Well here we go, people of Earth! It’s launch day for the first book in four book series! Am I excited? Yes! Scared? You betcha! Launching a new book is like having a baby. You hope everyone will say, “Amazing! Spectacular! Look at those ear lobes!” At the same time, you worry that people will say, “Oh man. That baby is just plain ugly, a real wrinkly faced monkey!” Yep, it takes a thick skin to be in this business, let me tell you. It also takes a lot of time. Launch day is the culmination of countless hours of writing, but also booking time on people’s blogs, soliciting reviews, planning posts on various social media channels and creating memes, among other things.
Speaking of hours…I’ve got like a bajillion contests going on to celebrate this book/monkey launch. Here are links to a few, and I also host a giveaway on my YouTube channel and occasionally on Instagram (dana_Mentink) as well as one on Goodreads.
No, not writing, not learning….my favorite thing is candy. That makes me sound so shallow, doesn’t it? I’m a hopeless sweettooth, so much so that my latest protagonist in Paws for Love is a chocolate maker. This, of course, required lots of sweet research! All these thoughts of chocolate put me in mind of a great YouTube mini series entitled Cross Country Candy Adventure! Check out the video for a chance to win some sweet prizes!
Pull up a chair and a fork. I’m having dessert and a chat with my cyber friends about treats and troubles. I’m also raffling a lovely prize. Details in the video. You don’t want to miss this one!
Hey, all. So thrilled to be discussing the nutty world of fiction writing with fellow Harvest House author Virginia Smith! Take a look at our rockstar YouTube video. Like or comment on the video for a chance to win one of our books. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to enter the August prize pack giveaway. God bless!
Why bother going on a fiction writing research field trip anyway? In today’s techno world, you can sniff out any detail on the Internet, everything from facts to pictures to interviews, so why venture out? For me, it’s the smell of a place, the pace of life and the seemingly unimportant details that jump out to me that make the trip worthwhile. For instance, on the last research adventure to California’s Gold Country, we arrived at the end of summer and the rolling hills were covered by dry, golden grass. It has a certain smell, in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening as the ground cools down. That smell is important and it will help add descriptive dimension and give my novel an authentic feel, I hope. Below is a quick clip from a recent research trip. We’re doing a little August prize pack contest for those who subscribe to my YouTube channel. (A gift tote and books/or an Amazon ecard for those outside the U.S.)
Have you read a book recently that made you feel like you were there in the fictional setting? Do share!
Blogging over on the suspense sisters today. Do you know the answer to this question?
