Monday, March 31, 2014

What do you do with two Castaway Hearts? "I smiled before...." #excerpt #quotes #snippits


Twice orphaned, Catherine Barrett arrives in Virginia a stranger to her closest kin and secretly engaged to the one man her family would disapprove of—her seafaring grandfather’s apprentice. Add to her troubles, the rich and intriguing older brother of her secret betrothed, Dawson Randolph, a plantation owner who is as heartless as he is handsome. Heartbroken when her intended sets sail for his maiden voyage, Catherine finds it difficult to adjust to her new life, hoping to befriend the one man who is, undoubtedly, the match her grandparents wish for her. Dawson’s distaste for her secret engagement to his brother makes it clear he has no designs for marriage to anyone. Especially her.

Ten years since the tragic loss of his young wife and infant son, Dawson Randolph is convinced love and marriage is a fool’s game and resents being pardon to his brother’s hidden engagement. Damned by his instant attraction and his own growing desire, Dawson vows to befriend her against his better judgment. Determined to bring her happiness in a time of fear and uncertainty, Dawson puts aside his animosity to become her confidant, only to realize Catherine holds the key to his heart. When tragedy strikes at sea, Catherine’s guilt pushes Dawson to the fringes of her life as madness consumes her.

Can his love save her before she drowns in her own grief? Or is he doomed to love her from a distance, always in the shadow of her love for his dead brother?

Sunday, March 30, 2014

LOVE BY DESIGN "“So these feelings… just what are we talking about?" #SundaySnippits #excerpt #SundaySnips

http://mizging.blogspot.com/2014/03/sunday-snippets-by-ginger-simpson.html
Back again for another round.

Sharing again from my upcoming contemporary romance release, LOVE BY DESIGN.

Please stop by Ginger's Blog- "Dishin' It Out" by clicking on the Sunday Snippits image above to go read MORE excerpts from other authors & find out how you, too, can hop on this wagon train each Sunday on the Linky List, if you are a pre-published or published author as well!

A party's not a party, till the gang's all here!


“Understood.” Fisher broke the rack after he called solids and then circled the table to find a good shot. “So these feelings… just what are we talking about? You say it’s not love, but I think you’re blind as a bat if you don’t realize it’s heading that direction.”
Derrek looked up from where he had been studying the table.
“What makes you think that?”
“All the footage I’ve seen of the two of you lately on TV.” Fisher bent and aimed at his shot, but then paused to look up at Derrek. “The media thinks you’re in love with her and I’m sorry, but I have to agree with them.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Please, man. We’ve been friends for a while now and you look at Jasmine, that’s her name right?”

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Taryn's Writerly Ramblings- #revisions & #rewrites & #edits, Oh My!


Things around here have been uber busy as of late. I've been deep in revisions and rewrites on LOVE BY DESIGN since earlier this month. Between revisions and rewrites I was working on, I was also doing edits based on the suggestions and feedback of a fellow KY author who was beta/editing for me.

I finished up this past Monday, just after my weekend away for my Kentucky Independent Writers meeting on the 22nd. I came back refueled and focused and whipped the last three chapters' rewrite out in no time. Tuesday I sent out to the one author who betaread the entire manuscript pre-rewrite, but who I'd shared my rewrite notes with. While she read, she kept that in mind.

Then it was off to 3 betas and an editor I had lined up. Last night I mailed it off to 2 more betas, so it's out to 5 betas + the editor.

My fellow author, sent back the 3 rewritten chapters with only minor "pickies" as she called them, a few things of which were just flubs on my part, where I pounded the story out so fast that I missed a typo or two here and there, or a added/missing word and a few other suggestions. She said that the added conflict upped the expectation at the end of the story, so I'm pleased with that feedback, for sure.

This has me thinking too about how soon I'll have a RELEASE DATE to share, and that's just making me crazy excited! I'm hoping it will be sooner rather than later. We're getting so close, I can taste it. Yippee! And that means that soon, I'll be putting out a call to bloggers who might like to interview me or have me guest on their blogs, so keep an eye peeled for a blog about that or if you sign up for my NEWSLETTER (link listed below), you can find out about it that way as well.

All while doing this, I've also been having car troubles again. Last month after I went to my first writers meeting, my check engine light came on. A diagnostic check said the thermostat was going out, but after mechanic and husband checked and didn't seem to find a problem, we basically just "reset" it and it went off without any more trouble.

This time my brakes have been squeaking and I thought maybe it was just cold weather, but then it pulled a "squealing" on me- Sounded like a big fat pig crawled up under my hood. And it wasn't the squeaking brakes, but a sound it emitted while I was accelerating, when my foot was no where near the brake pedal. It only happened on Sunday while I was in my hometown before I headed back and only for a short time. Called my husband to ask him what he thought it might be but considering he was here and I was there and he couldn't look at it or listen to it, he didn't know. Said it could be the rotors, or maybe the fan belt. When I took it over to my parents to have my dad ride with me to see if he could figure out what it was doing, it quit and has behaved ever since. Not really sure what the deal is....

But, poor Jasper is in the shop now and won't get him back till Tuesday or Wednesday right now. He's had a time of it since I got my license...maybe I'm running too hard? Or maybe it's just the wear and tear of having almost 100k miles under his belt. I know he'll need an oil change before I travel very far again, but for right now, the mechanic is going to change the fan belt, the spark plugs and lines, and some other things they seemed knowledgeable about that I don't.

I'm also re-immersing myself in Triberr (and hopefully going to find time to start posting blogs myself more consistently), joining groups on FB like Kentuckiana Authors and Kentucky Romance Writers (not the RWA Chapter I once belonged to, as it disbanded a while back.) Been doing the "social media" thing, bouncing around here and there, trying to cover some bases and make connections.

I got a new cell phone and have been having a time with the learning curve of going from my dinosaur Motorola Cadbury that I could only call and text on, to an Android phone and though I like it, I'm still a bit perturbed and displeased with some of the specs of the one I got. Why? Because the internal memory is not large enough to handle the workload of the calling plan it goes with. That just doesn't make sense to me. Don't offer a phone with a tiny internal storage if it's meant to handle a LOT of data, like the Google Play store and all the apps that are out there, especially if none of the ones pre-built in can be saved to the SD card and any tiny update to anything causes "Low Storage Space" notifications CONSTANTLY! And it tries to update all those apps as soon as I turn on my data. That's just stupid (or a genius marketing ploy to screw over the customer.)

The phone and plan should complement each other and be compatible...this DOES NOT. I can't update apps and I have a lot of "low storage space" issues to contend with if I try to, which sucks big toes, but it was the "only" phone they sell with the specific "unlimited talk, text & data" plan I went with. It'll do for now though, I suppose, as long as I don't hassle with it too much or slam it against the wall... (Yes, I was tempted within the first DAY of having it...but I'm restraining myself... Lord am I restraining myself!!!!)

I did sign up for Instagram though and found I can use it without it causing a lot of headache- it saved to my SD card! Whoo Hoo! So, you are more than welcome to come follow me there, where I'll just post random pictures of whatever suits my fancy or tickles my funny bone. Or inspires me, etc. I kinda like it.

Also been updating my website, and my FB Page - I have a few new tabs on my page. Besides Photos and Likes, I have my Twitter, Goodreads, and my Newsletter Sign-Up tied to it (If you haven't signed up I urge you to so you can stay in the know- I haven't sent out my first yet, but will soon!), and I JUST added a "My Books" Tab and the "Authorgraph" Tab and a "Pinterest" Tab, so you can easily access those things through there. I was going to do the Instagram one but it just doesn't work for some reason and I found a FAQ on their site that said it couldn't be connected to a FB Page currently through an Android, so that may be why.

I'm looking into added a Tab linked to my Website or maybe a few other of my Social Media connections, but that requires doing a FB Developers thing- I'm not sure or confident enough yet to try that, being I'm no computer whiz or graphic/web designer who's knowledgeable about HTML codes and things of that nature. I see that it implies it's simple to do, but still makes my stomach churn with anxiety that I might screw up my entire FB Page if I attempt it, so for now I'm leaving well enough alone.

It leaves me wondering, what other things readers like to find on Authors' FB Pages, so I'll leave you with a few questions today- feel free to leave me some ideas that might make my FB Page more interesting, that might draw attention and help my page gain more "Likes" and more visibility.

Do you keep up with what's going on via "Pages" you like? Are there Tabs or links or widgets that readers find helpful or that make them follow an author more closely? What are things that make you deeply invested in an author's Page enough to visit it regularly?

It's crossed my mind to look into finding a way to "Tab" link my blog there as well. Or Google+.

Let me know what you think. Would love the input!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

LOVE BY DESIGN "I’m not in love with her. I’ve got feelings." #SundaySnips #excerpt #SundaySnippits

http://mizging.blogspot.com/2014/03/sunday-snippets-by-ginger-simpson.html
Sharing again from my upcoming contemporary romance release, LOVE BY DESIGN.

Please click the link above on the Sunday Snippits image to swing by Ginger's Blog- "Dishin' It Out" to go read MORE excerpts from other authors & find out how you, too, can hop on this wagon train each Sunday on the Linky List, if you are a pre-published or published author as well!

A party's not a party, till the gang's all here! 


“You do have it bad.”
“Nah,” Derrek denied, racking up for a game of eight-ball.
“Yeah, you do.” Fisher laughed aloud. “She’s done got you pus--”
“Shut up, Fish.” He cut his friend off before he could finish the crude reference. It crawled under his skin and pissed him off. “Don’t be disrespectful.”
“Okay, fine.” Fisher held his hands up and shot him a look of apology. “You’re still a wuss in love.”
“I’m not in love with her. I’ve got feelings. They aren’t necessarily love feelings. I will say I have respect for her and you don’t need to be vulgar.”

 



Sunday, March 16, 2014

LOVE BY DESIGN "Oh, so that's her pool stick?" #Sundaysnippits #excerpt

http://mizging.blogspot.com/2014/03/sunday-snippet-by-ginger-simpson_9.html

Sunday Snippits are here again, folks and I'm picking up just about where I left off, where Derrek's buddy Fisher comes by to share a few beer and shoot a little pool.

Sharing again from my upcoming contemporary romance release, LOVE BY DESIGN.

Don't forget to please stop by Ginger's Blog- "Dishin' It Out" by clicking on the Sunday Snippits image above to go read MORE excerpts from other authors & find out how you, too, can hop on this wagon train each Sunday on the Linky List, if you are a pre-published or published author as well!

A party's not a party, till the gang's all here!



“I’m not.” Derrek shook his head, picked out a cue and nodded to the table. “You up for a few rounds?”
“Sure.” Fisher started looking through the sticks. His hand came to rest on the one Jasmine used.
“Not that one, Fish, any of the others.”
“Does it have a crack? Is it warped? What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing.” Derrek realized how ridiculous it was and how silly he sounded. He hated to admit why he didn’t want his pal using it. “It’s the one Jasmine used.”
     “Oh, so that’s her pool stick?” Fisher cocked an eyebrow at him. “No one else can use it, eh?”

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Sunday Snippits LOVE BY DESIGN Insomnia & Pool #sundaysnippits #excerpt

http://mizging.blogspot.com/2014/03/sunday-snippet-by-ginger-simpson.html

I'm going to try to remember to join in and start sharing again via Sunday Snippits and fellow author Ginger Simpson's Linky List. I hope you enjoy the 6 paragraphs I share here today from my upcoming contemporary romance release, LOVE BY DESIGN, and please stop by Ginger's Blog- "Dishin' It Out" by clicking on the Sunday Snippits image above to go read MORE excerpts from other authors & find out how you, too, can hop on this wagon train each Sunday if you are a pre-published or published author as well!

A party's not a party, till the gang's all here!



Derrek tossed and turned on the futon. He couldn’t get comfortable, not after having slept well the night before beside Jasmine.
He had her running scared though. She darted out of there like a timid mouse chased by a big hungry cat and he couldn’t deny he felt like one. He wanted to play cat and mouse, but just like a cat, he wanted to catch her, play with her, and then make a meal of her. Her kisses reduced him to putty in her hands. She didn’t realize just how deep he was falling or how quickly she could have him wrapped around her little finger, if she only wanted it that way.
It couldn’t be love, but the woman had him twisted. His thoughts continued to come back to dwell on how soft her curves were and how delicious her lips tasted.
Her scent still clung to his pillow and that didn’t help him get any rest either. He wondered if Jasmine could sleep.
He tossed back the cover and racked the pool table. At almost eleven p.m., the phone rang.
“Hey man. You’re up.” Fisher’s voice rumbled across the line. “You mind if I come out for a while? Or are you busy?”