St. Patrick's Day Blog Hop

It's the St.Patrick's Day Blog Hop! First, a huge thank you to Carrie Ann for organizing this and all the hard work she's put in. Second, as before there's a grand prize up for everyone who comments on the posts for the hop. That means the more posts you comment on, the higher your chance of winning!

So, the prize for the blog hop is....1st Grand Prize Winner: A choice of a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize Winner: a $90 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card

As for one lucky commentator on this blog, the prize will be a $15 Amazon Gift Card.


For the St.Patrick's Day Blog Hop, the suggestion was to tell how I celebrate (which I don't) or why I wear green. Green happens to be one of my favourite colours, so I thought for something slightly different I'd share a university project I had to do on the use of colour for inspiration.

The task - choose a colour. Choose a piece of music that matches the colour in your mind. Sit in isolation with your eyes closed and the music playing. Picture the colour in your head. Then free write, without correcting, without grammar, whatever comes into your mind, as fast as you can.

I chose green - emerald green to be specific, though I don't think the exact shade was required! And my piece of music was the theme from Harry's Game by Clannad - the reasoning behind that may become apparent later on.

I felt a little silly sitting there and thinking green thoughts, but then I picked up my pen and scribbled furiously for the requisite minimum of five minutes, and a little beyond. This is what I came up with.


Emerald green makes me think of velvet, soft and warm. The medieval tunic I bought with a long pixie hood, laced up the front with black cord and through little brass rings, like something out of a book by Tolkien - elves and magic.





Walking through deep, dark pine woods. Needles all glossy green, the dead brown ones crunching slightly under my feet. Soothing silence and the smell of resin. The smell of damp. Black soil beneath the needles as I dig them up with the toe of my boot.

Thick grass shaking in the wind on the hillside in Ireland. (Here the association to Clannad leapt to mind - Irish!) A long green slope down the the cliff's edge before it falls into the sea. Even the water looks green - beautiful blue-grey-green under a cloudy sky.



A circle of stones on the Isle of Arran.Three huge stark slabs of slate or something, 10, 12 feet tall with long brown streaks down them like rust. Grassy slopes leading up to them and then down the other side, open moorland.

Tiny emeralds in a ring my mum wore, one of them missing, replaced by another paler stone.
Pistachio icecream.
Lime cordial, so hard to find now. Am I the only person in the world who drinks it?
Peppermint cordial. Tastes like toothpaste, ug! But looks so pretty in the bottle, clear emerald green.

I'm offering a $15 Amazon Gift Card for one random commentator on my blog. So tell me whether you like green or not, and why (with your email included so I can contact you if you've won.) Then stop by the other blogs on the lists for more prizes and your chance to win the grand prize!

And on the subject of freebies, you can download my free scifi short story - The Bones of the Sea - from Smashwords here.

Visit the other blogs on the tour by clicking on a link in the list below. :)

Guest Post by Sandra Sookoo - FRACTURED

I'm delighted to be hosting the lovely Sandra Sookoo on the release of her new scifi romance FRACTURED. Please make her feel welcome by leaving a comment! :) (and of course to be entered into the giveaway too.)

Giving fairy tales new life

Thanks for having me on your blog, Pippa! You're very welcome, Sandra! :)

Anyone who knows me also knows I’m a big fan of fairy tales—old, new and retold.  Fairy tales are one thing every reader has in common.  We’ve all read them in various versions.  They’re comfortable.  They’re warm.  We all know going in that we’re promised a happily ever after.

Sigh.

Yup, that’s why I love them.

But, of course, I couldn’t march to the beat of my own drum if I didn’t try to put my own spin on the classics.  When Liquid Silver Books announced their Silver Slipper call for reworked fairy tales, my brain went into overdrive thinking about what I could do with that.  I was in heaven.  I’d already had a reimagined fairy tale (which came out last December) but I needed more.  My muse wanted another shot at something else.

So FRACTURED was born.  It’s a blending of two popular fairy tales, and no, I’m not going to tell you which ones they are in this post.  You’ll have to read the book and see if you can guess!  The great thing about doing fairy tales in the modern day is…well, it’s modern with electricity and technology, but I went a step beyond that.  I set FRACTURED in the future, but I didn’t stop there.  I wanted the heroine to be something other than the usual fairy tale gals.  I made her…well, I won’t ruin it, but let’s just say she’s purple LOL

And, here’s a secret exclusive to this post, the real-life event that set the whole story up was the US discontinuing the space program.  Frankly, I’m still annoyed by that decision.  I guess that’s why my hero Rick is too.

Here’s the blurb:  What happens when beauty is the beast?

Major Rick Keenan has a near-impossible mission: repair his broken shuttle, rescue a missing crew member and get off an almost-dead planet.  Angry that the U.S. is discontinuing the space program, he wants to find a discovery that will revise the government's position.  Unfortunately, that discovery might just kill him.

Marin is one of the last of her people.  Forced to flee to the planet in her childhood, she's kept herself hidden away in darkness, safe in a castle-like fortress, only coming out when she needs to feed--from human blood.  Convinced she'll never fit in, she shuns all contact, yet taking Rick hostage as a food source chips away at her perceptions.

Though their differences threaten to tear them apart, their humanity binds them together.  In a world where only the strong and determined survive, does a happily ever after stand a chance?

Book video:

And a short excerpt from the beginning of the book:

"Major, I'm under attack!" Static crackled over the com-link, but didn't hide the panic in Private Jenkins' voice. "...requesting back-up!"

Rick Keenan depressed the talk button on his handheld com-link. "Where are you?" He'd made the decision to send the lieutenant out alone. The man had escaped from trickier situations than this before. It shouldn't have been a problem.

Another long period of static broke the response. "...castle... couldn't see... Oh, my God!" The static gave way to a man's terror-filled scream.

Rick's gut clenched. "Be there as soon as we can. Hold on." He glanced around the Redemption's interior. Auxiliary power flooded the cramped space with anemic white light. Hoses hung from a few built-in compartments while the crystal panel gave off intermittent flickers then finally blinked off. We're so screwed.

"Reigen, what do we need to get this bird back in the air?" Rick barked out the question as he strode to the crystal panel. Down a power source, they'd be sitting ducks to any being—dangerous or otherwise—on the planet.

"Without a whole crystal array replacement, we're not going anywhere. Power core's busted, but I think we can get moving, given enough time." The wiry, red-haired man turned to face him, his long face tight with stress. "Core's needed for hyperspace; crystals are needed to get airborne. You choose which you want more. I’ll figure out how long we’ll survive without both."

"No time to argue. Grab your gear. We're going after Jenkins." Barely waiting for an acknowledgement, Rick strapped a dagger to his right thigh. "If we're lucky, we’ll find someone who can help us."

"And if we're not?"

"Then we'll have a fight on our hands."

Available at -

All Romance e-books

Amazon 

Liquid Silver Books

I hope you’ll pick up a copy of this book.  I had the greatest fun writing it, and besides, the ending is sigh worthy!




  Want to connect with Sandra?  Find her here:

Website 
Believing is Seeing blog 
Twitter 
Facebook 

Giveaway open to international guests:  One random commenter will receive book swag (bookmarks, postcards, etc.) Please be sure to leave your contact info.  Name will be drawn January 16th.

Thanks so much, Sandra! I'm going to put this on my TBR pile, and I absolutely LOVE that cover. :)

The SFR Pitch Tournament Weekend - Results

I'm pleased to say that my new sfr Tethered came in the top three winners of the final heat. No outright winner was declared, but the feedback I got was incredibly helpful and encouraging. I should also add that Keir came high in the top heat. You can see the results here. A big thank you needs to go to the organizer Laurie A.Green, and to everyone who took part, voted and commented. You are AWESOME! :-)

New Year Blog Hop Winners

Below are the two winners commentators announced by Carrie Ann Ryan -

#192 from Malia Mallory's site - Lilaz won the Kindle Fire! I've already contacted her and her new Kindle should be on its way soon.
#2436 from VK Syke's site - June won the $80 Amazon GC. I've already sent it to her!

The winner on my blog of the $10 Amazon Gift Card is TrishWilson79 - congrats!

The New Year Blog Hop - A Memory

A New Year's memory ...

I stared. The two pink dots stared back. They didn't move. They didn't change.


I looked at the instructions again. Yes, I'd followed them to the letter. Yes, I'd left the required amount of time pass - I'd even used a damn stopwatch for goodness sake! But I still didn't believe it.


Five years of trying. Five years of tests, some of the most painful, invasive and humiliating procedures I'd ever gone through in my LIFE! And only two more months of fertility treatment left before we were on our own and forced to pay for it.

But no more. Those two little dots were what we had been waiting for. I was finally pregnant. :) Happy New Year, baby!

And a Happy New Year to you too! As part of the New Year Blog Hop, I'm offering up a $10 Amazon gift card to a random commentator on my blog, winner to be announced tomorrow. Also, don't forget there's the grand prize up for grabs of a Kindle Fire too, with a second prize of an $80 Amazon GC. All you have to do to enter is comment on this blog and any of the others taking part in the hop. The more blogs you comment on, the greater your chances of winning. Woo hoo! Good luck!


To visit the other blogs participating in the hop, just check out the list below. :) And a huge thank you to Carrie Ann Ryan for organizing this event.

Romance Contest

This is a contest being run by my publisher - Lyrical Press Inc. It's for Romance and Erotica, and there's no entrance fee and a substantial $200 advance on offer. Best of luck!

The First Annual Lyrical Press How Lyrical is Your Romance? Contest opens on Monday, January 16^th. This contest is open to both published and unpublished authors.

Entries must be complete works, ranging in word count between 15,000-100,000 words, any heat level, and fit into one of the following subgenre categories:

• Contemporary romance
• Historical romance
• Paranormal or urban fantasy romance
• Romantic steampunk
• Romantic Suspense

Prizes:

1^st Place: $200 advance and digital publishing contract (advance payable as $100 upon finalized contract and $100 upon publication).

2^nd Place: $100 advance and digital publishing contract (advance payable as $50 upon finalized contract and $50 upon publication).

3^rd Place: Top-scoring contestant in each genre category will receive an acquiring editor’s critique of synopsis and first 50 pages of manuscript.

Guidelines:

• File type: .rtf, .doc, or .docx only
• 12pt black font (Times New Roman, Cambria, Courier or Georgia preferred)
• Line spacing: 1.5
• Margins: 1" all
• Page-breaks between chapters

Please include a title page listing the following information:

• Legal name
• Pen name
• Email address
• Contact phone
• Working title (include series name and details if applicable)
• Word count
• Genre/category

Entries will be accepted from January 16, 2012 through February 5, 2012, and must be emailed to contest@lyricalpress.com. Entries sent to an email other than the aforementioned will be ignored. Please include book title and contest in subject line thusly: Booktitle – How Lyrical Is Your Romance?. Attach full manuscript, and 2-5 page synopsis in .rtf, .doc, or .docx format (Booktitle_MS and Booktitle_SYN as file names--your book title replaces “Booktitle”). After February 5, the contest will close, but we’ll still be accepting submissions as always at our submissions@lyricalpress.com address.

No entry fee required. Judges reserve the right to Decline to Judge any entry if it does not fit our lines, level of writing is not acceptable, or submission guidelines are not followed.

Entries will be judged on the following criteria: Hook, Pacing/Plot, Characterization, Dialogue, Mechanics, and Author Voice.

Winners will be announced on March 12, 2012 via our blog http://lyricalpress.blogspot.com/ and direct emails to winners.

Reviews - Jaine Fenn

This week I have TWO reviews up on the Fantasy Book Review website. Guardians of Paradise and Bringer of Light by Jaine Fenn.

Please stop by the review site and check them out. They also have a competition running until the 14th October -

Competition: Win a free copy of The Long Way Home by PD Blake (ebook)

Are Contests a Winner?

What are your views on writing contests? Are you a big fan and a prolific competitor? Do you think having one or more awards helps your career and/or book sales as an author? Do they present you with an interesting challenge, or do you feel they are a waste of time?

Until this year, I'd never even considered entering a writing competition. I'd looked at a few and read blog posts on those who had entered and even been placed in various writing awards, but hadn't felt the need for it myself. I'm still not sure of the benefits, and at the moment have no plans to write anything purely for competition purposes. However ...

A book review site that I've written a few reviews for posted a short story competition a while back. They wanted a fantasy short between 2,000 and 5,000 words. By coincidence, I happened to be working on a fantasy short that came within that range, an oddity in itself! For one thing, I haven't written fantasy in almost 25 years and short stories are not my strong point. There's no award for winning. My interest was completely mercenary - the prize is an iPad, or two runner-ups get a Kindle, squee! So I went for it. Winners aren't being announced until November, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. After all, I read stuff every day that I rate as good or better than my own.

But it got me thinking. I know various people who've entered competitions. I know you have to be wary about some of them. Does it really make that much difference to an author how many and what kind of awards they win? Does it encourage readers? Does it improve sales? Does it help you pitch a book if it won an award? I really don't know.

I've never been one for competitions but I've found myself looking some up over the past week. Maybe the fact that I've had my first book contracted by a publisher has finally convinced me I have something worthwhile of an award. That my lack of confidence is misplaced. Or maybe because I see so many of my fellow authors so excited over the whole process. Maybe I'm missing out on the fun. Whichever, I'm considering that next year I may put my book in for one or two contests. Anyone want to recommend some? :)

Birthday Book Giveaway.

Hmmm, I haven't done a contest for a while now. Since it's soon to be my birthday, and I've a lot of things to be extremely grateful for right now, how about another giveaway? Here's the deal. Open internationally, an e-book of your choice in whatever format you need it, up to the value of £5 (that's about $8 US or Canadian or Australian). Or, as I've been reminded, if you can find an actual book with free postage (from the Book Depository) then that's another option. 
To enter, simply leave your name/id/twitter handle etc and the title of the book you would like, preferably with a link to where I can buy it, and you're in. Contest opens from the moment this post goes live until the end of July - that's midnight GMT on the 31st. Winner to be announced as soon as I've drawn one on the 1st August (it's Sunday so I'm not promising to do it early, sorry). Sound fair enough? I'll take your entry to the contest as a 'yes!' :)

1 Year Anniversary Book Giveaway!

I've had my blog for a year now. A whole year! I can't quite believe it. So, to celebrate a year of blogging, I'm going to hold a book giveaway this month. And the prize? A book of your choice up to a value of £7.50 (or US $12.50, Canadian $12, Aus $12 - if you need it in another currency please let me know) posted anywhere in the world. Cool huh?


All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with an ID, the title of the book you would like to own (preferably with a link to Amazon or similar where you know it's available to buy) and a way for me to contact you, whether that be a blog or website, twitter ID or e-mail. If you would rather keep your contact details private, please feel free to e-mail them to happarose(at)googlemail(dot)com - no spam I promise!















The contest will be open from the moment this post goes live until midnight GMT on the 31st May. Winners will be announced on the blog, the Facebook page and via Twitter - if you would prefer to remain anonymous please state so in your comment/e-mail. Best of luck to everyone! :)

New Author - Lauri J Owen

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Lauri J Owen to my blog, author of fantasy romance_Fallen Embers_, the first in the Embers Series. Tell us a little bit about yourself please.
I am an Alaskan civil rights attorney, mother of a 7-year-old, and companion to several rescued cats. I spent the majority of my life in Idaho, a mostly rural northwestern state, but fell in love with Alaska after I moved here to practice law in 2006. The people are as magnificent as the majestic mountains that cradle and humble us, and I am ever amazed by both.

You've just had your first trip to the UK - how did you find it?
I really enjoyed my trip to the UK, and found myself utterly charmed by the people I met, people that, in large, are not so different from the people I've met in the US. Driving on the left managed to tie my stomach in knots nearly every time, but the chance to take in the rolling, green, quiet countryside made it worth every stitch. I found I love British tea, and British chocolate, and I enjoyed shopping at Tesco, but I couldn't bring myself to love the dressing used for salads. lol.

What inspires/inspired you to write?

During my adult years, I've written a great deal of nonfiction, and published some of it, but I didn't think I could write fiction, and, frankly, writing stories never really crossed my mind. About a year and a half ago, my younger sister, who has written fiction since she was a pre-teen, encouraged me to write a story that had been rolling around my head for more than a decade. It took some convincing on her part, but once I started, I literally could not stop, and since then, writing has become an obsession. Even when I'm not writing, I am thinking about my story -- the characters, the alternate Alaska -- and I am wanting to give them the fullness of life they beg from me. I read voraciously, but when I am actually writing, I can't. I don't know why. It's like, maybe, the reading was trying to fill the hole, but never quite could, and now that I am writing, it's exactly what I need. And when I write, I do little else, and finish the first draft in about a month. And yes; I also work full time.

How many rejections did you have before being published?

Oh, I gave up counting the rejections long before they stopped coming. Many. Many, many, many, as I am sure all authors receive. It's tough -- very tough.

You're published by Pearlsong Press. What are the worst and best things about being published?

The worst part of being published is that, like most all else, it's not enough. You think, naively, that once you find a publisher, all your worries are over, and you can just sit back and write. Ha, ha, ha. The truth is that there is a lot to do once a publisher buys a book, nearly all publicity-related, and that takes as much time and imagination, and often more, than the writing itself. It can be even more challenging if you're not naturally a people person, someone who loves interacting with all kinds of people and who feels compelled to strike up conversations and always be soft-selling your book. The best things, to me, about being published include that I know that people all over the world have and will enjoy my story, and I hope that they will take something valuable from my characters, and my story.

If you had the power of time travel, is there anything you would go back and change? Why/why not?

In the past, I often longed from the depths of my very soul that I could go back and avert some of the mistakes that I've made, but the truth is that I don't wish that anymore. Not at all. And the reason I don't is largely due to a lesson I learned from a story, which is itself an epiphany, I think. The story I mean is the episode titled "Tapestry" of _Star Trek: The Next Generation_. In that episode, Q sends Captain Picard back in time, back to just before an incident that Picard has regretted his entire life. Predictably, Picard chooses differently, but - and less predictably - Picard's entire life from that time forward changes. Substantially. He may have avoided a brutal fight, one that resulted in a knife in his heart, but he has been transformed into a risk-avoider, a product of his choices. A safer man, one less tortured, but one less bold -- and less brave as well. One who doesn't have the strength, and the power, to become a captain. The lesson, to me, was that while we may deeply regret, and even agonize over, the past, and our stupidity, those threads weave us into the persons we become. We cannot be who we are, good and bad, without them. And if I am worthwhile, and good, and compassionate, and empathetic, and other good things, then it is, in part, due to all the choices I made, good and bad. And so.

Any tips for aspiring authors?

If you have a story to tell, write. Take a chance. But keep in mind that it is work, the same as anything else that is worthwhile. Regardless of how trite it sounds, writing demands both blood and time. You must dedicate yourself to it. Make sacrifices for it. But don't fear it. Your first draft is going to be horrible, and you will laugh, or cry, or both when it is finished. But that's where it starts. You learn by doing. Read as much as you can in as many genres as you can interest yourself because a lot of what works will be in your head, even if you can't articulate exacts. Read, write, edit, and don't give up.

Some questions for fun: Chocolate or cheese?

A tough decision, but if I have to pick one, I'll take cheese

Riddick, Wolverine or Eric?

I love strong, tortured warrior men, and you have presented me with the devil's own choice. Frankly, and truly, I don't know if I can pick one between these three. I am madly in love with them all.

What super-power would you choose?

Ugh! I don't know! I would want super strength, and immortality, and maybe control over the elements. And wisdom. I don't need X-ray vision, or an icy ray, or telekinesis, or invisibility, or a mad sense of humor, or omnipotence. I would be an avenger - that much is certain.

Favourite book?

_Feet of Clay_ by Terry Pratchett. That book sums up what matters most to me very profoundly, but then so do all of the Sam Vimes books.

Favourite genre and why?

Sci fi and fantasy, mixed with a healthy dose of romance, are what I find meaningful. Life is hard, and sad, and there simply isn't enough justice to go around. In this genre mix, things can be better because we imagine them so. In them, we get those second chances we would give anything - everything - for. In them, we can dream of righteousness, and learn the power of love, and making things better, and in the books I love, the good people always win. In short, this genre mix provides the perfect setting for larger imaginings, ones to grow those ideas that matter most, and in them, we can build formulas to make the world a better place.

Favourite colour?

Fushia - the color of utterly passionate love.

Upcoming news and plans for the future?

Book Two in the Embers Series, _Blowing Embers_, will be released in the summer of 2011. Within the month, I will begin writing book three, and I imagine there will be many before this series finishes. Katharine Kerr is one of the authors I most admire, and while I someday hope to emulate her skill, I believe I am lucky enough, or doomed, depending on your point of view, to write as prolifically as she does.
One final note: I have to give an enormous amount of credit to my two readers, the two persons who edit my books and provide both encouragement and feedback on not just nuts and bolts, but on what works and what doesn't, and the truth is that my books would be far less compelling, far less of everything, without their input. They deserve flashy medals, and trumpeting accolades, as they both do it,and do it well, for free.

Lauri, thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions and the best of luck with your writing. If you'd like to know more about Lauri, her books and keep up-to-date with the latest news, releases and her monthly book contest, you can visit her at her website here,
on her blog here or on her Facebook page here or follow on twitter @laurijowen.

Potential cover for _Blowing Embers_, book two in the series and due for release in summer 2011.








Potential book cover for _Rising Embers_, book three.

November Book Contest!

Yay! Here we go again. This month I will choose TWO winners at random as there will be no December contest - the last thing I want to happen is for your books to get lost in the Christmas post and leave you deprived over the season of goodwill. So, up for grabs are two books of your choice for each winner, the first name chosen being given first choice of the titles. As before, all you need to do is post a comment below to enter. The winners will be chosen at random, and contacted to claim their prize - if you would prefer not to leave your contact details in the comments box, please DM me as happarose197 or e-mail me as toolongtail(at)hotmail(dot)com. Closing date is midnight 1st December GMT. The winners will be drawn sometime on the 2nd.

Up for grabs are:
1.Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair - scifi romance.
2.The Down Home Zombie Blues by Linnea Sinclair - scifi romance.
3.Thud! by Sir Terry Pratchett - comedic fantasy.
4.The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld - a collection of humourous quotations from the world of Terry Pratchett.
5.Polar by Katherine Kerr and Kate Daniel - a scifi thriller.
6.Black Horses for the King by Anne McCaffrey - fantasy, a twist on the legend of King Arthur.

Competition Winner!!!!

And the winner of the September book giveaway is......(drum roll please!).....Aubrey Haskill! Congrats Aubrey. I'll be in touch and will send those books out to you as soon as possible. There'll be another chance to win a book or two later this month.