Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Bloghop!

Dear Reader,

Glad you made it here! This post is part of the Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway bloghop. I’m keeping this bloghop pretty simple: when you sign up for my newsletter, you will receive a free eBook copy of my upcoming book, The Rebel’s Hero.

Never fear, I rarely send emails via the newsletter, it’s more for general updates, such as book releases. How do you know if you’re interested in The Rebel’s Hero? Well, below I’ve included the back cover blurb. Again, to get a free copy of the book when it’s released, just sign up for the newsletter!

Dear Reader,

I began The Rebel’s Hero as a rewrite of my high school senior thesis, a Civil War romance called Catching the Rose. The original was written with all the innocence and energy of a seventeen-year-old. I was flattered and gratified that so many readers picked up Catching the Rose, not expecting a book by a teenager, but a first serious attempt at being an author.

After publishing my second book, Haunting Miss Trentwood, my thoughts drifted to Catching the Rose. I itched to begin it again, this time with a tighter plot structure and deeper character motivations. Out of that reworking came The Rebel’s Hero.

When Tempest Granville’s step-father announced he was marrying her off in between slurps of soup at dinner, she knew right then that her home was no longer a safe haven from the impending war between the states.

The night of a successful slave smuggling mission leaves Daniel Ritter exhausted, but jubilant. When a bedraggled Tempest appears on his doorstep, her presence does more than spark alarm. Suddenly Daniel is having visions of his past, the very past he has struggled to reclaim memories of for nine years.

Join Tempest and Daniel as romance flares, the war begins, and urgency builds as they realize Daniel’s missing memory is the key to a wicked and heartbreaking family secret.

Happy reading,

Belinda Kroll

Intrigued? Then submit your email below to join the newsletter for updates about The Rebel’s Hero!

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. There’s a guest author giveaway where you only need to comment on the post to enter to win a free Treasure Hunters book. Check it out after you sign up for the newsletter!

Author Experiences Book Festival, Treasure Hunters Giveaway

Dear Reader,

Today we have Sean McCartney, who I highlighted before in an interview and when I met him in person at the Ohioana Book Festival. He agreed to share his experience at the book festival, and is giving away a copy of one of his Treasure Hunters books! Read on, dear reader, read on.

- – -

I want to thank Belinda for having me here today. I’d like to introduce myself again. My name is Sean McCartney and I am the author of The Treasure Hunters Club book series. The second book, Breaking the Beale Code, was released on May 7th of this year. Belinda and I met face-to-face at the Ohioana Book Festival and she asked me to talk about my experience there.

To say I was nervous would be an understatement. When someone asked me who my protagonists were, not only did I not remember what a protagonist was, I forgot I was even an author. I’d never been to one of these before as an author or a patron.

I almost talked myself out of going with a deluge of excuses but as I look back on the festival I am glad I was there.

When I walked into building 110, where all of the authors were selling their books, I found my name tag and set up my treasure chest of books. I was sharing a table with another great young adult author. The area was not very large. In fact I felt like I was at the “kids” table for Thanksgiving Dinner.

After I was set-up I stood and waited for people to come in. I watched the other authors and wondered if they felt like I did. They seemed much more confident.

I have to say that, aside from selling a bunch of books, I was able to meet and talk with two terrific authors and people. Kristina McBride, author of The Tension of Opposites and Erin McCahan, author of I Now Pronounce You Someone Else, provided great laughs throughout the day and was a source of tremendous knowledge and information.

The festival held interviews and book readings by many authors. I was not chosen to do any of that which turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise. I was able to stand by my treasure chest and meet readers who bought my books. When I went to the representative from Barnes and Noble and told her my sales, I think she was surprised and stunned.

Overall I can’t wait to go back. I have been looking into other festivals because for an author like myself working with a small publisher, I need to be out there meeting people.

Though the day was long (two hour drive to Columbus and back) and I was on my feet for the entire event, I wouldn’t have missed it. I am looking forward to next year and the continued success of the Treasure Hunters Club series.

Thanks again for having me and please visit my web site at treasurehuntersclubbook.com and drop me a line.

- – -

Belinda here! So some takeaways from Sean’s experience, compared to other authors I’ve learned from, is that having a display catered to your book genre grabs the attention of passers-by.

Having the author standing and smiling, ready to engage? Also a huge plus. Not leaving your post is a great way to make sure you don’t miss readers, and the fact that Sean avoided looking tired I’m sure kept people coming to his spot until the end of the day.

I saw other authors there who sat behind their table reading a book. I did not visit them. I might have grabbed a postcard if they had one and it looked pretty. When you see someone talking to an author, you want to talk to that author as well.

I don’t remember if Sean had a pitch about his books, but his display was so fun-looking that I had to stop by. It was then that I realized I knew this guy! So having a gimmick, as it were, helps. It shows you put thought into your time at the festival, which tells readers that you really care.

If you’d like to win a copy of one of the Treasure Hunters books, leave a comment. We will use a random number generator to determine the winner.

Best,

Belinda

Worderella Around the Web

Dear Reader,

We’ve been busy here behind the scenes, researching and writing and preparing for contests and such.

• Haunting Miss Trentwood was spotlighted by The Frugal eReader on their website, Facebook, and Twitter. Yay!
• I updated the Bright Bird Press website, something long overdue.
• We have a Cafe Press store full of awesome product tie-ins for Catching the Rose and Haunting Miss Trentwood. The ones for Haunting Miss Trentwood are especially cool.
• Have a Wowio account? Awesome! Because now you can get your copies of Haunting Miss Trentwood and Catching the Rose there.
• Remember Sean McCartney? He wants to give his most recent book to one lucky reader of this blog. We’re pulling together a giveaway that will be ready to go in early June.
• I answered some fun questions at the Indie Bee Covers website for their author spotlight.

I’m also continuing to do research for The Rebel’s Hero. As I learn, I’ve been going back through chapters to better describe the situation of the Civil War at the timeline of the book. This gives me a much more solid understanding of who the characters are, and why, which will help me write the best of the book. It stinks to backtrack, but it’s worth the effort.

And that’s everything that’s happening in my part of the world! Tell me, how are things going for you?

Best,

Belinda

Guest Post and Giveaway

Dear Reader,

I’m doing my best to catch up with everything after my conference last week, and feel like I’m failing miserably. But that doesn’t mean you have to suffer my tardiness! Check out my guest post at Word Nerd and leave a comment there to win a signed print copy of Haunting Miss Trentwood plus the coffin-shaped soap that goes with it!

Best,

Belinda

Dreaming of Books Giveaway

Dear Reader,

I’ve been selected as January’s “Author of the Month” over at A Buckeye Girl Reads. Make sure to check out the interview and leave some love. :) I like that idea, highlighting local authors (I’m on Ohio). Maybe I’ll do something similar, but with indie authors…

Now then. It’s a new month, which means we have a new giveaway! All you have to do is agree to sign up for my newsletter and agree to write a review for my upcoming book of short stories, Love or Lack Thereof. At the end of the giveaway, you will receive a 100%-off discount code to “buy” Love or Lack Thereof.

I am trying to get more reviews on Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon.com. Goodreads.com is always appreciated. I’ll send you the information through the newsletter when we get closer to the release date, which looks like it will be March.

Pretty simple, right? Happy new year!

Best,
Belinda

Midwinter Giveaway Hop

Dear Reader,

We have another giveaway! It’s the holidays and there’s nothing better than free stuff.

This giveaway is super easy. Leave a comment on this post to enter the contest to receive a free digital copy of my first book, Catching the Rose. I am giving away three copies. I hope if you win you will agree to review it, but that’s totally up to you.

That isn’t all, though! Everyone who comments saying they agree to review my short story “Mad Maxine” will win a free digital copy of the story.

So really, you have nothing to lose! Comment and you will win something.

This giveaway will run from December 21 – 22, but I’m accepting submissions from December 20 – 22.

Want to see what other blogs are offering? Check out the participating blogs at the bottom of the giveaway hop page.

Happy holidays!

Belinda

Spooktacular Giveaway Begins!

Dear Reader,

You are in luck. I am giving away three books in celebration of the Haunting Miss Trentwood book launch. This giveaway is in conjunction with the Spooktacular giveaway hop.

What do you win?

You have the chance at winning a free signed copy of Catching the Rose, or one of two signed copies of Haunting Miss Trentwood.

How do you enter?

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Goodreads and fill out this form. You are not disqualified if you already follow me on any of these networks. Make sure you chose the Facebook fan page, and not my personal profile.

Are multiple entries allowed?

Yes! You are allowed five additional entries after the Twitter follow. This means I will accept a total of six contest entries.

Acceptable additional entries include:

• tweeting the contest
• friending me on Goodreads
• liking my page on Facebook
• linking to the contest through your blog or Facebook

Each additional entry requires returning to this form to provide a link to ensure I saw it.

The contest will close at midnight on October 31. The winners will be selected using a spreadsheet and random.org to ensure fairness.

I do ask that winners post a review of the books on Goodreads, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.

Best of luck, contest hopeful!

Belinda

PS. Check out the other goodies in the Spooktacular Blog Hop Giveaway!

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

Dear Reader,

It’s October, which means Haunting Miss Trentwood is coming to you soon! In celebration of this, I’ve joined the Spooktacular giveaway hop.

Details will come later, but as a teaser, I will be giving away a copy of Catching the Rose and two copies of my soon-to-be-released book, Haunting Miss Trentwood. There will be a number of ways to enter the contest. To qualify, you must follow me on Twitter @worderella. To submit multiple entries you can…

• Comment here at Worderella Writes
• Tweet the contest
• Become my friend on Goodreads
• Become my friend on Facebook
• Link to the contest through your blog or Facebook
• Leave a review on Goodreads, etc.

You may submit up to ten entries each day over the length of the contest, October 25-31. Unfortunately, only USA entries are accepted.

By the way, we’re 57% funded for Haunting Miss Trentwood. Pre-order your copy at http://kck.st/ck1n9t. We have ten days to go, and every dollar counts toward the $640 we need to raise!

All the best,

Belinda

Stumbling Blocks, Workshops, and a Contest

“Nobody’s perfect, I gotta work it again and again ’til I get it right…”
Nobody’s Perfect sung by Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus

Well, Hannah Montana’s right on the money with this one. This song should be the theme for all writers in the editing phase.

I have been an editing machine, lately. That is, until I hit chapter 24, where the draft became muddy. Apparently I was experimenting when I wrote this chapter and the couple after it. The results from the experimentation are faulty at best.

Conclusion: I have to alter a major subplot of…oh, I guess I’d say the last third of the book.

This is a little frustrating. I don’t remember writing chapters clogged with internal dialogue, unnecessary angst, and way too much exposition. I’m cutting pages, chapters even, fighting through to get back to the essentials.

The Workshop

I’m holding an online editing workshop next week to contribute to Lynn Viehl’s Left Behind & Loving It (LB&LI) convention. I’ll tackle a different facet of editing each day:

1. Monday: Put that shitty first draft away
2. Tuesday: Be brutally honest
3. Wednesday: Show, don’t tell
4. Thursday: Tell, don’t show
5. Friday: Focus on those nitty gritty details

There will be links to worksheets, websites, and books that should help you edit your own work. I’m providing a lot of these links because I know people edit in different ways, and I want to help as many people as possible.

The Contest

At the end of the week, I’ll give a free critique of the first three chapters (or the first 50 pages, whichever is shorter) of one commenter whose name I will pull from a hat. To be eligible…

1. You must comment during the LB&LI week (July 28 to August 3).
2. Your comment must be on an LB&LI post, following the theme of the day.
3. You must comment here on the blog, http://blog.worderella.com. I can’t see your comment if you’re reading me on LiveJournal, for example.
4. Your chapters/excerpt must be prose. Double-spaced, twelve pt font, Times New Roman or something similar.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, August 5. I read all genres, so don’t worry if you’re interested but don’t write historical fiction or romance. I’ll try to be as fair and as honest as possible to help you. Whether you accept my suggestions or not is your prerogative, of course.

I’ll provide my comments using the Microsoft Word comment feature. If you don’t have a Windows machine, or if you don’t have Microsoft Word, we can work something out.