share it on all your social media platforms. It would mean so much to me if you help me reach out to readers who haven't met me yet.

Of course, you should definitely leave a comment and win a free copy of one of my books. ;-)

Thank you for always being so supportive of me and my stories. I truly appreciate you. :-)


Sunday, August 9, 2020

Join the #RRBC Writers' Conference & Book Expo - #WCBE20! @RRBC_Org

Hello, beautiful readers! I have such a treat for you. Tomorrow begins the 5th Annual RRBC Writers' Conference & Book Expo. This event is a fabulous way for readers and writers to come together to celebrate all things literary. 

If you are an author, you will join workshops focused on helping you to perfect your writing skills. You will also get to interact with other authors and professionally network. 

If you are a reader, you will be exposed to a plethora of well-written books. You will get to hear authors read their own stories, and you will be able to interact with authors through their author booths.

For everyone, there will be games to play, prizes to win, and fun in every part of the web site.

This conference is hosted by the Rave Reviews Book Club, an international book club that is dedicated to focusing on excellent writing, creating a professional community of authors, and reading & reviewing books honestly. I have been a part of the club for six years and have attended each of these conferences. I look forward to this event every year.

Here is a peek at the sessions and workshops being offered this year:

  1. Amazon Author Central:  What It Is and How It Can Help You Sell More Books
  2. Anatomy of an (Almost) Perfect Book Review
  3. Anatomy of a Blog Post / Your Content Is King 
  4. Are You Failing As an Author?  The Reasons Why and How To Start Soaring
  5. Book Marketing Without A Plan: ‘Know Where’ You’re Going Before You End Up ‘Nowhere’
  6. Creating A Writer’s Platform That Will Get You Noticed
  7. How To Blog an Entire Book in 30 Days
  8. How To Build An Audience and Sell More Books
  9. How To Turn Your Blog Into A Hot Spot!  Keep Readers Coming Back For More
  10. STOP Marketing Your Books! How To Get Others To Do It For You
  11. The Basics of Spelling & Grammar: What You May Have Slept Through In School That’s Now Hurting Your Writing
  12. The Easiest Way To Format Your Paperback via Word Doc
  13. The Elements of a Short Story
  14. Powerful Keywords and How They Can Increase Your Blog’s Traffic
  15. The Simplification of “SHOW DON’T TELL”
  16. The Skinny on Social Media – Using It The Right Way So You’re Not Just Spinning Your Wheels
  17. TRELLO – A Step-by-Step Guide to Using it Effectively to Organize and Write Your Next Book
  18. What It Takes To Become A More Productive Writer
  19. Writing Dialog That Feels Like Realistic Conversation
  20. YOU the Reviewer Are Ruining YOU the Writer. Why Your Book Reviews Are Turning Off Potential Readers and How You Can Turn It Around
  21. FREE BONUS SESSION
  22. Filter Words and How To Avoid Them In Your Writing
  23. What RWISA-Ready Looks Like
This conference is COMPLETELY VIRTUAL, so you can enjoy it at your leisure in the comfort of your own home. So, make sure you are part of this incredible event! You can register for it HERE.

*Please note: The site may be down during the weekend for final updates. It will re-open on Monday at 10am CT, so if it isn't working, come back tomorrow and join us!

While you are at it, I'd love for you to become a part of our family. Join the Rave Reviews Book Club! :-)

 

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Author Spotlight and New Book Promo - Harmony Kent's Interludes 2



Hello, beautiful readers! I have a treat today for my adult followers. I am pleased to share with you a very talented UK author, Harmony Kent. She's here today to tell you about Interludes 2, the second anthology of erotic short stories. I've read many of her stories, including the original Interludes, and can attest to her incredible story-writing abilities. So, take it away, Harmony!


Thanks so much for having me over at your place today, Yvi.

Hi everyone. It’s great to be visiting with you all.

While I’m here, I’d like to talk about my latest book, Interludes 2. This is a book of short erotic romance fiction. As with the original Interludes (which you can find HERE), the book contains 10 short stories, with the first tale totalling 1,000 words, the second one totalling 2,000, and so on up to 10,000 words in the final story.

For each story, I used prompt cards from a great creative tool called Storymatic.  Here’s what the set gave me to work with:

a) deaf person b) recluse … c) person in love … conflict = class reunion

A and B relate to the main character. C relates to the secondary character. And the final prompt gives us the conflict.

From the above set of prompts, I came up with REUNION—A contemporary romance in 9000 words.

A school reunion looms. Not wanting to arrive sad and single, Molly talks her long-time friend Paul into going with her. While the music plays, the sparks fly.


Excerpt from The Reunion:

Paul settled a hand on her elbow and waited for her to look up at him. Unbidden, tears sprang to her eyes, and she blinked them away, furious with herself. Her friend eased the cup from her numb fingers and set it on the table, then he pulled her in for a hug. No words needed there.
She took the comfort gladly and snuggled into his embrace. After a moment or two, she heard his deep inhale, and then he kissed the top of her head. Had he just sniffed her hair? Before she could follow any further down that thought-tunnel, Paul released his hold and shifted back to his own sofa cushion. That tiny gap felt immense.
With a sad and worried expression, he told her, ‘Okay. I’ll go.’
Despite her best efforts, the tears broke free and poured down her cheeks. Ever attentive, Paul rose and fetched her a box of Kleenex from the sideboard. Molly pulled a couple from the box and tried to clean her face up before she could make any more of an idiot of herself. She managed a brief, ‘thanks,’ and then carried on mopping up.
Paul nodded and sat and watched her. She tried but failed to read the expression on his face. Why had he changed his mind? Was she so pitiful that he felt that sorry for her? Molly hadn’t missed the significance of what he’d just done. To go out anywhere was a massive deal for Paul, let alone attending some big reunion. For  her reclusive friend, that posed the same amount of effort as ascending Mount Everest or swimming the English Channel without stopping—and he couldn’t swim for toffee.
By unspoken agreement, they each broke eye contact and reached for their plates. The next few minutes passed in gastronomical bliss, and by the time Molly had devoured the last crumb of deliciously moist and sweet cake, the tension that had built up had dissipated again. She sipped her latte and grinned. ‘Nice. What did you do to it?’
Paul smiled and shook his head with his finger tapping his nose.
Molly chuckled. ‘Trade secret, huh?’
He nodded and gulped at his drink, and then he wiped crumbs from his lips and chin. In that moment, he reminded her strongly of the cute, funny boy he’d once been. A ball of sadness squeezed at her chest. What kind of hammering must he have taken to turn him into such an introvert? Three years. And such a massive change.


  

I had so much fun writing this one, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this little teaser. I’d love to hear what you think via the comments at the bottom of the page. Thanks for stopping by.


From author, Harmony Kent, another best-selling collection of short erotic fiction that will tickle more than your taste buds and wet [sic] more than your appetite.

With a range of genres and styles, this book has enough steam for everyone.

WIGGING OUT—contemporary romance in 1000 words. Two strangers. A crowded platform. A collision. And a wig on the floor.

STORM CHASER—ménage à trois in 2000 words. A sabotaged tire. A raging storm. Passion mounts.

MOON-STRUCK—shifter romance in 3000 words. Trapped on a ship orbiting the moon, a horny astronaut falls for a hunky author who has a secret.

THE CLUB—contemporary romance in 4000 words. An invitation and a host, who is so much more than he seems, bring excitement, enticement, and a choice to make.

NUDIST CAMP—contemporary romance in 5000 words. An older woman. A younger man. A gossip discovers their secret tryst. What will happen when it all gets laid bare?

INITIATION—contemporary romance in 6000 words. A pretty daydreamer arrives for her first day at university. A brutal initiation, and a man with an unusual issue, leave her reeling. Strange, the places you find true love.

THE INCOMER—contemporary romance in 7000 words. A divorced beekeeper has spent her whole life in or around her local village. Then a city-slicker architect comes to town. When two worlds collide, a big bang is sure to follow. Can you have a frenemy with benefits?

DOWN AND DIRTY—contemporary romance in 8000 words. On the run from a sadistic ex-husband, Ellie flees to a remote mountain town and takes a job in the mines. Wary of men, she resolves to keep herself aloof, but mother nature has a way of having the last word and will, quite literally, make the earth move if she has to.

REUNION—contemporary romance in 9000 words. A school reunion looms. Not wanting to arrive sad and single, Molly talks her long-time friend Paul into going with her. While the music plays, the sparks fly.

SOUL MATES—supernatural romance in 10,000 words. A bereaved woman seeks solace in remote woodland. All too soon, she discovers that she’s not as alone as she’d expected. And her heart isn’t the only one that needs to mend.


READER ADVISORY: This book contains explicit sex scenes and language hot enough to melt your book. For mature readers only.


Author Bio

After spending around thirteen years as an ordained Buddhist monk, living in a Zen Buddhist temple, and six years after a life-changing injury following a surgical error, Harmony Kent returned to the world at the tender age of forty.

Now, she is famous for her laughter and has made quite the name for herself … she’s also, um, a writer … and fairly well known for that too. She’s even won a few awards. Harmony lives in rural Cornwall with her adorable husband, ever-present sense of humour, and quirky neighbours.

Harmony is passionate about supporting her fellow authors.


Links

Story Empire (co-authored): https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/
Amazon Author Page: author.to/HarmonysBooks
Twitter: @harmony_kent
LinkedIn: Harmony
Goodreads: Author Page



Interludes 2 Pre-order Link: mybook.to/Interludes2

Monday, August 3, 2020

Meet Nonnie Jules, the #RRBC #RWISA #WonderWoman @NonnieJules #authorspotlight



Hello, beautiful readers! Today, I am joining with a few of my fellow #RRBC members to shine the light on our phenomenal founder, Nonnie Jules!

Nonnie (aka Wonder Woman) has been super busy organizing the 5th Annual #RRBC Writers’ Conference & Book Expo (a super-duper virtual literary event!), so a group of us decided we would shine the spotlight on her today.

Please support an author who gives tirelessly and selflessly (on steroids!) to other authors every day of the year. So, as well as sharing our posts & tweets, please buy her books, and post your honest reviews.


#RRBC and #RWISA - Let’s make some NONNIE NOISE!!!!

 

Nonnie Jules is the President & Founder of RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB {RRBC} and RAVE WRITERS – INT’L SOCIETY OF AUTHORS {RWISA}

“As a writer who values the (polished) written word, it is my mission to help my fellow authors understand that their reputation as a writer should be treated as a rare treasure and that the only way to be taken seriously in this business, is to ensure that your writing (no matter the forum) is impeccably written and well-edited.” - Nonnie Jules

 One blog could never explain how wonderful Nonnie is nor can it tell you all she does, so take a moment to visit her author page here.

You can find Nonnie’s books listed under the following categories in the RRBC Catalog:

Non-Fiction

Novels

Parenting & Relationships

Poetry

Short Story

 I have read several of her books and short stories and can attest to her wonderful ability to draw you in to a story and leave you thinking afterward. One of her newest short stories is No Pedigree.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083SB1RMN


Growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, Baylee never quite fit in...anywhere. She was taunted and teased because her clothes had no designer labels, and spit upon because her only pair of shoes had holes in the bottom. The butt of many jokes, she was excluded from all social activities, sneered at by the parents of her peers after school as she waited for the bus, watching them drive away in their fancy cars; assaulted in the most unthinkable fashion.

Having been born to a white father and a black native American mother didn't make things any easier. In fact, that circumstance made her life ten times harder - until the day she made them all stand up, take notice, and regret every ugly word and deed they had inflicted upon her.

Check out the No Pedigree Book Trailer here: https://youtu.be/upjh985NclE


Here are some links to my reviews of some of her other stories:

If Only There Was Music: The Poetry of Unforbidden Love - My Review

Sugarcoatin' is for Candy & Pacifyin' is for Kids: "Yes, I Said It!" - My Review

I have a few more of her short stories on my Kindle and will be reading them this month to celebrate her. :-)



You can learn even more about Nonnie - her works, her blogs, and some excerpts of her writing - at her RWISA Author Page:  https://ravewriters.wordpress.com/meet-the-authors/author-nonnie-jules/


Watch out for Wonder-Jules truth lasso!

 

Here are some ways to connect with this fabulous author!

Contact via:

Email:  nonniejules@gmail.com

Twitter:  @nonniejules & @AskTheGoodMommy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BooksByNonnie/

 

Blog/Websites:

Books By Nonnie

Watch Nonnie Write!

Ask The Good Mommy

4WillsPublishing

 

#RRBC and #RWISA thank you for supporting author Nonnie Jules today!