Writers in the Storm

A blog about writing

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June 6, 2016

Summertime Reading -- Let's Pimp and Promote!

Summer

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Summer is coming up fast and here at Writers in the Storm we're marking the occasion with a little "Pimp and Promote." Of course, this always costs us some money, because we have to go out and buy lots of books. But there will be awesome "beach read" sales in next few weeks, so let's go for it!

How does this work?

To quote the genie in Aladdin, “There are a few provisos, a couple of quid-pro-quos…"

  • Pimp out somebody else’s work – this can be a favorite author, blogger, post or book you’ve read, a wonderful teacher or just someone who had profound influence on you as a writer or a person. Please limit your comments to one work.
    AND
  • Promote one of your projects that you’re excited about – a hobby, a blog, a book, or a new direction your writing is taking you. You decide. Just tell us about it in the comments! (Please restrain your enthusiasm to just one of your WIPs.) The rest of us will jump in and “ooooh and ahh” at you, and likely promote your project even further because we’re just so darn excited today.

We'll start things off by doing some P&P with the gals here at WITS...

Fae Rowen has been a world traveler lately, as we discovered in her latest post, Use Your Summer Activities to Deepen Your Character's POV. You can visit her updated website here. There's a wonderful short story about her stint in a convent.

Jenny Hansen does ghostwriting, WordPress sites, social media marketing and copywriting. Additionally, she's fine-tuning her first finished novel and training at an accounting firm. You can enjoy her silly fun at her personal blog, More Cowbell. Her post today is An Open Letter to America's Butt Impersonators...

Laura Drake's latest book, Against the Odds, released last week and it rocks. This is the final installment of her Widow's Grove series. Watch Laura read the first scene of her work-in-progress, Cross Roads, here.

Orly Konig-Lopez is participating in the Women's Fiction Writers Association Summer Reading Challenge. The mission, read as many WFWA member titles as possible during the summer months. There  are weekly prizes and a grand prize announced after Labor Day. If you love women's fiction, this reading challenge is for you! Come join the fun.

See? Easy-peasy. Only one of us wrote this, but all of us are represented - that's the spirit of P&P.

Don't be shy -- tell your pals! 

We are open for as many entries as you want, and you're welcome to send anyone who reads great stuff our way. We want to hear about it! Be sure to peruse the comments. You might find a few things you like in the plethora of pimping that’s about to ensue.

Thanks again for making WITS one of the top writer’s blogs. We appreciate you!

~  Fae, Jenny, Laura and Orly

41 comments on “Summertime Reading -- Let's Pimp and Promote!”

    1. Fun! That's a generous sample, Abby. 🙂 I keep thinking I need to sign up for Kindle Unlimited but it just sounds like it would be dangerous for me - there would be no budget to keep my reading in check...

  1. I just shared this blog on FB and Twitter. Every writer should save time for reading. But every writer must also write daily. My wip at the moment? The Best Hotel Royale, a revamp of the first book I ever finished which will soon be republished since I've gotten all rights to it back. I will never forget the rush I got when I wrote "the end" when I finished writing it that first time.

    1. Thanks, OlderWriter! We appreciate it. And congratulations on getting your rights back. All my long-time published pals say that's a Christmas-like event. 🙂

  2. I just finished Eleven Hours by Pamela Erens--oh my! So wonderful! It reads like very well-written women's fiction for the first half, and then the second half of the book SOARS in ways that left me completely gobsmacked. I can't say enough about this slim novel put out by Tin House. Meanwhile, I'm editing my new novel, Folly Cove, out in October--it's about three sisters who grow up in an historic inn on the North Shore of Massachusetts whose lives all fall apart at pretty much the same time--secrets, secrets, secrets! https://www.amazon.com/Folly-Cove-Holly-Robinson-ebook/dp/B01AHKXI3I?ie=UTF8&qid=&ref_=tmm_kin_swatch_0&sr=

  3. I'm very excited for the release (tomorrow, June 7!) of Canadian author Peggy Blair's Umbrella Man, 4th book in her terrific Inspector Ramirez mystery series. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0176M3YK2

    And I'd like to invite everyone to visit my blog - fresh posts every Wednesday on an eclectic range of subjects from humor to ancestry to cats, plus a bi-weekly author feature called The Write Spot - where we peek inside the spaces where writers write. http://kannonsgarden.blogspot.com

    Now, off to see what others are pimping and promoting!

  4. Thank you for letting me participate in Pimp for a Day! 🙂

    I have a new romantic comedy release! Lilliana Jones and the Temple of Groom.

    The Blurb: When her best friend stages a love-life intervention with a psychic at a Chinese restaurant, Lilly Jones suddenly finds herself flying to Rome in search of her future husband. The only thing separating Lilly from true love is the fear of flying, lactose intolerance, a scandal with the Pope, and the sexy Italian she meets on the plane.

    The Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FMO2SOY

    Thanks again. 🙂

    1. We're very big pimp fans over here, Rich. I've been seeing your titles in many places and the time has come! I'm building my reading list for our summer vacation - this post was completely self-serving. 🙂

  5. My memoir, SCATTERING ASHES, A Memoir of Letting Go, published by She rites Press, will be available in September.

    In this well-wrought memoir, Joan Rough shows us the beauty of becoming the alchemist of one's own life. What happens after she invites her elderly, narcissistic mother to move in to her home will often set your teeth on edge. The amazing ending, however, will leave you standing in awe at the power of love. Shirley Hershey Showalter, author of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World.

    It is available for pre-order at:

    http://www.amazon.com/Scattering-Ashes-Memoir-Letting-Go/dp/1631520954/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465223323&sr=1-1&keywords=Scattering+Ashes

  6. Laurel Garver just released a sequel to her novel Never Gone. (Christian YA, great, beautifully written story about a teenager dealing with the death of her father.) https://www.amazon.com/Never-Gone-Laurel-Garver-ebook/dp/B0096DWVSG?ie=UTF8&keywords=laurel%20garver&qid=1465223753&ref_=sr_1_3&s=digital-text&sr=1-3

    My YA time travel, Screwing Up Time is on sale for 99 cents. (It was an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award quarterfinalist.) https://www.amazon.com/Screwing-Up-Time-Book-ebook/dp/B005CF7NSK?ie=UTF8&qid=1333642821&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

  7. I'd like to pimp my fellow author Brynn Chapman, whose book The Requiem Red, by Month9Books is phenomenal! Link: https://amzn.com/B01C27FD46

    And my own book, THE GHOST CHRONICLES, is a perfect summertime beach read because this paranormal romance was inspired by the legend of a haunting at the Angel of the Sea B&B in Cape May, NJ! The book was recently named FINALIST in the National Indie Excellence Awards and continues to garner rave reviews. Can Michael get to heaven before the devil gets him first, and if it means leaving Sarah is he sure he still wants to go? Find out here: https://amzn.com/B017DWXPTA

  8. Just finished Laura Lippman's WILDE LAKE. I've loved her Baltimore-centric crime novels. This one takes place in the "new town" of Columbia. Loved her descriptions of the neighborhoods and the story was so compelling I sat still and read the whole thing. http://www.lauralippman.net P.S. Don't know Laura. Just a fan.
    I'm still revising my very first historical novel but I write a travel blog, born from my Frommer's days. Maybe it will give someone an idea about how escape for A Day Away.
    https://adayawaytravel.wordpress.com
    Now I'll go check out all these other books. Thanks.

  9. Great idea!

    Pimping out my friend, David Bridger's new release, Storywalker. A fantasy, I just finished yesterday, it's reminiscent of an epic fantasy. I read it straight through! Left a review of it on Amazon.

    My promote is my latest release, Kindred Spirits. It's the third in my Brown Rain series of what are supposed to be novelettes but Kindred Spirits ran into novella, nearly novel range. It's a SciFi YA dystopian story about friendship, hardship, and growth. http://www.amazon.com/Kindred-Spirits-Brown-Rain-3/dp/1530347831

    1. I'd like to be Margie's pimp too. I did an immersion class with her for a week when she came to Silicon Valley a couple of months ago. Awesome experience and highly recommended. 🙂

    2. Hear, hear! I think most of us can't say enough about the genius of Margie Lawson. She helps us all be the writers we dream of being. 🙂

  10. I'm currently reading If I Loved You I Would Tell You This by Robin Black, a collection of short stories that are heartwrenching and thought-provoking and exquisitely written (my book has highlights on nearly every page). Can't wait to read her novel.

    And my book, Girls' Weekend, which was released in May by The Story Plant, is a perfect beach read about every mom's dream - running away from her life. It tells the story of three friends who go away for a weekend at the beach and decide to stay. For every woman who has ever asked, "Is this all there is?"

  11. I just finished My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Frederik Backman, It is the best book I have read this year. Full of mystery, fantasy, magic, heartache, humor and more.
    I would like to promote my blog, writingtowardhome.com I post 2-3 times a week, offering encouragement, Wordplay Wednesday activities to spark writing ideas, and my own essays, stories and poems. Thanks for the opportunity!

  12. My dear friend Alisha Knaff has helped found a small press, Razorgirl Press, to publish the Four Windows project, a quartet of paranormal and fantasy stories based around a specific city. The first quartet is based around Seattle. http://www.razorgirlpress.com/

    I have started posting a serial novel, Fidele, at https://misslucyjane.me/

    The blurb: A haunted house is no place to fall in love.

    Malcolm Carmichael has been coping with his post-war trauma by taking lovers, teaching art to schoolboys, and trying to ignore the ghosts he sees everywhere. At the death of his mother, he realizes he wants more than just to coast on by, and leaves the exclusive school in search of something more.

    Caleb Thibodeaux was so traumatized by the death of his parents in a fire that he hasn’t spoken a word since. His uncle Noel hires Malcolm to be his tutor, and Malcolm discovers that Caleb is not the only Thibodeaux son with secrets. The plantation house Fidele is beautiful but haunted, and Noel is much the same.

    Soon Malcolm is absorbed in protecting Caleb and Noel, and in uncovering the story of Fidele.

  13. Hello, All! 🙂

    Marie Force has the first two of her beloved Gansett Island series FREE. This steamy, much-loved series is the perfect beach read--okay, porch and couch read, too LOL! You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/marie.force?pnref=story. I'm on number...nine, I think it is--still turning pages and loving it!

    As for my own work, I'd like to tout my Shades of Blue island story, found here: http://amzn.to/1Y3V0J9. The blurb:

    Heart-broken and reeling with grief, Charlie flees to a far-flung tropical island in search of a safe haven where she can let her treasured memories consume her. Hiding away from the world, she battles nightmares and fresh tragedy while trying to make sense of her new reality.

    Living his island dream, firefighter-turned-fisherman Gabe Montgomery is determined to be Charlie’s port in her storm of pain and loss. Blindsided by life-changing revelations from his own past followed by the possibility of terrifying personal loss, Gabe realizes that sometimes letting go is as much a part of love as holding on.

    When Charlie and Gabe acknowledge their powerful connection and cling to one another for comfort and hope, both face a frightening dilemma: surrender to the past, or face the challenges in front of them.

    Will the memories and mistakes consume them or can Charlie and Gabe hold fast to each other and the hope that will bring them to a promising future together?

    Amazon link: http://amzn.to/1Y3V0J9.

    What a great post today, Jenny--thanks 🙂 My TBR list is growing by leaps and bounds! ~~

  14. I'm thrilled to pimp <a href="http://cruisingwriters.com/upcoming-writing-retreats/"CRUISING WRITERS -- an amazing writing workshop/retreat on a cruise ship this October. A few spots are still available, and you'd be riding the Caribbean seas while soaking up instruction from writing coach Margie Lawson, bestselling author Steena Holmes, and more. Plus, you get to hang out and pitch to an editor and an agent. Writing time and ports-of-call too! If the ocean isn't your thing, check out the land retreat at a chateau in France scheduled for April 2017. I'll be at both retreats -- would love to see y'all there!

    Not much to promote right now, since I'm in the middle of editing, editing, editing. But I finished the rewrite of my novel DARING CHARLOTTE, so I've been having a personal celebration about that one.

    Thanks! Always love seeing what people pimp/promote. I've learned about some great stuff here.

  15. I've just finished reading Tony Dunbar's - Tubby Dubonnet series - set in New Orleans, Tubby is a lawyer who enjoys all the best that New Orleans eateries have to offer. Great series - I enjoyed each and every book. http://www.amazon.com/Tubby-Dubonnet-8-Book/dp/B014E3H4XY/ref=sr_1_1_ha?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1465241762&sr=1-1&keywords=tubby+dubonnet+series

    On my own front - the first book in the Crater Lake Series - Disappearing in Plain Sight - is FREE until midnight PST today, June 6th. Enjoy! https://www.amazon.com/Disappearing-Plain-Sight-Crater-Lake-ebook/dp/B00TTNEEB0?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

  16. Members of my cooperative have released a flurry of books. My friend, Susan Brown has released a new romance with her writing partner Ann Stephenson, Undone by the Star as Stephanie Browning and a YA, Dragons of Desert and Dust. I am just reading the romance now, it is clever and has a strong well developed female protagonist. http://www.susanbrownwrites.com/books-by-susan/

    I'm deep into my second book, but have recently published my first project, Old Baggage, I call it an OA, old adult story of a woman finally leaving, and making a life of her own. Available on Amazon, and visit me at http://www.tonikief.com. https://www.facebook.com/tonikief8author/

  17. Pimping another writer. I just finished reading Jojo Moyes's Me Before You--and it was wonderful. The characters felt real, the story situations were challenging and left me thinking about hard issues. And romance? Yes, two souls getting to know one another on a deep level.

    Pimping myself. My most recent release is A Measure of Happiness. Small town baker Katherine Lamontagne has spent the last twenty-four years dishing out cakes and comfort to the citizens of Hidden Harbor, Maine and keeping the secret of the son she gave away to herself. Until that son comes looking for her, making her reconsider her life and the meaning of family.

    Did I mention there's romance? And blueberry muffins, recipe included: http://www.amazon.com/Measure-Happiness-Lorrie-Thomson/dp/0758293321/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425515544&sr=8-1&keywords=a+measure+of+happiness

  18. Newly released From Mormon to Mermaid: One Woman's Voyage From Oppression to Freedom by Lorelei is available on Amazon.com. After fifty years in the Mormon Church, Lorelei leaves the church. This is her honest, soul-searching, and award-winning novel by one brave woman!

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