To Brand or not to Brand

Please welcome Cari Quinn, graphic artist. Hi, Cari!

Hello, Dayana. Thank you for having me today, Dayana!

While my first love is writing, my day job is as a graphic designer and proofreader at a community newspaper. Having worked in graphic design for almost a decade, I'm used to seeing what works - and what doesn't - on the page. Clarity and brevity are essential, and most importantly, a design piece is only as good as it reproduces.

But this doesn't apply to writers, right? Not so. Your brand is a visual interpretation of you and your product.

What color scheme have you chosen for your webpage and/or blog? Is it mirrored in your bookmarks, business cards and any other promotional materials? Perhaps not, but if you carry through your theme, the more recognizable your name becomes. Preferably, this theme works with your tagline and with your product. Maybe you write all over the map (as I do) or maybe you have two main genres in which you write. In those cases, generic is best, but perhaps there are design elements you can pick up that apply to both and would work well on your webpage and bookmarks, for example. An easy one...do you write paranormal romance featuring werewolves and vampires? A three-quarter moon in the night sky might be the perfect element to evoke the reaction you're hoping to create in your reader. In my opinion, simpler is best. You're trying to create a feeling, not bombard the senses. Just as a lipstick imprint on an envelope is sexy and romantic, it's also clean and basic. That's what you're looking for. That snap of instant recognition that, if you're lucky, will become something your readers instantly associate with you.

That's also where your tagline comes in. Do you have one? A tagline encapsulates your work in one or two sentences and lets your reader know what to expect when they pick up your story. When I started writing a few years ago, my tagline was "Because love - and sex - can be funny." I chose this because everything I write seems to have a thread of humor running through it. As I went along, I realized that tagline didn't work for me anymore, because I was branching out. Yes, my stories still usually have a humorous element (or so I hope!) but I'm also writing darker pieces now, such as Urban Fantasy. So I went back to the drawing board and came up with "What's more dangerous than falling in love?" I'm a romance writer, and by putting that word "dangerous" in my tagline, hopefully the reader gets the impression that there may be darker aspects to my writing. Even when I write straight contemporary, that tagline works.

Being succinct is key. Think what you would want someone to say about your work, and see if you can tie that into your tagline. If you're really creative (and we all are, or we wouldn't be writers), look for ways to tie your tagline into the branding of your website and promotional materials. You write paranormal and cozy mysteries? Have that slice of moon on the top of your webpage? Maybe add a gleaming silver knife with one drop of blood to represent the mysterious side of your writing persona. And perhaps your tagline is, "Sexy romance filled with things that go bump in the night." Okay, not great, but it's just an example for you to use as a springboard for your own ideas.

I also think having a logo is important. YOU are your own company. And the more places that people see your specific logo and tagline, always represented in the same way, the more often that becomes imprinted on a reader's mind. Recognition is your best friend as an author. If Sally Jane is sitting home looking for a spicy book to download and she remembers seeing your splashy, unique logo on a blog somewhere, you may just be the one whose books she searches out to read. In this time of self-promotion, it's vital you give yourself every opportunity to succeed. In case any of you stop by my blog, I don't have a new logo up yet. ;) But I will soon!

One last word about branding and creating a mood with your promotional materials. As I mentioned earlier, a design is only as good as it reproduces, which is why blogs that are dark in color with red or white type rarely work well. Anything that is hard to read gives your potential reader a reason to bypass your page - something you do not want. True, there are sites like Readability, http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/ which can translate most blogs/webpages into something easy on the eyes, but most people don't want to go through that extra step. Keep your design elements to the tops and sides of your pages and leave the areas where you type as clean as possible. And be brief, as brief as you can while still getting your message across. I love to read, but when I see a blog that's a page long or more, I cruise on by. At best, I hit the highlights. Which brings me to another point. Try to break long passages into sections, with bullets that make it easy to skim. Anything that encourages your reader to stay a while is a very good thing!

Thank you for reading! I'll be around to answer any questions or comments. I'm considering doing a series of posts on this subject on my own blog, so please stay tuned!

Cari Quinn
www.cariquinn.blogspot.com
Wow! Great information isn't it? Thanks for sharing all this, Cari. Please stop by again any time you like. I really enjoyed this.

Also, for those of you who haven't checked out my blog post yesterday, I talk about additional exposure ideas and thoughts. Thanks for dropping by today.

More thoughts on gaining exposure on the internet.

Well it seems July has about flown the coop. Time certainly does fly, doesn't it. I noticed that, other than the guest spots, visits/comments have slowed noticably this month. I am one for keeping my website and blog current and fresh, so it's a little disappointing when you don't see much traffic. I'd like to discuss how to get more traffic to our respective internet venues.

Catherine Bybee spends hours and hours on this very subject. And I for one am heeding her words. I have joined Coffee Time, Facebook, My Space, Twitter, keep blog and website freshly updated, as I mentioned above, and try to get to other blogs and loops to leave comments. That is a challenge in itself I have found as there are only so many hours in a day. But interacting is so very important, so I will continue to work on getting around the internet to other blogs and loops in hopes that those people will do the same.

I will also experiment with Catherine's suggestion to read and review other author's books. I have done reveiws, albeit, under another pseudonym and on a more professional level. Though being in the position that I'd like to see reveiws written by my readers, I definitely can return the favor. Nothing like a peer kudo on your book cover!

I was recently approached via email by a marketing company whose name I will not disclose who claims to be able to get my name and books out to more than 5,000,000 readers within my writing parameters. Hmmm... I thought. What's the ticket on that? So, I sent an email inquiring they send me more information as I send no personal information over the net such as phone number, address, etc. EVER! They did respond and the lowest circulation which I think was something like 500K was almost $600 and $800 for circulation to one million then up to $2100! Hellooo I'm still considered a starving artist at this point in my career! That ain't happening:)

Anyway, just some thoughts to toss out there.

Cari Quinn will be dropping in tomorrow to discuss more on getting our names circulating out in cyberspace. She will be discussing branding, website etiquette and graphic art. Please come by and check her out.

Talk soon. Any suggestions and ideas you have are more than welcome on the art of making internet noise:)

D~

Please welcome our next guest, Author Toni V. Sweeney...

...and co-conspirator over at the Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers Blog:)

Quick Reminder:
Don't forget you have a chance to register to win a gift basket by listing all the "Liberty Bell" sightings this month. For more details please visit my website, click on the "Contest" tab and then jump back here to begin the hunt:) Happy Hunting!

Welcome, Toni. Wonderful to have you here. Can't wait to see what you have in store for us today.

Hi, Dayana. Thanks for having me. I'd like to share a bit of history with you today.


Blood Sin could be considered a warning to young men: Be careful with whom you fall in love. is a cautionary tale. The story of a prince who falls in love with the wrong woman and pays the price for that crime (through five novels), it is the first of a series called the Kan Ingan Archives.(The kan Ingans apparently had no shame in recording their deeds and mis-deeds for posterity!) Blood Sin has had a history. It was the actually second novel in the series to be written, in the 70's when I wrote what was intended to be a stand-alone novel. About ten years after I wrote the book, I got to thinking about the background to that story. I ended up writing of happened before Blood Sin took place--about the crime he committed, and the acts leading up to it. A prequel, if you will, that eventually became Book One.

During all this switching and re-writing, I also decided to relate the stories to The Chronicles of Riven the Heretic by having my hero (Erik Brand) be a direct descendent of the hero of The Chronicles. That necessitated a change of name and spelling, so he became Aric kan Ingan. Since Riven was considered the ancestor of the ruling family in the Emeraunt Galaxy, Aric became the Crown Prince of the current branch. The story came mostly out of my own imagination but I will admit it has a vague resemblance to the ancient Greek myth of Phaedra. You know...older man, young wife, young handsome male relative...prime ingredients for disaster. That story's been played out a thousand times in a thousand variations--especially on the daily Soaps--since Euripides introduced the female character Phaedra in his drama Hippolytus in 428 BC. She's become a staple ever since.

Blood Sin was submitted to 4 publishers--and rejected by all of them. At this point, I'll repeat myself, so those of you who know this story: Don't listen! Shortly afterward, Danielle Kaheaku of Leucrota Press, called me to give me her reasons for not accepting the story. She talked to me for nearly thirty minutes while I occasionally asked her to slow down because I was taking notes. At the end of her conversation, she told me if I would act on her suggestions, re-work some sections and add more characterization, she would review the manuscript again.

The rest, as they say, is history...

So here's the Promo: Blood Sin, the story of a man destined to be the most powerful person in the galaxy until that winged troublemaker Cupid skewered him with one of those little darts. A man accused of committing a crime and unable to prove himself innocent because to do so would reveal he's committed an ever greater crime. It's got everything thing that makes life worth living--plenty of love, sex, and violence. It's a winner!

Blood Sin will be released in August by Leucrota Press. For a preview, here's the trailer.




More about Toni:


Toni Sweeney was born in Georgia after the War between the States but before the Gulf War. Her writing career began during an extended convalescence following an automobile accident. Since her recovery, she has survived hurricanes in the South, tornados and snow-covered winters in the Midwestn, and earthquakes and forest fires in California. She had been associated with the South Coast Writer's Association, the Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers website, myspace, Facebook, and YouTube. She presently has numerous novels in publication, as well as several short stories featured in magazines, online, and on amazon.com's Amazon Shorts.

Guest Video Blogger Catherine Bybee ~ Top 10 things to do while waiting for your editor.

Thank you for having me today, Dayana.

As every author knows, waiting to hear from a publisher about a submission, or an editor about edits, can be maddening. But there are things an author can do to keep busy so we aren't sending letters to our editors asking about the status of our work. * Rolling eyes... I've done this with every single submission and worried every single time that I might make the editor mad. So far, that concern has been unfounded... But we don't want to rock the boat too much.

Here is numbers 7 + 8 on my list. If you've not seen 9 + 10 please step over to my blogspot by clicking here and checking out that video blog.

Happy Saturday!

First, I'd like to thank Linda for letting Lucien come out and play:) Waves to Linda, blows kisses at Lucien

Well, it's been another productive and fun week. It's been a day of wonder today for me. I spent the day in my favorite type of weather--Thundery, dark brooding skies, and rain. Glorious! And best of all, I have been working on a new story which incidently has come from yet another old piece I had hanging around. I spent the day--are you ready for this?--WRITING! Yes, you heard right. I spent the day writing:)

I also jumped back and forth from the muse to gather some research facts on my story's antagonsit and subject matter. Low and behold, I have discovered that the title I'd chosen for the story was actually a movie on the same subject matter, LOL Back to the original title--for now.
A little background. I was born and raised in southern New Jersey not far from the Pine Barrens best known for Leed's Devil, the thirteenth child, aka, the Jersey Devil.
Well, I came across some video that brought back wonderful memories and scenery of my favorite place in the world. Bastso Village. The roots of Batsto Village can be traced back to 1766. It is a well-known historical site. We went there on a school trip when I was a child and I fell in love with the place. I went back time and time again, the last time was in the late 90's. We took my Godchild.
Why am I gabbing on and on about this? Well, the village is located in the same Pinelands that the Jersey Devil was said to dwell. As I said earlier, I was doing a bit of research and came across this video on YouTube. Check it out. Just follow the link I've created behind the following title: The 13th Child: The Legend of the Jersey Devil. Oh and thus the reason I have to nix my title which was The 13th Son, A Jersey Tale, LOL You will see a panover of the Batsto Mansion that filled my dreams as a child. I loved that house. Also I walked the very paths the characters are walking around and not so very long ago. It gave me goosebumps.

Now when you read my next book you'll have some imagery in your mind of the setting and a bit of background on me. Hey, Mickey! Wasn't it you talking about how memory plays a big part in our stories? Well, here's your proof.

D~

Footnote: pictures courtesy of Batsto Village official website and the Pine Barren trail picture came from Brendan T Byrne State Park website.

Please welcome Lucien St. Albans, one SEXY vampire ~ Did I say that aloud? Oops...

Hello, Lucien. Whoa! is he hot! Welcome to my blog. I'm looking forward to hearing all about you. Winks and tosses hair. Why not start with a formal introduction, hmmmm? Moves just a bit closer.

Sure Dayana, and thank you for having me here today.

My names is Lucien St. Albans, and I am a vampire. In fact, I am Chief Councilor of the ruling council of our race, and I am the most powerful vampire in the world. That said, I should introduce myself further. I was born in Rome when Caesar ruled and Centurions marched. I was in the crowd when Jesus was crucified. Over the centuries, I have been many things and am at the moment a lecturer in Medieval History at Oxford. Evening classes of course.

What I haven’t been is the main character in one of Linda Nightingale’s books. She and I are both enthralled by our handsome pianist Morgan D’Arcy, but he has his own novel, and he has been in love with his Isabeau since she screamed her first breath. I am the villain in Sinners Opera. I admit that I play the villain quite well.

She gave me free rein in Black Swan, her—how does she describe it?—oh, yes, a spicy vampire story. Ladies, I’m the spice. I had Carol on go until Tristan returned from his hiatus in America.

Do you know what Black Swans are? Shaking my head no. Mortals who willingly submit to us to enjoy the euphoria of the Kiss.


Since mind-reading is one of our powers, I know that people have asked her to write my book. Perhaps, if I charm you, she’ll be persuaded to do so. She has the title for another Morgan novel. I am a supporting actor in Morning of the Night. Since people are so visual in today’s world, I have included a photo.

Excerpt from Black Swan:
Carol looked up, halted, gripping the rail. She’d never seen the godlike creature standing regally at the top of the stairs, one long, elegant hand resting on the head of a stone lion. He radiated power—and arrogance. Straight, thick hair, black and soft as the country night, washed over his shoulders. He was so intense, so handsome that the people greeting him faded to ghosts. Lisa captured her hand to pull her along. When they mounted the step beside him, black eyes captured Carol's and, in one fluttering heartbeat, the stranger had taken the measure of her soul. He didn’t smile or hold her gaze long enough to mesmerize, yet Carol felt wobbly on her feet—and enthralled. For a moment, she actually forgot Tristan.

Like an incubus, shall I invade your dreams? Shakes head yes.

I shall leave you with one request. Convince Linda to write my book.
Mumbles, "okay."

Most sincerely yours,
Lucien

PS. Visit Linda’s web site: http://www.lindanightingale.com. From the free story, Vampire Hunt, please answer this question for a chance to win a Black Swan coffee mug. What is Morgan’s manservant’s name?

More about Linda Nightingale:

Linda loves piano, horses, sports cars and the ocean. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Houston Symphony League and organizes the Orchestra Luncheons for the staff and orchestra. Of course, she is addicted to reading and writing! She has won several awards including the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia Award, and she was a semi-finalist in the first Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.

It's been an interesting week. Thank you so much Michele and Helen for dropping by and sharing such great information and books with us. The cheesecake and vampire to die for and a shifter that would make any girl quiver with desire:) You guys ROCK!

Please don't be strangers and Helen, I have to tell you. I don't miss too many days without dropping by Helen's Heroes to see what hunk you have up. I am totally amazed not to mention drooling each week. One is hotter than the next.

Well, it's not over yet! Drop by tomorrow and visit with yet another extremely hot alpha male, Lucien St. Albans, Vampire Extraodinaire. Looking forward to seeing you all back tomorrow, you really don't want to miss this hotty:)

D~

Today's guest is multi-genre romance author Helen Hardt of Helen's Heroes...

If you are not familiar with Helen's Heroes, it's only the hottest collection of men you've ever seen.

Welcome, Helen! It's such a treat to have you here. I know you have something wonderfully seductive up your sleeves today. Can't wait to hear what you've got in mind to talk about.

Dayana, thank you for having me today! Let me ask a couple of questions.

WHY DO WE LOVE OUR ALPHA MALES?

What is it about those Alpha males?

Romance readers love them, and I’m no exception. The Alpha caters to our fantasies, our base needs. He’s devoted to his heroine with an almost savage intensity and is willing to move the world for her. He can make her his with a glance of his smoldering eyes. He takes control in the bedroom, fuels her own desire.

Is this what we want in real life? Today’s woman is independent and free thinking. Not too many of us would react well to a man taking Alpha control.

But in a romance novel? Oh yeah…

The Alpha of all Alphas is, in my humble opinion, the Alpha werewolf. The fierce loyalty and passion that floods him when he finds his mate gets me every time. Talk about belly tugs ;).


My upcoming dark paranormal, Blood Wolf, features just such an Alpha wolf. The problem? Damian MacGowan was abandoned by his birth mother and grew up as the adopted son of a castle caretaker in a small town in contemporary northern Scotland. Consequently, he knows little about his condition. When Suzanne Wood tumbles into his life, he wants her, needs her, must have her at all costs. But he doesn’t understand why. To make matters worse, a dangerous enemy lurks nearby, intent on destroying him.

Reaching into the psyche of both man and beast was a challenge I enjoyed. Damian is definitely Alpha, but he’s also gentle and kind. His struggle with his feelings and with his condition is heart-wrenching at times.

Do you have a favorite Alpha hero? Wolf or otherwise? Why do you love him? Tell me in a comment. You’ll be entered in my drawing for a prize package that includes a print copy of Lawmen and Outlaws which contains my western historical novella The Outlaw’s Angel, a book thong, and a download of your choice of one of my erotic shorts: Seduced in Seoul, Passion in Paris, or Thai’d Up.

Blood Wolf is one of the winners of the Got Wolf? Contest sponsored by The Wild Rose Press and is coming in October in an anthology with the other long winner. I hope you enjoy the following excerpt:

Damian approached her, took her hand in his, and caressed her palm with his scabbed fingertips. “I don’t expect you to understand this when I can’t explain it to myself. But there is not a doubt in my mind that you belong with me.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know your hair is the color of burnt mahogany, and it feels like silk against my skin.” He sifted her tresses with his fingers, then cupped her cheek. “I know your eyes are like the night fog, with little golden sparks that pierce the thickness around my soul.” He ran his thumb across her lower lip. “I know your mouth tastes of wintergreen and fresh blueberries. I know your body feels like heaven pressed to mine. I know your beautiful name fits you. I know there’s an idiot somewhere who let you go, but I thank God for his stupidity.” He lightly traced the angle of her jaw line. “I know ye’re mine.”

Suzanne quivered; her juices pooled in her panties. This man was seducing her with mere words. She was close to climaxing already, something she had only managed previously by masturbating. Never with a man.

“I won’t force you to lie with me,” Damian said, “but I will share this room with you. That’s not negotiable. I need to be close to you.”

“I can’t allow you to stay here. If you want the room—”

“I said it’s not negotiable!” Suzanne jumped as Damian pounded his fist into the adjacent wall. “I need to be with you. I need your scent near me.”

“What you want is impossible.” Her voice cracked with nerves. “I refuse to share a bed with a man I just met.”

“I will leave you alone, but we will share this bed.” He lifted his shirt over his head and threw it over a chair. She gulped in a sharp breath. His chest was golden and beautiful, pure muscle accented by a smattering of black hair. Suzanne instinctively looked away as he began to unbuckle his jeans.

“No.” He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her gaze onto his. “I need you to look at me. To see me.”

More about Helen:

Helen Hardt is an attorney and stay-at-home mom turned award-winning romance author. She met her real-life hero in law school, and they live in Colorado with their two teenage sons. Helen writes contemporary, historical, paranormal, and erotic romance. She is currently contracted with The Wild Rose Press and Ellora’s Cave. Her non-writing interests include Harley rides with her husband, attending her sons’ sports and music performances, traveling, and Taekwondo (she’s a blackbelt.) Visit Helen at www.helenhardt.com and www.helensheroes.blogspot.com

Here's Mickey! Please welcome Parnormal Romance Author, M Flagg:)

Hi, Mickey! Thanks so much for coming over to blog today. I read Retribution! and got totally lost in Michael and Alana's struggle to come to terms with the purest love possible. An amazing story of selflessness and true worshipful love between two people. Michael is the true Champion over the darkness.

Hi, Dayana. I am so happy you enjoyed Retribution! and thank you for your kind words. I'd like to discuss how at times life-memory ends up on the page.

Have you ever written a scene with one particular item stuck in your mind? For me, it was cherry cheesecake—with chocolate cookie crust. Just to be clear, chocolate goes with everything under the sun. But you need to be clever and a bit sneaky.
Let me not digress too far. While writing Retribution! an off-beat mini-vision hammered at my brain. This set up the “big rescue” scene. Why cherry cheesecake? The thought had come out of nowhere to steal my attention. But before snappy dialogue filled the page, I sat back, let a memory play out.

Growing up, food had a starring role in our family. Check out some old movies, like “Moonstruck” and the hilariously sweet “Fatso” with Dom DeLouise if you have any doubts. My Mother was Italian, and most of those characters could have been relatives. Every holiday meant multiple courses that took hours to eat through. It was a ritual. Peasant dishes, nothing fancy, graced the family table. Once married, our home became the gathering place. Plan for eight but be ready to serve eighteen. My sister helped with the cooking. Since I loved to bake my most memorable part of any meal was dessert. One Easter, a friend who was preparing for Passover suggested I make a cheesecake. Hmm… Dare I shake up tradition?

Had there ever been a homemade cheesecake at our dinner table? Fresh ravioli or melt-in-your-mouth gnocchi, zucchini cake or biscotti could be found, but cheesecake? Never. Cheese is cheese. Cake is cake. Nothing “cheese” goes well with perked coffee after a meal. For decades, the family’s iced Italian cookie recipe ruled our dessert menu. My mother and her favorite sister could whip them up with their eyes closed and bake enough to feed several city blocks. But a scrumptious cheesecake topped with cherries?

Never!

Fear crept into my fingers while I cracked the eggs. This recipe wasn’t engraved on my grandmother’s mind when she came to America’s shores. My aunts, 10 just on my mother’s side, often withheld one special something. This recipe didn’t look like it had that infamous wiggle room. So goes another tradition.

Cheesecake had to be precise or it cracked and crumbled! Could there be a patron saint of cheesecake? No such luck… I’d be doing this alone. Carefully measured ingredients went in without an extra dollop of this or that. Just to be authentically ethnic I hand smashed chocolate cookies into a thick crust. Two pans baked side by side—with love and a litany of prayers. Only one had a huge crevice running through the center. Potholders wedged the oven door ajar for an excruciating hour. Heavenly aromas of vanilla and cream cheese wafted through every room.


Eventually, fresh berries drowned in store-bought cherry filling topped them off. I whipped up six dozen Italian cookies just in case.

No pun intended, but success was sweet. Full of pride, my mother took two pieces home.

That’s why I had to make cherry cheesecake part of my first novel. It would surreptitiously spark a hero’s rescue. Perhaps I not only craved that particular confection. Perhaps I wanted my mother and her favorite sister with me once again.
Real-life shapes the writing process. So do memories. Whether we create paranormal fantasy or inspirational romance, who we are appears on the written page. Do you agree? If so, will you share a memory that crept across your page?

One poster will receive a copy of Retribution! The Champion Chronicles: Book 1. And of course, you can find the family cookie recipe at http://www.mflagg.blogspot.com

Retribution! Excerpt
Night Shift

“You did good, Phil, and half the night’s over.” Denny Kim laughed. “Jeez, for all that fluff in your head, you really got this down faster than even Big J did—and he’s one hell of a smart guy!”
“Thanks a whole bunch, Mr. Kim,” Philip said with a huge grin. “I went home and my friend helped me study. We just moved to this fab condo in Fort Lee. Oh, I almost forgot, I brought you a slice of cherry cheesecake.” He pointed to the plastic container on Denny’s desk.
Denny scratched his head. “It’s my favorite. Isn’t that something?”
Denny ate it at 3 a.m., got up from his desk, and Philip caught him before he hit the floor, down for the count. At the same time, the “temporary” security supervisor checked his watch. At 3:15 there’d be a pre-recorded CD confirming that everything had been routine during the dead man’s shift. Philip would only have three minutes before the back-up alarm showed an elevator door open.
Philip ran down the cell list on the clipboard, charting statuses and times until he got to Number 5027. Next to “Second Rotation” he noted: Rapid Deterioration. He replaced the clipboard on the desk and got the metal gurney. After unsealing 5027, the ex-Guardian lifted Michael onto it and wheeled it down the hall.
As the elevator reached “Loading Dock”, he placed a piece of duct tape over the motion sensor. When the doors opened, he started the countdown.

Short bio: Mickey spends her days bringing the joy of music to hundreds of children. She has recently been named a Distinguished Music Educator at the 2009 Yale University Symposium on Music in Schools. The itch to write a paranormal novel occurred while finishing her second masters, a degree in Educational Leadership. The journey to publication led her to The Wild Rose Press where a talented editor, Callie Lynn Wolfe, entitled her series: The Champion Chronicles. Consequences, Book 2 continues Michael Malone's road to redemption. Learning more about the craft of good story-telling each day, Mickey is putting the final touches on Book 3, Inheritance.

Thanks so much for having me today, Dayana. It's always a pleasure to visit with you. I'll be checking back after a morning of summer school antics. Now that's a whole 'nother story completely!!

Wow! it's way too quiet. Where is everyone?

Well as many of you have noticed, I have been very busy with visibility. Something that for us fledgeling authors is so very important. Without the funds for broad advertising, agent representation, or that dreamed of sale to a large New York house we are at our own mercy.

So what do we do? We put our name and brand on any and every venue we can. We collect people as 'friends' and resources to utilize and keep our names in the proverbial limelight. We help each other by doing blog visits, interviews, and just plain word of mouth advertising.

I am not the highest skilled computer techie-type person but I can eventually figure my way around most venues. If I can't I have Catherine! LOL But I will warn you, everything takes time and patience. As many of you know I recently signed up for Twitter(easy), My Space(full day project for me), and Facebook(not complicated).

Now while we're busy trying to get aboard all these networks, other venues are
slipping by the wayside. I have slacked the last couple of weeks on the loops, blogs I frequent, and writer forums. Yikes! It all takes so much time and effort to keep visible, when does a writer take time to...write?

Well, remember a few months ago I did some time management blogging? Well, here is where scheduling your activities, updates, writing time, real life all come together. Maybe not as good as on paper but you can tick things off as you accomplish them and feel good about it. I make lists and notes all the time containing things I need to do or did do so I know where I left off. I have a household day planner and and writing day planner and index cards and even spreadsheets coming out the ying yang. Yeah, I know sounds like a chaotic mess but it is an organized chaotic mess *grin*

Today I plan on mapping out all the projects I need to deal with and handle and I will whip out a completed short titled, A Jersy Tale, and get it submission ready. It needs some reworking and lots of heat:) Started out as an imagery project for a class I took and turned into a story long ago. Blew the dust off it last year and did some revising and now I will finish it. I'd like to have it out and hopefully sold by fall. Perhaps even released next year for Halloween. Now all I have to do is make it happen:)

Wanted to remind you all that Michele Flagg will be hanging out here tomorrow so please drop by and visit with her. She is the author of Retribution! the very hot vampire series, The Champion Chronicles. Don't miss Michael Malone. He is one stacked vampire.

Have a wonderful end to your weekend.

D~

One Lovely Blog...

Allie Boniface gave me this lovely award a few days ago. Thank you so much! Here are the "rules" that go along with it:

1. Accept the award, along with the person's name who gave it to you and their blog link.

2. Pass the award to other blogs.

3. Remember to contact the other bloggers to let them know they've been chosen for the award.

I'm passing this along to Mary, Catherine and Helen.

Congratulations, Ladies, you deserve it:)

Dayana~

and now for something completely different...

Please welcome Mary Ricksen, author of Tripping Through Time, now available at The Wild Rose Press.
Hello, Mary, and welcome!

Hi, Dayana!

What surprises do you have in store for us today?

I just thought I'd do somthing different today, everyone. All I see are interviews and I thought a little story would be a nice change. Also, I will be giving away a free .pdf copy of my book to one lucky commenter today, so don't be shy. Speak up!

King Takes Over At The Vets

I have always had dogs instead of children. It wasn't my choice but I dealt with it by having pets. From the beginning my DH and I each had our own dogs. Me a Heinz 57, Queen of the lickers and very lovable, and he had a male black and tan, German Shepherd named King. Saving King was another story entirely, but I'll stick to on the story of King at the Vets.
He was smart. So darn smart that at times it was eerie. His expressive eyes, his doggie voice, and his body language, were all he had to use, there were things he did that blew my mind. But I digress:)

King was also very well behaved. He never chewed on anything he wasn't supposed to, he obeyed every command immediately. Why the dog would heel so well we could have walked him down I95 and he would have stuck to us like glue, until we told him it was okay to stop heeling.
One evening when one of my sisters was visiting us and I sat next to her on our sofa bed at about 1:30 in the morning, while Chris was asleep. The sofa bed was opened, yes it was the kind with the bar in the middle of your back. Yeah, yeah, I know, all I can say is I was just married a couple of years and we were poor.
We lived in Bayside, Queens, in a Garden Apartment at the time, that luckily allowed pets.Suddenly my sister points to King and says look at him, he looks stoned on something.
I turned to look at him and he smiled, I swear he smiled, and the he fell over his feet coming to me.
So I freak and jump up. Because King was so well behaved, we never thought he would go up on a dresser pick up an RX bottle, break it open and eat sixty bitter pills.
My husband had lost his job. He loved the job and was very upset and anxious when he lost it. It was such a great job, King was even allowed to work there. My DH's boss whom he cared about, was ill, and he couldn't handle it. So out doctor prescribed him Librium, which I filled and he never took.
Now that bottle sat there for months and no one paid any attention to it, until King did something so out of character. I never thought to worry about hiding pills he never even snatched food from the table. He was a gentleman. We may never know why it happened but it did.
It was now after two am. and I was crazy with worry. Sixty pills! My God he'd eaten sixty pills! Frantically I called in the phone book for a vet in Queens that was open for emergencies. Luckily there was one not to far from us.
My DH, you might ask,well forget him, he was still stuck back at 'what happened?' And since he and King were very close buddies, my DH's brain shut down and he just stood there. My sister convinced him to go and dress and I threw a coat over my nightgown then we were out the door.
Now let me tell you what, King was having the time of his life. High as a kite and very happy, he kissed me a lot and kept tripping over his feet and falling down. But he seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

Finally at the vet, they gave him some medicine and when he heard the plastic wrapper on the needle, he perked up, "Mmmrrrrrrrr. Candy you say, that sounds like candy." Sorry King, not candy.
Anyways we ended up having to leave him so they could keep an eye one him. For at least a week. Now every day I called to see how he was doing. Every day they said he was still stoned and should stay there longer for observation. Well days progressed into weeks and we missed him badly. So we decided after four weeks that we wanted to go see him and hopefully take him home. The vet even stopped charging us for boarding after a week, which was weird too.
It was time to go get our boy. With my medical background I felt confident that after a month of doing well, I could handle watching him.
When we got to the place we were greeted by guess who, King at the front door. He had the run of the place, they were crazy about him, and they didn't want him to go home. He'd been helping pets, even cats, that were afraid to be calm. He played with the puppies and kittens. The doggie Florence Nightingale, he even had a bird that flew and landed on his head as I stood there.
Okay. Now I know my dog is great, but he's my dog and I had to convince them to let me take him. They loved him.
So we brought him home and he staggered around for a total of seven weeks. Shocked the hell outta me.

The dog had a way with people too, and he made friends with them easily. But I never expected him to take over the vets office. I never expected to have a dog as great as King and I will miss him for as long as I live. I think Junior would have gotten along with him very well.

Thanks again Dayana for having me. I so appreciate being invited.

What a wonderfully heartwarming story, Mary, thank you so much for sharing this story with us.


More about Mary M. Ricksen:

Tripping Through Time ISBN#1-60154-392-1

"The Tuatha de Danaan and the Celtic ring linger in my imagination"
The Long and the Short of It

www.maryricksen.com

"Know that love is truly timeless"

Twitter dee, twitter dum...

Okay, so I've finally joined My Space and discovered Twitter. I'm working on Facebook, considering the necessity of one more venue to update, LOL I'd like to have a full out discussion on the merits of all these hookup spots. Marketing/promo/branding for us writers is very important and like me most don't have the funds to hire advertising firms to take care of this for us. Let's put out heads together this weekend and share ideas for getting our names out there. What are you doing? What cost effective venues are you using?

While you're pondering the above don't forget to stop in and visit with Mary Ricksen tomorrow. She is the next guest up and author of Tripping Through Time.

Well, its off to the day job for me. Wishing you all a wonderful day:)

Dayana~

Good Morning! or is it?

I was awaken by the cell phone ringing or more like vibrating on my nightstand at 5:59AM! I answer because those type of calls are never good and lo and behold--a wrong number. Okay, it happens and I've got to get up anyway.

Then I make coffee and the coffee maker has seemed to fizzled out. It isn't doing the drip thing its supposed to do. So I stand there and pour hot water through the grounds. Okay, I'm sort of realizing this is not a stellar morning for me. LOL

Now AOL is doing it famous "not responding" thing so everything I've attempted so far has been an issue.

Let me just get to my point before something else stops me from doing what I need to do.

A.) I've found my way to Twitter. Please join me by clicking the widget on the sidebar.

B.) I've also accomplished setting up a My Space page this weekend. I'd love for you all to check it out and join me there. I have not, however figured out how to bring the link over here so if interested you can visit me at the below link:
http://www.myspace.com/487513802

C.) For those of you who may be straggling in late to check out Jack's blog yesterday, she will be hangin around today as well! Yay, Jack! I need your humour about right now!

Now, I'm off to get ready for the day job. Wish me luck please as it seems this morning I need it.

D~

Guest Blogger: Jaclyn Tracey, Paranormal Author

Ready or not, here she comes! Grab your coffee, pull up a chair, and please give Jaclyn a warm welcome. Oh and... you better grab a pillow. The belly laughs this woman gets will require padding your gut:)

Dayana, first off~ hi and thank you for inviting me to your blog for a second time. This is a nice comfy place to hang my Yankee hat. I’d like to share with you what not to do when writing your first novel. My first novel is a testament to this from the first time I said aloud I was going to write a book and then get it published. The journey’s been a long one, but worth every second.

Day 1 of 4 years, (“Ahhh!” Your screaming, “No, get the hook!” Relax, I’m not planning on giving you a blow-by-blow of the last whatever 365 days times 4 years equals) I can’t remember yesterday let alone 4 years ago, but some things stick with you like a bad case poison ivy. This one especially:

End of Sept 2004. The Yankees lost their place in the World Series and all things in my universe seized to exist. Left with nothing but the reality shows and junk on TV, I picked up my first book and read it cover to cover in about 8 hours. It was Laurell K Hamilton’s. I was hooked. From there I read 1 to 2 books a week until the light bulb went on and I said to myself, “If the Sox can win a series, I can so do this.” So Jan 1st, 2005 recouping from the previous night’s festivities and with a large mug of tea I sat in front of my husband’s computer and with one finger tapped out my first 3 pages of Eden’s Black Rose. 9 hours later, I emerged triumphant and headed back for the wine to celebrate. Live and learn. I’ve yet to get that part right!

Jan 1st 2006, literally one year to the day I claimed I had written the next great American novel. Again, a little naivety keeps your hopes high. Sitting in my shoes at this point I didn’t even know what the word genre meant—swear to God. Prior to this I’d failed every English class I’d ever slept through.
The book came in at 1,200 pages. Ok, so I never once checked for any guidelines. Rule #1, always do this before you spend the next 2 years trying to get someone to take you seriously so you don’t have to spend countless hours switching up your baby, your blood, sweat and tears.

The little quirks a computer has is nothing compared to the major spasms I had when the computer burps at me or just went blank and I lost all my days work. Learned the hard way to back up everything. Being absolutely illiterate on a comp and slower than a snail typing my heart attacked me more than once.

So, now that the MS is done and printed out, all 1,200 pages, I wanted to find someone to edit it and do the whole grammar thing for me, cross my ‘T’s, dot my eyes, just kidding, ‘I’s and fix all my blunders so it’s polished and ready to go to print right away…

Ha!

This is where I lost an entire year with this book. I gave it to a friend of a friend who said she’s do this for boucoup bucks.
Panic attack came after I saw the price tag, but being of the invertebrate family I never opened my mouth and for 11 months said a silent mantra that this woman would take my first born as payment. It’s not that she didn’t want my daughter. She said she couldn’t afford her either. So, we ate hotdogs for quite some time and in the end, she told me I should cut the book in half and make it into 2. Blood roiling we parted our separate ways. I packed up my half of a tree and shipped her off to some publisher with my synopsis and query, 2 more words I learned the hard way about, and I said my prayers. One week later my box sat on my steps with a small handwritten note on top. The note said, “Get a Etymology book and a writer’s guide.”

Ouch!

Ok, set back more $$$, I went through the ms umpteen more times and corrected all my stuff I paid the editor to do. Confidence built, March, 07 the book journeyed to the Wild Rose Press. It was well received by an editor who’s no longer with the company. Again, it was highly suggested I cut the book in half and this time I did. I resubmitted a few months later and she said she loved the story and she’d go through it. I waited 9 months without a word. And I sure as hell didn’t bother anyone coz if you’ve ever read those writer’s guides they all tell you in bold print, “Don’t hassle the editor or it’s an automatic rejection.” So I didn’t and in my spare time I wrote the new beginning to my 2nd half of my book and my 3rd book. Once again, I heard from the editor, elated she hadn’t forgotten me after such a long time, until she asked for the book back because it was lost in cyberspace. If anyone has knowledge of where my heart fragmented to I’d appreciate it. Again, I resubmitted and waited…

In or around May, 08 I received a e-mail from my savior, Callie Lynn, who asked what was going with my book. I told her I was wondering the same thing. Anyway, one thing led to another and my book is great hands. All good things in time, right?
So, what have we learned?

1~ Stay awake through English class.

2~ Don’t skip out on typing classes because you don’t want to cut your nails off (yeah, I flunked that class too.)

3~ Learn all you can about the field you’re entering so you’ll be taken serious.

4~ Be polite and patient… to a point. Give an editor their space and then if you haven’t heard from them send a nice follow-up letter. I am too nice and there is a doormat on my back because of it.

5~ Read and follow all the guidelines suggested when you’re ready to let your baby out into the hungry world of agents and editors. I can still feel my heart thumping after I left the post office for the 1st time. What if’s clobbered me. I’ve gotten somewhat better. There’s work to be done on that note.

6~ Don’t give your last earned cent to a stranger to edit your book. Pick some poor slob in your circle of family and friends and hound the hell out of them for help. Bribe them with whatever it takes, just don’t pay for it. A true friend will tell you what’s wrong or great about your work and you have to listen.

7~ Have faith in your editor. I do.

8~ Don’t get discouraged when rejection letters find your doorstep. If you love your book, someone else will to.

9~ Back up your work regularly. Otherwise you’ll be sorry.

10~And my final advise, PROOFREAD! It definitely helps when you’re sober and wide awake. Speaking from a hypothetical position of course.

Hope this helped someone out there.

Now for a snippet of Eden's Black Rose, soon to be released over a The Wild Rose Press.

Excerpt:

He gave her a brilliant grin, one she wanted to knock off his face if she could just get free. He proceeded to toss her flat on her back and cover her with his two hundred-forty pounds of dead weight.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Lucian,” she warned. Lucian’s mirth only enraged her more. “I mean it. Let me go.” Serina began to cry. “Please, I don’t want you…” She never got the chance to finish her sentence, like this, drunk.

Lucian covered her mouth with his hand. “Shush! You don’t mean that.” About to cover her lips with his, Lucian stopped and studied her two heads and four wild, ferocious eyes. “I would never hurt you. I just want to kiss you. Trust me… that’s all that could happen right now. I only want to tell you I am sorry I left you last night. I wanted you to want me for me. Pity was plastered all over your pretty little face.”
Serina pushed at his chest, grunting. “Please get off me? I can’t breathe.” She lied through clenched teeth.

“Not so fast.” He dipped his head towards her, testing the waters. If she truly didn’t want him, he’d know soon enough, when she clobbered him. “Serina?” From behind sealed eyes, tiny water droplets ran off her cheeks. Drops he’d caused. “I’m going to kiss you, just once, and then I’m pretty certain I’m going to pass out.”

“As you wish, M’lord.” Serina was finished fighting both him and her head. Her heart would win this round. Being stubborn was one thing. Being stupid was not an option. When his lips covered hers all her anger, self-doubt and lack of self-esteem disappeared. He moved her to unchartered territories. She’d never lay beneath a man before, and she found this divine until his tongue dragged across her cheek and left behind a slippery cold trail. Then his head bumped into hers, and she heard him snoring—that fast.

“Oh bloody hell. He’s got me pinned beneath him. This is not happening.” Serina took in slow, deliberate breaths of air. With only her fingertips free to move, she twirled them in an upward motion and envisioned a gentle wind to lift and carry Lucian to the other side of her bed. Short of breath and anxious, she spit out, “Any day now!”

Lucian’s snoring intensified, sounding like tiger purring in her ear.
Swearing and thoroughly upset because nothing happened she tried a second time. “Winds of change, pick up your pace. Place Lucian St. James into outer space.”
Everything happened so fast Serina didn’t have time to react. She blinked and Lucian spun horizontally above her, in a cyclic fashion. First, his head whipped past her, then his feet, then his head again, and he kept going like her victrola at nauseating speed.

Fully awake, he screamed for his life, “M’lady, I beg of you, stop this,” as he grasped at air.

“There’s a slight problem, Lucian,” Serina yelled, “I’ve never done this incantation before. They rarely work as they should. Case and point, of course, being you.” She tried to duck seeing him coming directly towards her.

Lucian latched onto Serina as he circled. Now they were both caught in the windstorm within her bedroom. Lucian’s feet slammed into Serina’s coat-rack. Splintered. Serina’s nightdress caught her oil lamp and tore it from the dresser. There would be no more flicker from the shattered rubble.

“You have to stop this,” he screamed petrified.

Without giving it another thought Serina spit out, “The eye of the storm, a twist of fate, land us inside my garden gate.”

Inside one second, outside the next, and falling fast towards thousands of thorns and roses. “Hammock,” Serina bellowed a split second before they ruined her precious flowers. Never mind looking like a pincushion, the flowers came first. Serina had her priorities.

Serina shoved back her hair from her eyes and caught her breath. “Wow! I’ve never done anything quite like this before. What do you think, Lucian?” Serina asked exhilarated. “Lucian?” She tapped his cheek.

Lucian attempted to focus.

“I can explain,” she said. “You’re not hurt, right?”

Lucian stared in disbelief. He did however, find he fancied the position in which they landed. Serina was buried under him for a second time this morning with her legs spread to both sides of him, and her nightdress scrunched beneath her hips.
“Do you want me to tell you what happened?”

“Serina, after the past two days there’s nothing—absolutely nothing you could say that would surprise me. The cat’s out of the bag. I tried with the ignorance card pretending not to notice a few things, like the way Raven miraculously stopped bleeding last night or this feeling I can’t shake that you were—are still inside of me. And the funny thing—I’m quite sober now, thank you. I can’t even blame this on the wine or the whiskey or the scotch I got into last night thinking my sister attempted suicide after we were both attacked by vampires. This little excursion through the air was fun. We’ll have to get a magic carpet the next time though. Duncan told me I should, by all rights, be popping up daisies, yet here I lay! Not that I mind this position.” Serina opened her mouth to speak, but he placed his fingers to her lips. “Just tell me I haven’t lost my mind. We’ll go slow. I’ll swallow one dose of your reality at a time, Dr. Spencer. Fair enough?”

For more about Jaclyn please visit her at:

http://www.jaclyntracey.com/

Whew! Is it hot out there!

Hello from overly hot and very sunny South Florida. Just a fleeting comment: to us tropical dwellers this would be our rendition of the nasty winter months of our Northern cousins. You know, the type of weather you stay indoors, or run from one air conditioner to another. The pools are not even refreshing this time of year as they are like diving into bathwater--same goes for the ocean!

Anyway, tried my hand at some outdoor stuff, you know transplanting some stuff, weeding, etc., but dove back on in the house. Found a nifty project I've been wanting to tackle for almost forever and began working on that; namely, scraped all the caulk off my bathtub, bleached the area, cleaned the tub, now waiting for it to dry out so I can recaulk it. Hah! It looks so beautiful. Who da thought, just doing something so simple can give the room a little extra pizazz and such pleasure at the accomplisment, LOL

Oh, I wanted to congratulate Michele Flagg on winning a copy of Faith V. Smith's book, Kensington's Soul, yesterday. You are going to love it, Mickey!

Next up on the guest list is Jaclyn Tracey, author of the soon to be released Eden's Black Rose at TWRP. She is doing something really special for the blog and if any of you know Jack personally, then you know it will not be without humour and belly laughs. I can't wait. Tune in on Monday, the 13th, for her antics.

Don't forget to watch for the Liberty Bell graphic to pop up within any given post during the month. List the post's author and date to qualify for your chance at the grand prize goodie basket.

Well, I'm starving, so I'm off to have some lunch and check the bathroom project progress:)

Talk to you later,

D~

Good Morning! Great News!

Faith will be hanging in a bit longer and drawing a lucky winner who will receive a free download of her book, Kensington's Soul, today! So come on out and get involved. I know there are many vamp loving lurkers out there. Why not join in the conversation.

If you haven't read this book, you have no idea what your missing:) For all the dirt and details, see Faith's post and the ensuing conversation below.

D~

The first guest blogger of the month is with us today...:)

So grab your coffee or beverage of choice, sit back, and please give a warm welcome to my friend, Faith V. Smith, author of Kensington Soul. Faith, thank you for stopping by to gab today.

Hi, Dayana!

Thanks for having me. Today I wanted to discuss the pull of attraction between:

Vamps And Me!

Ever wonder what it is about a tall, dark, or even blond vampire that makes a heroine go completely weak in the knees? Well, as an author and an avid reader, I have to tell you it’s got to be the mysterious air they have. The I’ve been around and know what I want attitude and when they want you or the heroine...lol, it is fascinating.

I’ve never been a fan of vampiric movies. I’ve always been too scared to open my eyes when it comes to the gory parts. So, what possessed me to start a series with vampires?

Well, it started with a dream and I entered the bit I wrote into a contest, which I did not place, but I continued to write Zacke and Miranda’s story in Kensington’s Soul. In the meantime, I’d been an avid reader of Christine Feehan’s heroes as well as Angela Knight’s books and Sherrilyn Kenyon’s. The more I read the more I fell into the plots of these books. I think we all fantasize about men who will love us as we are, make us feel we are the only one, and take us away from all the inhibitions we’ve developed over the years.

Face it, if we say no and they convince us, then it’s their fault right? Any who, I would love to hear from you about your love affair with fangy heroes of romance. You can reach me at my website: www.faithvsmith.com.

In the meantime, please enjoy this excerpt from Kensington’s Soul.

He stood still, afraid to move
in the deafening silence.

He could hear her heart beating within her chest. He wondered if she could hear the racing of his own heart.
“It must have been the wind.” Miranda’s words broke the quiet.
The disappointment he heard in her voice prompted him to step forward. He stopped himself before he reached the bed and took her in his arms. It would do no good to frighten her to death. Calling back his concentration, which had scattered to the four winds upon hearing his name, he whispered a comfort prayer. He completed it with an urgent command for her to sleep.
The sun’s rays now crested the treetops. He needed to be gone. But still he didn’t move. He waited until Miranda slid back down in the bed and her breathing relaxed before he allowed his desire to overcome his common sense.
He approached her slumbering body. The purity of her face, still marred by a score of tear-tracks, looked beautiful beyond belief. Although he felt the rays of the sun heat his skin, he had one more thing to do: a safety prayer to keep Gabriella out along with any henchmen she might send to do her dirty work.
That done, Zacke leaned down and brushed her lips with his own. The sweetness pulling at him threatened to drop him to his knees. He fought the urge to lie at her side. It would mean his death—but to die in Miranda’s arms would be worth the agony.

About Faith V. Smith

Faith started her journey to publication when she joined the Romance board at iVillage.com, where she has long since become a community leader. She has written book reviews for Bridges Magazine, MyShelf.com, and for the past six years, Romantic Times Book Reviews. She also pens a column for a local magazine. Her path veered into editing and marketing for a small press before she joined The Wild Rose Press staff. Her dream of having her own work published is a blessing and an honor. Faith resides in the south with her daughter Amanda, memories of her now angel husband Rick, and a special zoo crew of furry babies.

Visit her at www.faithvsmith.com

Let the blogging begin and the prizes flow!

Hi, all!

Tomorrow is the kick off of my month-long guest blogging event "Let Liberty Ring." Faith V. Smith will be stepping in tomorrow and will be giving away a free download of her very HOT vamp book, Kensington's Soul. And beleive me if you haven't sampled this one you definitely need to!

There are still plenty of days open for anyone who would like to join the fun. Let me take a moment to give you the details once more.

If you would like to participate in my "Let Freedom Ring" Fourth of July blog event please begin by signing up for Dayana's Happenings on the sidebar.

Note: The above and below information is for actual guestbloggers. If you would like to receive newsletters, events, contest information/winners, and just keep up with "Dayana's Happenings" but not participate in the July event, please feel free to sign up as well. Access to the calendar is specific so although you may view it you will not be able to edit it without permission from the group moderators.

Let me tell you a bit about this event.

It will be a month-long guest blog event. I will be offering all visitors a chance at a single grand price that can be a collective effort of all participants or not. Participants will decide before the end of June.


To enter for the grand prize, visitors will have to list sightings of the Liberty Bell graphic I've posted to the left. This graphic will be posted to random blog posts throughout the month. Also, I would like each guest blogger to offer a prize daily within their post. By signing up to my informational loop and if you have an yahoo email address all participants will have access to my loop calendar. All blog participants should access the calendar from the loop page and choose their blogging date, then you should create your blog complete with all links and artwork you would like included and email it to me as a separate document named JulyBlogEvent-Author-blogdate in the email subject line as soon as possible. If you do not have a Yahoo address, you can contact me with your choice of date but please access the calendar to be sure said date hasn't been taken.

More details will be posted to the loop as they become available. Drawing for the grand prize winner will be the first week of August. Visitors should not post their lists to the blog comments but email them to me directly at gothscribegirl@aol.com with "Liberty Bell graphic Sitings" listed in the subject line of their email. Anyone who posts their list to the blog will be disqualified.

Have I confused anyone? If you are interested and have questions you can contact me anytime through this blog or my email address: gothscribegirl@aol.com


Well, there you have it. A refresher on the event and if you check out the calendar link entitled "Dayana's Calendar" on the side bar you will be able to see the open dates if your are interested in participating as well who is coming up next.

Hope to see you in and out this month. Have fun!

Dayana~

Another week has flown by in a flurry of activities. Bestial Cravings is still holding tight to #1 on The Wild Rose Press's Paranormal best sellers list. I've released my debut newsletter, Dayana's Happenings, today. If you haven't already signed up to receive your copy please do so right here on the sidebar. And my "Let Freedom Ring Blog Event" is in full swing. If you are interested in guest blogging during this event please scroll down to my June 14th post for more information.

Hmmm...

What else is happening?

I hope to dive back into Roma Wolftales book II, untitled as yet, by the summer's end or early fall. I've got some other projects to finish up this summer and lots of promo to work on at the moment so writing is taking a bit of a backseat temporarily.

I am settling in for a quiet--well, not so quiet, holiday:) I am dogsitting for my friend's Chow-mix and Golden Lab who are deathly afraid of the noise and, as well, experiencing the first noisy holiday with Bea. So should prove interesting. Point is I'll be hanging out at home and enjoying the firework displays from my front lawn. How cool is that? Talk about convenient. No crowds, no parking issues, and no wait to get home. The only negative factor in all this is the mosquitoes. Ah well... can't have everything. But then there is bug spray. So I guess perfection is attainable.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend. I'm off to gather the dogs, the snacks, and the bug spray. Talk to you later:)

D~