Day: May 10, 2015

A Different Kind of Promo Campaign

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Hello to those I know, and to those I don’t, I’m Kris Fletcher, and I write for Harlequin Superromance. This June, to celebrate the release of my  release A Family Come True, I will be hosting a fundraiser – Authors and Readers for Kids (ARK) – to benefit the Alliance for Children Foundation. At this time, I am asking my fellow authors for donations of prizes that will be awarded to folks who make a contribution to the Foundation.
The Alliance for Children Foundation is a Massachusetts-based international relief organization devoted to improving the physical and emotional well being of orphaned and at-risk children worldwide. As an author of family-centered romances, I wish to support the Foundation as they provide shelter, food, medical attention, and loving caregivers to children who may never know what it is to have a family of their own. As the mother of five children, two of them adopted through the Foundation’s sister agency (the Alliance for Children), I have seen firsthand some of the ways the Foundation enriches the lives of little ones.
Here’s how the ARK will work:
  1. Awesome authors donate prizes. Books are the obvious choice, of course, but feel free to branch out! All authors are welcomed with open arms and tons of gratitude, but I would ask that the prizes themselves be kept to about a PG-13 level. Or PG-16, if there were such a thing J  If you write super spicy or erotic, something like an Amazon gift card, candy, or an item that relates to your story’s setting would probably be a safer bet than a copy of your book (awesome though it is). My 14-year-old wants to share this event with her friends, and I really don’t want to end up as the main topic of discussion at the next PTA meeting 🙂
  2. Awesome readers make donations to the Foundation and are then entered into drawings (conducted by me) for the prizes. Prizes will be awarded throughout the month of June. All prize announcements will be done on my website.
  3. I gather any necessary shipping information from the prize winners and pass that on to the donating authors, who ship the prize directly to the winner.
All participating authors will be recognized on my website, both on a permanent page listing contributors and in the post in which her prize is awarded. There is also a high probability of a mention or two on Twitter and/or Facebook, depending on how many end-of-school-year events I have to attend during June.
If you would like to help make the world a brighter place for a child, please email me (kris@krisfletcher.com) with the following information:
  • Your prize
  • If it is a physical prize, please let me know where you are willing to ship (US only, North America only, worldwide, etc) (Remember, if you’re donating a physical book, the Book Depository ships worldwide for free!)
  • Your website address (and if your website is an 18-and-older-only one, please let me know so I can indicate that)
  • The title of your latest release and, if you wish, the cover. I can’t guarantee I will use all titles and covers I receive (see the abovementioned concerns about the PTA)  but I will do my very best.
And of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Thanks so much for your generosity. Whether you are able to offer a prize, make a donation to the Foundation, spread the word about ARK to your readers and groups – or all three – you can be sure that our combined efforts will make a world of difference for children in need.

WIP WEDNESDAY: Acrobatics of Being An Author

According to Wikipedia, acrobatics  is “the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts as well as in many sports (sporting) events, and martial arts. Acrobatics is most often associated with activities that make extensive use of gymnastic elements, such as acro dance, circus, and gymnastics, but many other athletic activities — such as ballet and diving — may also employ acrobatics. Although acrobatics is most commonly associated with human body performance, it may also apply to other types of performance, such as aerobatics.”

Really? Clearly the creator of this so-called “definition” was never a mom who works a full-time day job and is trying to pursue a career as a published author. More than ever before, being an author also includes being one’s own agent and publicity/PR guru. Oh, and sometimes there are freelance editing jobs. Let’s not forget active involvement in  a local RWA chapter. Having so much on the plate goes far beyond mere juggling. And none of this includes life: cooking; cleaning; grocery shopping; spirituality/religious obligations; exercise. I don’t know what I would do if my children were still living at home and needing all the extra-curricular stuff that consumed my time for so many years.  No wonder I’m tired. No wonder I have trouble finding time to actually write.

A writer’s life is truly an example of extraordinary feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Maybe  it should be an Olympic event.

WIP Wednesday: Caroline Warfield

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It’s Work-In-Progress Wednesday again, and today’s guest is Caroline Warfield. Welcome Caroline.

Carol RoddyLet’s dive right in, shall we? What are your top three dream destinations and why?

CW: So many so many! The highlands of Scotland. I’ve seen the borders and I’d like to see the rest. Cappadocia to see the cliff churches Argentina because I haven’t been to South America yet.

MJ: What is the top book on your TBR pile?

CW: The Whisky Laird by Donna MacMeans.

MJ: Other than writing, what would be your dream job?

CW: International Relief worker.

MJ: If you had a theme song, what would it be?

CW: My theme MUSIC would be Beethoven’s “Appassionata Sonata”.

MJ: Oooh. Nice choice! Name one thing you won’t leave home without.

CW: My Cell phone, of course.

MJ: If you could trade places with anyone for just one day, who would you be and why?

CW: The Pope’s secretary. I admire him greatly and think of the visitors he gets. What great conversations.

MJ: Describe your ideal/dream writing space.

CW: Right where I am surrounded by my books in a room full of windows looking out at trees.

MJ: Briefly describe your writing day/process.

CW: Generally I try to be at my desk at 8 taking care of social networking and marketing, and then I write for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. I need to walk in between.

MJ: What book do you wish you could have written?

CW: Simply Love, by Mary Balogh, What Angels Fear, by C.S. Harris to name but a few.

MJ: Name 3 things on your desk right now.

CW: Kindle, Roget’s Thesaurus (the real deal), a tall glass of water.

MJ:  Do you listen to music when you write? Explain.

CW: I usually find music to suit the mood of the story and set up a Pandora channel. One of my children’s books required blue grass. Dangerous Secrets demanded Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and traditional Italian.

MJ: Do you collage your story before writing? Explain.

CW: I don’t collage but I set up a Pinterest board with visuals for inspiration.

MJ: What do you love most about your WIP hero?

CW: He believes he can fix anything and anyone, even if they don’t want it. He is loyal to a fault.

MJ: What do you least like about your WIP heroine?

CW: She ran when faced with what she saw as an insurmountable problem.

MJ: What genre is your current WIP?

CW: A Regency romance.

MJ: What is your favorite genre to read?

CW: Regency romance and historical mysteries.

MJ: How did you chose the setting for your current WIP?

CW:  I often start with a setting. Dangerous Secrets began with, “I wonder if I could write a Regency romance set in Rome?”

MJ: Great answers all around. Now for the lightning round: Wine–red or white?

CW: Red.

MJ: Cinco de Mayo or St. Patrick’s Day?

CW: St. Patrick’s Day.

MJ: Last movie you saw in a theatre?

CW: Jersey Boys.

MJ: Favorite TV show?

CW: Justified.

MJ: Paper or e-books?

CW: E-books.

MJ: Coke or Pepsi?

CW: Coke

MJ: Introvert or extrovert?

CW: Extrovert.

MJ: Ready to reveal your current work in progress?

CW: That would be Dangerous Secrets.

Rome, 1820

“Major Bently? Are you in there?”

Bently? Jamie Heyworth covered his ears. Some damned fool wants my Uncle Charles.

Pounding, urgent and loud, echoed through his room.

He ignored the noise. Perhaps it will stop.

It didn’t.

“Major Bently!”

There it was again. Uncle Charles can answer.

His Uncle Charles lay dead these eight years. Jamie peeked out from under his ragged pillow and stared at the cracks in the ceiling.

MJ: I’m hooked! Now, I understand you had a book come out just last week.

CW: Yes, Dangerous Works was released a week ago today. It’s available on Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/lsaryjx

DangerousWorks_400x600

 

MJ: Where can your fans catch up with you?

CW: My website, my blog, on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.

MJ: Thanks again for joining me here today, Caroline, and best of luck with your books!

 

 

 

The Things in a Writer’s Mind

Twenty-six years ago, I was on my honeymoon in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State.

With 6.1 million acres, the Adirondacks comprise the largest park and the largest state-level protected area in the contiguous United States, and the largest National Historic Landmark (copied from Wikipedia, but it’s all true). This, not Manhattan ( 22.96 square miles ), is the true New York.

Lake Placid, where we honeymooned, has been the site of not one, but two Winter Olympics. The Adirondacks were also once the summer destination of such people as the Vanderbilts, Oppenheimers, Rockefellers and other wealthy folks who built their Great Camps looking to escape the heat of the cities.

Twenty-six years ago, my new husband and I did the same thing. So did a certain physician and his wife. I never learned their names, but I will never forget them. As we drove home on the serpentine roads, up hill and down, we passed lakes and small towns. When we came to White Lake, we stopped. The evening before, there had been a seaplane accident on the lake. The physician and his wife were both killed.

The plane was still in the lake. Suitcases had popped open, and the contents drifted on the water.  A straw sunhat with a gaily flowered band floated as if it had not a care in the world. That hat got to me in a way the other articles of clothing or the half-submerged plane did not. The doctor’s wife had planned to wear that hat while she puttered in her garden, while she relaxed on their boat, while she enjoyed cocktails on the porch with her neighbors. Now, it was just a piece of detritus bobbing in the ebb and flow of the waves.

Every once in a while, that memory comes back, sharp and poignant.

And that is one of things in this writer’s mind.