Calling All Historical Authors!

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This is an exciting opportunity for Historical genre authors. Share your knowledge and get exposure to other authors and readers alike. This is a continuing column so there is no specific deadline. Submit today!

Breaking News!

http://bit.ly/InDScribeFacebook

This news is so BIG we had to give you almost a whole year to save the date, reserve your lodgings, make travel plans and of course--get there!!!!!

Reviews to watch for:

Playing Cupid (Heavenly Bites Novella)    by Christina S. Feldman   Short Romance
The Best Medicine                                       by Tracy Brogan               Romance
From the Frozen Depths (Children of the King Series) by Gloria Clover   Inspirational Romance
I Will Sing My Songs for You                      by Harry McGilloway       Contemporary
Ava's Wishes                                                by Karen Poktras                Contemporary Romance
Beautiful One                                               by Mary Cope                      Young Adult - Romance

It's been a busy couple of months with reading these novels and a few more. Stop by on Sundays for a sneak peak at my full reviews where they can be found at InDTale.com
Signing up is free and there are a lot more reviews by other professionals just like me. At InDTales, we support indy authors and small publishers.At InDTales, we make quality reads easier for you to find and download.
(Download book for purchase from Amazon by clicking on cover art. Sorry, I don't feel it wise to offer the same service here.)

Happy reading!
Note: As a professional reviewer, I cannot accept requests to read and review manuscripts personally. Thanks for understanding.
But hey, if your book is polished and ready to publish, why not submit it to InDTales for a free, honest and professional review! See enclosed links for submission guidelines.

The 25th Hour by Jaye Garland

Sheridan Wells, a Houston architect, accidentally falls through the fabric of time in a way that keeps the reader searching for the cause as much as the character does in 1877. 

For full review, please visit: http://indtale.com

Cub Creek by Grace Greene

Libbie Havens likes being on her own and when she stumbles upon an old home on Cub Creek she buys it. Her cousin, Liz, isn't sure it is the right thing to do and Libbie finds her decision fraught with challenges. 

To read full review visit: http://indtale.com

Silver Linings

Drew Westfall is running from a past he is ashamed of: The cold cruelty of money. What he doesn't realize is that running isn't the answer, especially when confronted with the late winter of Bridger, Colorado. 

This is the second book from Kaylee Baldwin that I've read and mentioned here. This one out shines the last if that is possible! Her books are filled with the same spirit she radiates in person.

Please visit http://indtale.com/magazine for the full review.

Well done Kaylee!

Love's Duplicity Update

Be the first to know and it's a secret--not the one related to InD'Tale e magazine, It is on its way (okay in a round about way) to Hollywood...






(SCREAM)  
                  Hands a little jittery at the moment.
                                                                     Skeeeee!!!!!!

Blackout

Aurora Black has very little memory of her life before waking up in a box with dead bodies. She should be dead; instead her ability to survive is complicated ...

Please visit http://indtale.com/magazine for a full review.

Sign-up for free subscription.

What's the secret?

I've got a secret, (singy songy voice) but I can't share it.www.InDTale.com Check back 'cause I have a big mouth on this one and trust me, this one is BIG!

Love's Duplicity Update

May are aware, and some are not, at one time this project was slated for being published under three separate covers as a trilogy. Today it stands a a 600+ page volume, parts One, Two, and Three. Beta Readers have it in their hands, both those who have read two of the previously mentioned books and those reading this tale for the first time. Early reports are promising.
Now I have two tasks:
1) decide if I will Indie publish or submit to an agent. Hummm. Big decision.
2) Finish the review on my plate and get busy writing while the ideas are fresh and still not fleshed out...you see, I tend to get bored once I figure out all the details. I just know that the next one has several four foot critters in it. Getting you to love the critters and the characters is the puzzle to be solved on my end.

Monday Meetings

Monday and meetings seem to go together and well, let's face it--something always goes wrong.

Today our meeting included reviewers (professional) from around the globe. Our biggest glitch is getting everyone on the Google+ chat group. We failed. Okay, try another and more complicated program. (They will remain nameless) FAILURE. Back to Google+ with only ten of us. What can I say? For being located around the world, we are a pretty tight group. A family of nutysy sisters bent on a joint goal: To bring readers and Indie authors together.

I myself am a reader and writer (Obviously if you've hung out here for a bit.)

I can't share the meeting agenda with you but.... hang on. Find your favorite InD'Tale Reviewer to follow and a few awesome indie books and watch carefully. We will be releasing some major BIG news soon.

Hint: We've got to cover legal bases!!!
www.indtale.com

Tequila Mockingbird

Rachel finds the new and improved Kes gorgeous in spite of her friend's claims to his bad character. But when her sister is kidnapped, she can't turn to the police and finds herself needing Kes's help.

Please visit http://indtale.com/magazine for full review. While there, sign up for free subscription and get reviews of indie authors books every month.

The Case of the Killer Divorce

Jamie Quinn is a family law attorney nearing the end of yet another divorce case but this one has the parties in tears and issuing threats as the custody battle ensues. 

When the soon-to-be ex-husband turns up dead, Jamie finds herself in the middle of yet another murder needing to be solved. 
Please visit http://indtale.com/magazine for the full review and while you're there sign-up for your free subscription!

"Park" --maybe

Southern Idaho 1960's

Byline: June Bridger (One of my many aliases)

We lived about 500 yards from the old church. From the first snow until late spring we drove to church. Seems a bit silly now with gas prices well over $3.00 a gallon but my parents had their reasons; a passel of children as in too many to put in seatbelts the youngest barely toddling, cold as in below freezing temps, and dirt roads that were muddy until well into May and then the spring showers came so well, we usually drove.

Of course as we girls approached our teen years we were notoriously late getting ready. It wasn't because of the boys at church; we were related to most of them, the nice looking ones anyway. Who knows why we were always late, the church had a restroom fit for a queen with a mirror covering one wall. I know, I used to wonder how it would break after breaking the one at home. {Cringe}

If you are a churchgoer out in the farming community the fact is that church is your one time each week which affords adults to relate to adults on an adult level without the notorious party-line. Lest you think the women have a corner on this verbal frat party, I share this, my first--very first driving lesson.

Picture a beautiful spring day. It hasn't rained for weeks so the roads are dry, thus most of the family has walked home, including Mom with the younger children. I approach Dad. He is deep in discussion as to how crops are doing without the crop needed rains.

"Dad, um…" I don't stutter, but I think I did that day. "Can we go now?"

Dad hands me the keys with, "You take the car home. I'll walk."

I'm not sure if he forgot which kid I was or maybe how old I was (at the time I was eleven.) Maybe he figured I was like my older brothers, who were both driving tractors since they could reach the pedals.

"Daaaad." You know that sing-song-y voice a kid uses to convey anything from begging to horror? That's the one I used and somehow it got lost in translation 'cause I clearly recall my white knuckles as I peered over the steering wheel, my heel, all inch and a half of it, caught under the gas pedal. I honestly don't remember the drive, just the screaming of tires as I pulled into the yard, and the slamming on the brakes with both shoeless feet in order to stop before I hit the 500 gallon gas tank. Not sure I even put it in "park."

---

 [s1]Good Old Days 6/18/14

Out of the Ordinary Outhouse

Submitted to Good Old Days 6/15/2014

Byline Jules West (Jules, in case you haven't met her will be my alter ego for timetravel novels in the future - yes, pun intended.) (For my sister whose memories of this outhouse are quite different. Happy birthday sis.)

The Crapper has been long romanticized by Hollywood, but I wonder if the one we had when I was a kid was so unique. The typical Crapper has three walls, a roof to keep the rain and snow off of you and a door on the front that opens to a seat with a hole just the right size for an adult bottom. A roll of toilet paper is optional although my mother insisted on the necessity. Between German stubbornness and Danish ingenuity they came upon a solution. A bucket, by the time I came along an empty paint bucket was nailed securely to a 2x4 and the lumber then nailed to the side of the standard throne. If the roll ran out, the old Montgomery Wards Christmas catalogue sat on the back corner or the wide seat.

Having drawn you that picture, let me describe the reality of my earlier years and our Out of the Ordinary Outhouse. None of the cute little house here. Ours was positioned on the back porch--of an abandoned settler's house. The relatively solidity of the house stood between the crapper seat and the main road, but we lived on the northeast corner of the forty acres with a road on both the north and east side. Enter the efficiency of a Danish farmer long used to making ends meet. Along the north wall my father nailed up what I've come to know as fiber board, which is great at blocking the winter wind-- until ones big brothers get the brainy idea to drill a hole with a stick so as to terrorize their younger sisters while they, the sisters, are tending to necessary business. Those holes never got plugged and after there are about four of them, so as to get the occupant dead center of their back, a gust of winter can nigh freeze your tender backside to a frail pinkish blue.

But I get ahead of myself. I've only mentioned two walls. The west wall runs along a ditch bordered on the other side by a wide field often filled with growing crops, but the beauty of it is that it is not a solid wall. It doesn't reach the rafters overhead nor fully to the ground either. Many a visits I have watched the cats walk through that wall. Now, let's focus on the south wall, the one the occupant stares at while busy at work. Stare because the wall only covers roughly three quarters of the space from east to west leaving the south west corner open to the fresh air. Yep, I'm not lying. One does not visit this unique Crapper without learning how to whistle. Why? One must whistle while traversing the path once you round the corner of the chicken coop so that any occupant can hear you on approach. The occupant's responsibility is to whistle to let the newcomer know that the space is in use. This works well until the first time a young little girl, me, in this case, is startled in the middle of a major "push" to finish the job. I still remember that weak tweet of a dying baby bird. I knew the whistler by the tune he always whistled. My whistle, dead as it was, gave way to an urgent need.

"No! No! Don't come…" At that point I glanced over at the empty paint can to where the trusty roll should have been. Nothing, nada. Not even the empty roll.

I eyed the Christmas catalogue. Keep in mind that the catalogue was my reading, okay, not reading but dreaming book. How could one tear out a glossy page of ones dreams to finish the paper work of a necessary job? In all honesty, I don't remember really finishing that job.

Now, that isn't the end of the story. Remember I mentioned the chicken coop? Chickens attract skunks .One never, seriously, never visited the outhouse in the middle of the night. One could hold it indefinitely on a cold winter evening, thus having the very enjoyable (?) experience of a sleepless night. (My mother refused to have even one chamber pot, no matter how beautiful. They had to be cleaned and no amount of scrubbing refreshed them to a clean enough state for her as a German city girl.)

That being said, we had a herd of cats to keep the field mice in the fields and a dog or two that were kept close to home. As a kid, I never understood the reason until one morning my fragile, little girl bladder had experienced a very long winter night.  Dancing, I pulled on my winter coat and gumboots over my flannel night gown and headed for the Crapper with the cats and dogs along for company. As I rounded the corner of the chicken coop I realized the cats had scattered. This was nothing new as they often did when I passed the scrap bowl. But the dog was growling, and not at me. Let's just say I left a rather obvious trail as I ran from that smelly black and white critter. And the dog? Well, he got left in the cold until a tomato bath could be arranged in the spring.

July Update - Release in Paperback!

So, in the afterglow of my book's arrival in print, it is time for me to resume my usual writing activities. For those of you who don't know, I studiously try to complete at least one short story for freelance every writing day (that is five days a week), namely: Chicken Soup for the Soul, Good Old Days, Reminisce and True Renditions and I'm looking for others. I have too many psuedomyns to list but some stories will be in my 'real' name.  

For my 'day job' over at InD'Tale Emagazine. I need to read/review at least one chapter of a novel pretty much every day to complete my assignments. This is easy with some books, but feels like have teeth pulled with others. (You are welcome to slip over there, sign-up for a free subscription and find out what I've recently read and what I thought of it.) I'm not overly good at sharing partial reviews here.

And--the biggy that takes first position on my list of priorities, work in my WIP.

(Currently operating under the title of Love's Duplicity.) This is my baby--and he, yes he, is gorgeous! Therefore I am taking more time with him (Okay, I'm in love with Trevor and you'll have to pick up the book when it is published to find out why. Let's just say I make him suffer a lot because I'm so fond of him. Why not? He handles it, maybe not beautifully, but he comes to the last page knowing who he is, where he has been, and where he is going.) How many of us can say that?

Oh! And did I mention the continued promotion of Dark Days of Promise? You can help me with that one by sharing a link to this blog  or this link for Facebook on all your pages. Thanks in advance!

Bittersweet Secret

I recently submitted this short to Reminisce Magazine under the psuedonym of June Bridger. Please watch for it 

Bittersweet Secret

I swallow my last morsel of chocolate, the bitter biting my parched throat awakening a precious memory of my childhood. Southeastern Idaho in the mid 1960's. Dad drove a turquoise blue pick-up everyday to feed the cattle. The exceptions were when the cattle were out on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) range for the summer. Summer in this case was just late enough in the spring that all the cows had calved and the snow had given way to tender shoots of grass.

On one of many spring days that Dad didn't take the pick-up out to work, I learned that being a small child left to her own devises could be very rewarding. The first time I stood tall enough to open the pick-up door and climb in was for purely innocent reasons--to play driving. Yep, we had an old car sitting in the driveway but its tires were missing. Thus the pick-up looked to much more inviting. It, after all, could really drive down the road.

Being a child of 3 or 4-years of age, I firmly gripped the steering wheel and happily "pretended" to drive and bounce down the road. I timed the trip to the distant corner, played with the blinker, making it click several times, and turned the corner. That's when I discovered the brown bag sitting on the seat beside me. A brown bag with "IGA" lettering.

Of course I knew that spelled grocery store and wondered why would Dad leave a grocery bag in the truck? Hum. Did he buy something that he forgot to take into the house? (Visualize me sitting a little taller with indignant righteousness-- even if I didn't know those words at the time, I knew the correct posture to adopt the appropriate attitude.)

I opened the bag and what do you think I found? No, my dad wasn't a drinker so it wasn't liquor. I found the biggest hunk of chocolate in the world. (Okay, my limited world.) It wasn't melting, the temps were still cool. But it was open… I slithered down in the seat, making myself invisible should Mom glance out the windows looking for me. Carefully unwrapping one end, (You may want to imagine "careful" for a pre-school-er) I sniffed, I licked and yeah, I bit. Problem with that first bite was that it wasn't big enough. I stretched my jaw wide and sank my teeth into the chocolate expecting it to break off as easily at the first nibble had.

Was I surprised! I have no recollection of how long it took me to whittle away at that hunk of chocolate to hide my teeth marks. Do you have any idea the skill it takes to etch a smooth line with your front teeth? Let it suffice to say that I never found a hunk of chocolate in Dad's truck again, at least not milk chocolate. I did find on occasion a hunk of white chocolate-- the real stuff that gives me a headache so I leave it alone. I've also found Spanish peanuts--I think I finished off most of the bag. And cookies…my favorite, and apparently Dad's too were Keebler's striped chocolate.

As a kid I thought I was so clever at hiding my thievery. Now I just smile knowing Dad kept my secret. He generally took the pick-up in the morning, bringing it home at lunch and often left it in the driveway in the afternoon. Of course I had to time it right, eat lunch with Dad, take a nap and steal treats before the older kids got home from school. Dad never spanked me for eating his goodies, nor did he say anything to me about it. But I know now--he knew and he helped his baby girl keep her Bittersweet Secret.

---

 [s1]Submitted to Reminisce 6/18/14

The End, My Friend (Prelude to the Apocalypse) Review

Tony and Evo Pernicano must leave their home to survive the general meltdown of society in a future world gone awry.http://indtale.com/reviews/suspense-thriller/end-my-friend-prelude-apocalypse for a full review.

Mantras for my Birthday

While working on my Trilogy (yes, it will be available soon), I realized that one character uses a mantra to help another. It got me thinking about the "mantas" that I subconsciously chat to myself throughout the day. I'm sure you use them to. The question is: Are our 'self-mantras' a disability or a strength? I spent most of my walk (the part I managed before my walking buddy arrived) considering my mantras. I was stunned at the loathing reflected in one or two. What? you say, Shaunna loathes herself? Well, I'd like to say, "not so!" But…the evidence was clear and lest I derail my positivity, which I am trying to 'grow', I'll not share those negative mantras because they are along the lines of what most of us do every time we look in a mirror and don't like what we see.

Time for positives here and I will do so by sharing some of my 'new' mantras which you are welcome to copy and use.

Looking in the mirror, I say out loud with conviction (Don't laugh, this may be harder for you than you think, I know the first time it took me awhile,) "I honestly and completely love who I am now."

I can't take the credit for that one, a friend shared it from her hypnotherapy class, noting that a few of the attendees really struggled with doing this with a hand held mirror passed around the room. One was even in tears as she passed the mirror more than twice.

Therefore, I am creating my own mantras and as part of my self esteem, I share them here.

I am beautiful.

I feel creative today.

I feel happy, healthy, and strong.

And--

                I feel comfortable in my skin.

                I feel full of energy.

                I feel in control of my body.

                I feel my belly melting away.

I kiss my belly fat good bye.

Maybe sharing these will help another. Such is my Birthday wish.

Arizona Dreamin'

Proof that I do leave the house.

I must admit to not getting to know all four of these young men, but those I spent time with are sweethearts! Please feel free to visit my Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/shaunna.s.gonzales  for more photos. Sorry, no more of the guys, they are available for photo ops for book cover art. If you want a photo I suggest visiting https://www.facebook.com/groups/520294174735963/

UPDATE!!!

This fresh in from Amazon...Dark Days of Promise is available in paperback for a limited time at $9.49!!!!!! Great news and if you miss the sale, you can still snag a copy in the coming days. Last check at Amazon had price dropped to $8.99 for a short time!

Make Things Happen

Things do happen unexpectedly like the email I include here. But seriously, we've got to be proactive. Let me encourage you, especially if you are an author considering self-publishing... Learn from my mistakes. Decide NOW whether or not you are going the self-pub route. I have waffled on that decision for the better part of a year. Why? Because one of the big four was interested in the second book. Notice I said "interested" and "second book". I didn't have a contract or even the promise of a contract and it certainly didn't include the other two books.

Okay, so I'm one to think about things too long or jump without thinking--no middle of the road here in this animal chick. (I must think possitive.) That said, I really need to follow the links in the email that I'm sharing and jump BEFORE I squibble with my cover art, ISBNs, graphics, trailers, etc. Why? So I don't put needless energy where I don't need to. Think: Writers Conference at Home (at my own leisure, I might add.) Why isn't it just surfing the web and looking for articles? The $$$ and yes, I believe it will be worth it after attending #?? conferences already this year and walking away with useless info or repeated info, or a mess of networking that might fizzle. And for me that means -- between my polishing of Book Three, the Freelance writing I am currently doing, and the book reviews. Have I mentioned I'm a full time mom? So here, let me share the email which I'm invited to share. Enjoy and i hope the links work.

Hi Shaunna,

Today I was interviewed by a journalist for a story in a big magazine who is writing an article about self-publishing. A former Self-Pub Boot Camp student told her about me - thank you Susan! - and we had a very long talk. The journalist didn't know very much about self-publishing but she sure does now! I wonder how she's going to distill the information I gave her into a one-page article.

"What do self-publishers need to know most?" she asked.

"BUY YOUR OWN ISBN NUMBERS!" I replied, without hesitation. Oh no, did I shout? Maybe.

Buy a set of 10 for $250. You may not need 10, but one costs $150 and you need at least three: one for PDF (print), one for MOBI (Kindle) and one for EPUB (all other ebooks). You might also need one for your audio book and another for your multimedia edition.

The point is that with your own ISBN you can change services as you wish. Don't trap your book with a single service.

If you buy your own ISBNs you will not be sucked into purchasing a publishing package from one of the many services run by companies like the notoriously unscrupulous Author Solutions, because they do not allow you to apply you own ISBN number to a book they produce for you. Lesson: If you cannot apply your own ISBN, your book is essentially trapped with the company that owns it.

I also pointed the journalist to experts in my tribe... people who have founded companies based on their desire to help authors. I'm proud to say that many of these experts have participated in my Self-Pub Boot Camps, which are (in case you didn't know) are now online as a virtual program.

So that's my reminder to you, today. Please buy your own ISBNs from Bowker. It's the single most important action item for you to do in order to remain an independent author.

Please spread the word! Forward this email to your writer friends:
http://us4.forward-to-friend1.com/forward?u=dabcb9e533dcf9b66d2b0ebb1&id=d6be918179&e=93e175f383

Links:
Buy your ISBNs from Bowker here http://motosfo.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabcb9e533dcf9b66d2b0ebb1&id=44411bfe22&e=93e175f383
Indie Book School and Self-Pub Boot Camp http://motosfo.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabcb9e533dcf9b66d2b0ebb1&id=98d0e444bc&e=93e175f383

Thanks!
Carla
That's it! go explore but come back soon!

Missing Clayton Review

Five-year-old Clayton Kingsley is supposed to be experiencing his first day at school.  Things change when a stranger offers him a piece of chocolate, promising more in his vehicle parked a short distance away.

http://indtale.com/reviews/suspense-thriller

visit for a full review and other great reads reviews as well!

Life After Death Review

Maxine "Max" Logan is the epitome of snarky - in a positive light, if that is possible - in Ms. Saracino’s novel. This middle-aged divorcee is quite capable in her untalented way, facing the Grim Reaper and a few other bad characters in her role as a superhuman superhero "Retriever" in the Between.

http://indtale.com/reviews/paranormal-urban-fantasy

for full review.

Rocky Road Review

COMEDY:  Ancy (Nancy Ann) Robinson has her life under control and everything falling into place just like she wants it.  She has a gorgeous muscle-bound boyfriend who has just proposed (okay, so he's accident prone of late).

http://indtale.com/reviews/contemporary for full review!

Love's Twist of Fate

Maggie Anderson's novella earned three stars with little or no sex.

The setting is well drawn, and could pass for any small town making it wonderfully more personable. Should the author ever expand this short it may prove a most engaging must read!

To catch this full review, visit http://indtale.com/reviews/contemporary/loves-twist-fate

Black Irish

 

Tricia Anderson's Suspense-Thriller earned three and a half stars with a generous amount of intamacy, Trust me girls, the 'bedroom door' doesn't shut on this one.

 

And yes, I think I fell for this guy.

 

Anderson quickly transports her protagonist, Abbey Wright, from a quiet setting in Iowa to the contrasting world of New York City with descriptive finesse. While Sloan is created to 'Wow' the reader with his alpha-male persona, his shortcomings make him human and believable.

 

Check out the full review at http://indtale.com/reviews/suspense-thriller/black-irish