Category: Uncategorized

Giveaway alert! Win a Kindle Fire and more!

Published on by MM Jaye8 Comments
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Five amazing authors (moi included *flicks invisible lint from shoulder*) have joined forces to offer bargain books but also awesome goodies to lucky winners. Read more to find out what’s in store for you and make sure you enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below.

Also, Fate Captured will be FREE on Amazon for the duration of the giveaway (23-27 February) so get your copy if you haven’t had the chance to read this award-winning contemporary romance.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We Love Our Awesome eReaders ~

Everyday!

Enter to win a

Kindle Fire Tablet 

(7″ Display, Wi-Fi, Magenta, value $39.99)

or one of these other great prizes:

And don’t forget to fill your eReaders with these fabulous eBooks from your giveaway hosts: 
No Perfect Secret by Jackie Weger – FREE (limited time)

No Brainer by AJ Lape – FREE (limited time)

Fate Captured by MM Jaye – FREE (limited time)

Winds of Betrayal by Jerri Hines – FREE

Here’s the link again:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A soul-soothing romance: The Amulet by Effrosyni Moschoudi

Published on by MM Jaye4 Comments

I love reading romance, but it’s usually gritty, edgy stories that I’m attracted to. However, there are times when I need to submerge myself in the undiluted beauty of a wholesome, sweet story, and when it comes to that, one of my go-to authors is Effrosyni Moschoudi. For that reason, I wouldn’t let a new release of hers go by unannounced in this space.

The Amulet

by Effrosyni Moschoudi
Publication date: November 14, 2016
Genres: Romance, Romantic Comedy, Paranormal Romance
Purchase links: Amazon US – Amazon UK   Paperback: Amazon US – Amazon UK

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The Amulet is a romantic comedy of angel magic and tantalizing descriptions of Greek food. Read it at your own peril; it’ll make you feel ravenous (not to mention all loved-up!)

When Katie loses her Athens office job, a gypsy woman hands her an amulet for good luck. Next, she gets hired as hotel receptionist on the Greek island of Sifnos and everything seems perfect, except for the overbearing hotel owner, Mrs. Matina. One of the guests, heart-stoppingly handsome Aggelos, keeps saving the day whenever Katie needs help. As she falls in love, she grows all the more intrigued by him and his quirky friends, including a little girl who keeps turning up on her own. Add a psychic, half-mad elderly woman into the mix and you’re in for a few laughs. Things are not what they seem in this small, family hotel and get even more complicated when the gypsy woman shows up again. Will Katie ever work out that Aggelos is a guardian angel that came with the amulet? And if she does, will she be able to keep him? It may take a miracle. But on an island as magical as Sifnos, anything is possible!

Excerpt

When Katie arrived back at Hotel Asimi the sun was slowly gliding towards the horizon against a pastel-coloured sky. She was strolling past the hotel’s thatched umbrellas, making her way towards the entrance when her jaw dropped. Sitting on the bottom step was Aggelos. He was holding an orange juice carton, drinking through a straw thirstily.

Katie put her hands on her hips and gawped when she stopped to stand before him. ‘Aggelos! How did you do that?’

Aggelos beamed at her and pulled a long tendril of silky hair back from his brow. ‘How did I do what?’

‘How did you get here before me? It was a good five kilometres out of Asimi where I left you. Did you hitch a ride?’

Aggelos pointed at his feet. ‘Yes. On those babies.’ He chuckled and winked. ‘I’m a fast walker.’

‘But . . .’ She scratched her head. ‘You can’t be faster than the scooter I was on, surely.’

Aggelos stood and scrunched up the carton, then hopped up the few steps to the bin. He tossed it inside and shrugged when he returned to her at the bottom of the steps. ‘Nah, you’ve been gone ages. I bet you wandered around the village and lost track of time.’

‘I did buy an ice cream . . . and lingered at the village square for a while,’ she mumbled.

Aggelos tilted his head. ‘See? Not Superman, after all.’

‘I never said you’re Superman. But, I have noticed you tend to save the day.’

Aggelos put up a finger. ‘Now, that’s a compliment and a half! Thank you, Katie.’

Katie heard the sound of her name on his lips again and it made her knees weak. Earlier, when he was drinking his refreshment she couldn’t take her eyes off his pouted lips around the straw. She’d tried to imagine there and then how it would feel to kiss them. Now, as he gazed at her, his wide smile exposing perfect pearly whites, she shifted her weight from foot to foot, wondering if she had it in her to ask him out. She decided it was too soon. After all, she’d never done this sort of thing before. As she contemplated all that, Aggelos was telling her about the beauty of the places he’d explored that day. She kept nodding and making the odd comment and, all the while, marvelled at his perfectly sculpted features.

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A book that will warm your hearts and tantalize your senses!

MM Jaye

Fate Awakened is LIVE (99c for a limited time)

Published on by MM Jaye1 Comment

Fate Awakened, the second (standalone) book in the Greek Tycoons series is LIVE on all Amazon stores. I’ve set the price at 99 cents for a limited time only. The regular price for this full-length novel will be at $2.99. Also, if you’ve missed Fate Captured (Book One in the series) now is your chance to dive into this Aegean-drenched, award-winning story since you can get it for FREE until Sunday! Both books are available in two heat versions: Clean and Spicy. All books guarantee an epic HEA. No cliffhanger. Scroll down to see some teasers and read an entire scene of Fate Awakened.

Fate Awakened (Spicy romance): Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA

Fate Awakened (Clean romance): Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA

Fate Captured (Spicy romance): Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA

Fate Captured (Clean romance): Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA

Fate Awakened combined

Book Description

He’s in a gilded prison.

Alex Argiros looks like he owns the board room, yet he’d trade his bespoke suits for scrubs in the blink of an eye. But he’ll be damned if he plays into the hands of his nemesis before securing his late father’s legacy. About to seal the deal that will finally set him free, the last thing he needs is a new, fresh-out-of-college PA. Especially one that feeds his associates with home-made pies and his mind with wild, wicked thoughts.

She’s on a mission.

Monica Mitchell has come to Athens, Greece, with a single goal: to prove to her childhood crush that her adult self has grown out of the habit of flashing her underwear and looking like a zombie flick castoff…in public.

The catch? She has to hide who she is.

Easy as pie. The demure PA looks nothing like the red-haired disaster magnet Alex once knew. Still, their explosive chemistry soon leads to bone-melting passion. But when her family pulls the rug from under Alex’s feet again, she knows she has to come clean or face his devastating wrath.

She knows but needs just a little longer to savor his searing kisses…

 

__________________

Teasers

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Excerpt

Of course, he would be here, Monica thought as she slowly rose to her feet, holding his piercing gaze. It wasn’t twelve o’clock yet. The day wasn’t over. In the next hour, she could see him turn into a frog and still not bat an eyelid.

No, that’s two different fairy tales.

Alex just stood there and stared at her. “Did you send those faxes?” he grated.

Monica rolled her eyes. Him and his faxes. “I did send the faxes,” she said in carefully spaced words. “And who uses faxes nowadays, anyway?” She took a swig from her bottle, her eyes on him.

His frown was so deep, his brows almost touched.

Oh, this is fun.

On her way there, her anger had dissipated. Things had been moving too fast. She’d been working for him for just two weeks. How could she expect him to sort out his feelings when in just a couple of hours, she turned from the prim PA to a naked tease? Okay, she hadn’t done it on purpose, but still…

Without warning, Alex took hold of her arm and dragged her to a corner where the din from the street was not so loud.

“Listen, Monica,” he rasped, “I was with a woman just before.”

Patience, she reminded herself, squelching the flutter of disappointment that dared mess with the good place she was in. She arched her brows expectantly as she did when she took dictation from him.

“I see.”

He yanked her arm. “Dammit, didn’t you hear me? I was with a woman.”

Extracting her arm from his grip, she gave him a sweet smile. “How can I help you with that?”

“You helped a great deal,” he hissed, “with your antics in the swimming pool and … after.”

“I’m sorry, I see no connection.”

Alex’s eyes darted to the street and he leaned closer. “I intended to be with that woman, tonight, but I … couldn’t, thanks to you.”

Goosebumps covered her as a strong feeling of possessiveness took over her.

Monica, one; other woman, zero.

“Should I feel sorry about that?”

Alex’s dark gaze lost some of its fire. “No, of course not. In fact, I’m the one who should apologize…” He run his hand over his hair. “However, it can’t happen between us.”

Although prepared, her heart sank.

“Dammit, not as long as you work for me.” His eyes softened and his hard grip on her shoulder became an intimate squeeze. “But if the deal with Roe is sealed, I will leave the company and then…” Raising his hands, he ran his fingers through her hair, fanning it out.

Monica’s breath caught in her throat. What was he saying? Was he actually admitting that he wanted them to be together?

His face hardened again, and he let his hands fall to his sides. “But until then, I’m your boss and you’re my assistant. No more … getting naked in my pool.”

Monica nodded and bit her lower lip, trying not to smile. He had all but said it. Well, that was as close an admittance as she would get for the time being. Because when the deal was sealed…

“Tomorrow, I’ll fly to London. I might as well be there, since Roe might come up with all sorts of delays again. And I can’t afford to have any more delays.” With a sigh, he cupped her chin and his thumb caressed her lower lip.

“I could always send him some of my orgasmic pie—” she ventured, aware that it was her beer-boosted nerve speaking.

Alex’s eyes darkened, and she could see the juggler’s fire reflected in their depths. Leaning down, he brought his lips a hairbreadth away from hers.

“Let me go home, little siren,” he said, his hot whiskey-smelling breath warming her already flushed face. “Otherwise, you’ll tempt me to follow you and then, believe me, I’ll show you what orgasmic truly means.” He snatched the beer bottle from her, took a long swig, handed it back and took off.

Monica swayed. She didn’t dare turn to watch him leave. She just stared at the bottle in her hand. Slowly, she brought it to her lips and licked its rim. That would be the last of Alex’s delicious DNA she’d sample for at least a week.

Oh, if pies could make Donald Roe sign the damn deal quicker, she would roll out enough phyllo to pave the road to London.

___________________________

If you enjoyed that, here are those links again:

Fate Awakened (Spicy romance): Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA

Fate Awakened (Clean romance): Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA

Fate Captured (Spicy romance): Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA

Fate Captured (Clean romance): Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA

 

 

 

Ghost in the Rain – A World of Gothic: Scotland

Published on by MM Jaye8 Comments

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Do you enjoy mystery stories set in remote locations, laced with romance that blooms alongside danger from the world beyond? Then keep on reading because the book I present today (alongside an enticing excerpt) not only includes all of the above elements, but it’s the first in a series of many similar stories that will be published monthly, featuring locations from around the world. And I’m also part of the tour! My Greek story will be published on May 26.

First stop on the tour? The Scottish Highlands.

Marie Treanor promises excitement and hair-on-end reading pleasure with Ghost in the Rain, featuring a reclusive rocker and a researcher who visits his remote residence to study valuable letters that are in his possession. Mysterious vanishings and a dead body leave Dr. Kate Yorke wondering: does Invershiel House host a man that will claim her heart or a ghost that will claim her life?

Ghost in the Rain – A World of Gothic: Scotland

by Marie Treanor
Publication Date: April 26, 2016
Purchase links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/242zolj

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/26t6c5R
B&N: http://bit.ly/1qT8WZn
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1TvPiwg
i-Books: http://apple.co/1YTP2sg

Genres: Gothic, mystery, paranormal, romance

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Blurb

A haunted Highland house, battered by storms and murder…

Notorious rocker Dan Stewart isn’t anything like Dr. Kate Yorke imagined. Arriving at his remote home in the Scottish Highlands to research some valuable letters – only to discover he’s forgotten their appointment – Kate soaks up the Gothic atmosphere of Invershiel House. But it’s the owner who truly fascinates her.

Reclusive and abrupt, Dan is haunted by the deaths of his fellow band members, especially his one time lover Islay Lamont, whose shade seems to flit around the grounds in the rain. But the ghost is not the only mystery Kate encounters. Light bulbs disappear around her – and only Dan knows she’s scared of the dark. Then she trips over a dead body which inexplicably vanishes.

It becomes a race against time to find the identity of the body and the killer. And to discover if she and Danny have any kind of future together. Or even at all…

_____________

A World of Gothic is a Gothic Mystery Romance Series of stand-alone novellas by authors from all over the world. For information on other titles, check out A World of GothicFacebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1105411939511452&fref=ts

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Excerpt

I had to acknowledge that my peace was churned up by his unexpected presence here. It wasn’t even an unpleasant feeling; in fact it felt rather…exciting. But it was disturbing.

I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes. I suspected Dan Stewart carried such disturbance wherever he went. If I thought about it, the whole house felt different now. As if its peace had gone too; as if it had sprung to life, eager, waiting.

Mocking my own silly fantasy, I stood abruptly and paced around the room, trying to recover my lost concentration. I suspected I was just tired and would work much faster and much better after a good night’s sleep.

I paused by the window to watch the storm. Although the thunder had stopped, the wind and rain were still blasting the trees and rattling the window. Close-up, I could feel the draught through my thick sweater. On impulse, I retrieved my phone from my bag and tried to capture the raging storm on its camera. But it looked too tame on the screen, not deep or dark enough, no real movement in those black clouds still scudding and swirling across the sky. I wished I could paint. For a moment, I even wished I could be part of it, to go outside in it again. There was nothing to stop me, except common sense.

I smiled to myself and lowered the phone, just as a movement in the garden below caught my eye. Someone was out in this. Someone not remotely dressed for it either. Through the darkness and the almost opaque mist of rain, I could make out only that it seemed to be a woman wearing only some kind of floating, white, wispy garment, more like the loungewear of wealthy women of past centuries than anything anyone would wear today for any purpose. The odd garment shimmered as the figure glided across the lawn, impossibly graceful.

On impulse, I raised my phone again and snapped.

Perhaps she moved too quickly. Nothing of her showed on the screen except an indistinct blur of light against blackness. Frowning, I looked again out of the window, but the woman had gone. Vanished.

Gone back inside if she’s got any sense whatsoever.

I could tell myself that, and believe it. I just couldn’t quite silence the tiny voice in my head that whispered I might just have seen a ghost…

And then, before I could laugh myself back to sceptical normality, another figure strode into view. Two figures. A man and a large dog. The dog was trotting along at his side, sniffing the grass. Even in darkness, the man was unmistakably Dan Stewart. He seemed to be wearing the same old khaki jacket. I could see the rain running off him in rivulets. It hadn’t seemed to touch the ghostly woman…

He stopped, gazing ahead and slowly turned as if looking for something, or someone. Just for a moment, I was tempted. I even raised my phone hand. But it felt too wrong to take a picture of him without permission in his own home. He was facing the house now and without warning, he tipped back his head and caught me staring down at him.

I felt frozen in that distant gaze. Forcing myself, I gave a feeble wave and dragged my eyes free towards the black, wooded hills and the furiously scudding sky. Still, I was aware of him striding back towards the house. I even heard his voice calling to the dog which loped after him.

Restlessly, I abandoned the window. I needed to go to bed. My eyes, my mind, were all far too tired.

Ellie had been quite blasé about leaving the letters out of their locked cabinet. “Even if anyone knew about them, who’d steal them round here?” she’d said reasonably. I took her at her word and just stuffed my own notebook into my bag before picking it up and heading for the closed door, where I paused, because I could hear footsteps pounding up the stairs.

My heart drumming, I waited for them to pass before I left the room. They strode closer, along the hall, and I held my breath. He’d go past; he must go past…

The door flew open, and Dan Stewart stood there, scowling at me. Raindrops stood out on his wet hair and clothes.

No, he wasn’t pretty. But there was something devastatingly attractive about that rough, bony face and those big, grey eyes that seemed much darker than before.

“Did you take any pictures?” he asked abruptly.

About the Author

Marie Treanor lives in Scotland, in a chaotic house by the sea, together with her eccentric husband, three much too smart children and a small dog who rules them all. Most days, she avoids both housekeeping and evil day jobs by writing stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.

Marie is the award winning author of over forty sexy paranormal romances – Indie, New York and E-published.

You can find out more about Marie and her books on her website: www.MarieTreanor.com.

Subscribe to her New Release Mailing List: http://www.marietreanor.com/marie-treanor-newsletter/

Catch more latest news on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Treanor-Paranormal-Romance/105866982782360.

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarieTreanor

And on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/marietreanor/

 

 

Re-covering your books

Published on by MM Jaye16 Comments

Coincidentally, the two authors I first connected with when I set out to become an author both revamped the covers of their debut novels recently. I’m also in the process of re-examining my published book’s cover, so I thought it would be useful to discuss the matter further.

How does a writer’s perception on covers evolve?

Science fiction and children’s books author Nicholas Rossis and fantasy and paranoral romance author Effrosyni Moschoudi gave their novels a great boost with new, fresh, awesome covers.

Before I start the Q&A with both Effrosyni and Nicholas, note that they both have amazing offers running right now.

Effrosyni Moschoudi’s The Necklace of Goddess Athena which we will further discuss is FREE from 19-22 November.

Nicholas Rossis’ first book in the Pearseus series is FREE until November 20 and again on November 30.

Have you grabbed your copies? Now let’s talk covers.

profpic 690x884 png 300dpiEffrosyni Moscoudi has received accolades for both her paranormal romance trilogy The Lady of the Pier (an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards quarter-finalist) and her debut time-travelling fantasy The Necklace of Goddess Athena. When the book first came out, Effrosyni had chosen this cover for it:

 

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If you click on the book’s title above, you’ll see this new, amazing cover. Let’s ask Effrosyni about this need to give her debut a fresh look.

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Hi, Fros! The new cover is awesome. Really eye-catching! But I’m sure you loved your first cover when you chose it. What were the elements you intended to bring out back then?

When I started two years ago, I knew no one, and my indie budget was non-existent, thus I didn’t have the luxury of employing a professional who could make me a tailored-made cover. Luckily, my sister-in-law, Deborah Mansfield, worked in London as a high-flying graphic designer at the time and although she did anything but ebook covers at work, I thought I had nothing to lose asking if she could help. She was a sweetheart, getting all excited about the prospect of assisting me at the start of my publishing journey and I am forever grateful to her for that. Deborah made the initial cover for The Necklace of Goddess Athena as well as all three in the Lady of the Pier series (plus a fourth cover for a companion poetry book to the series that I plan to publish in January).

 

I didn’t give much input on the first cover. I just sent to Debs a lovely image of the Parthenon (courtesy of my brother-in-law, Adrian Leach – yes, I involved the whole family in that first cover, LOL). I also said it would be lovely if I could have a little owl and a necklace somewhere on the cover and that was the result. Debs chose the graphics, the fonts, the placement of everything and I trusted her blindly. I got a multitude of compliments for this cover across the social media and it helped me tremendously during the first two years of my indie journey.
How has your perception on covers shifted since then?

Well, as you know, they say you live and learn and, boy, is this the case when you’re an indie author! By the time I felt the need to give the sales on this book a boost via a new cover, I had picked up a thing or two on book covers and what makes them more appealing to the reader. They say, “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but it’s a fact that we all do. It’s human nature. So, for the new cover I knew I wanted the wow-factor to be taken under consideration more than anything else. Also, I knew the first cover was static and I needed to have a couple and an action thrown in there for a more dynamic result. I also learned at some point that colors play a very important role and that every genre has its secrets when it comes to the colors its expected to have for the genre to speak for itself. So, for The Necklace of Goddess Athena I imagined dark colors to convey mystery, danger, and to add tension – everything you would expect from a mysterious fantasy story.

And then some. How did the new cover come about?

As I mentioned earlier, I needed a new cover as to give the book a sales boost. This time round I was able to afford a professional designer specializing on e-books and I knew, more or less, what the cover should look like. My graphic designer, the talented Alex Saskalidis of 187designz was, like, in my head! I gave him the blurb and told him I wanted an antique clock and a couple on it, mentioning also the Parthenon and Athena, of course, in case he could find something suitable. Alex worked miracles with that. He came up with this awesome cover that made my jaw drop, and it was his very first proposal. It was exactly what I had in mind. He picked the dark colors without me even talking about this, and picked these incredible graphics too. The glint inside the Acropolis and the clock convey the time travel element perfectly while the couple running hand in hand were straight out of the first chapter. It’s the scene of Daphne and Phevos arriving in modern-day Athens at night. One thing I know for sure –  I’m done looking for graphic designers. Alex was a breeze to work with – polite and easygoing, and that’s equally important to me. Alex was a real treasure to find and I recommend him highly!

No need to use special powers of persuasion. Your cover speaks on its own. I’m already using Alex to work his magic on my own cover.
Readers, if you think the cover is attractive wait till you delve in this book. I did and easily 5-starred it. Here’s my review.

And don’t forget. This awesome book is FREE from tomorrow until November 22! Don’t miss out! Here’s that link again: The Necklace of Goddess Athens.

Rossis_1000pxNicholas Rossis’ rampant fantasy constructs fantastical worlds for grown-ups and imaginative tales for kids. His Pearseus epic fantasy series has reached the No. 1 spot on various Kindle categories, and Runaway Smile, his heart-warming children’s story has earned notable distinctions. You can read Runaway Smile for free on Nicholas blog.

 

Nicholas, let’s talk about your Pearseus series. If I remember correctly, you created the first version of the cover, right?

Yes, and I was insanely proud of it at the time. I used a couple of designs my illustrator friend, Dimitris Fousekis, drew for me—the Pearseus logo and the scales of Themis. I hand-drew a map of Pearseus, scanned it and used it as the background, along with some paragraphs from the book in script font.

I then arranged everything to create the cover, using the best of my artistic abilities.

And why did this enthusiasm wane?

We are such terrible judges of our own work, aren’t we? That’s why we need nice people like editors and beta readers. We fall in love with our work, but can’t be sure just how great—or poor—it is until we verify it with the world.

In my case, I uploaded the covers to  Rate Book Cover—a website that allows visitors to rate your books covers using a simple one-to-five star voting system. To my horror, my covers rated between 3 and 3.5 stars. That’s when I decided to have a professional designer, Alex Saskalidis of 187designz, redesign them.

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I love the texture in the new cover. 

Alex is great with fonts. First, he got rid of the Pearseus logo, which was intricate and impressive, but hard to read. Instead, he used a simple, modern font that hints at science fiction, thereby better conveying the unique mixture of fantasy and sci-fi of my books.

Second, he redesigned the scales of Themis, using photographs. The new scales are much more realistic and eye-catching.

Last, he used photorealistic backgrounds to create a tactile image that suits the books well.

In short, Alex’s approach was more professional than mine. You can tell he does this for a living, can’t you?

The final proof that the redesigned covers work better came when I uploaded them on Rate Book Cover. The new covers got an average score of 4.5 stars. One could argue that a difference of a single star is insignificant, but there are three reasons why I felt it was worth it:

First of all, my book covers now reflect the professional writing and editing of the books.

Second, as Pearseus has been Indie published, it has to compete against professional publishing houses. How can you do that with an amateurish cover?

And last but not least, my professional pride (fine, vanity) has now been fully satisfied. Which is priceless 🙂

Hear, hear! Alex did a great job on Pearseus as well!

Readers, make sure you grab your FREE copy of The Rise of the Prince now! Here’s the link. Yes, I’ve read and reviewed this amazing series. Here’s my review.

And if you want to see more work of the talented Alex Saskalidis, here’s his Facebook page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips

Published on by MM Jaye5 Comments

I’m super excited to announce that I’m one of the contributors in an upcoming recipe & tips book inspired and edited by USA Today Bestselling author Lois Winston.  When Lois put out feelers, calling for submissions in the Authors Network Yahoo group, I thought that as an indie who’s way down the food chain (pun intended) I wouldn’t stand a chance, but I submitted anyway. And I’m in among NY Times and USA Today bestselling authors!

The book entitled We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips is already up for pre-order for only 99 cents with its release date set for October 30.

Read on for all the book details and please consider purchasing or gifting it as part of the proceeds will go to No Kid Hungry https://www.nokidhungry.org.

We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips

Editor: Lois Winston
Release Date: October 30
Pre-order link: Amazon

Book Description

Have you ever wished you could find more time to do the things you want to do, rather than just doing the things you have to do? Most authors juggle day jobs and family responsibilities along with their writing. Because they need to find time to write, they look for ways to save time in other aspects of their lives.

Cooking often takes up a huge junk of time. In We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips you’ll find easy, nutritious recipes for meat, poultry, pasta, soup, stew, chili, and vegetarian meals. All of the recipes require a minimum of prep time, freeing you up to read, exercise, garden, craft, write, spend more time with family, or whatever.

Within the pages of We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips you’ll be introduced to authors who write a wide range of fiction—everything from mystery to romance to speculative fiction to books for children, young adults, and new adults—and some who write nonfiction. Some of the authors write sweet; others write steamy. Some write cozy; others write tense thrillers.

Some are debut authors with only one published book; others are multi-published and have had long publishing careers. Some are New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors who may or may not be familiar to you, but being a bestselling author doesn’t mean they still don’t have to juggle their day job along with their writing.

The authors who contributed to this book are a rather creative and resourceful bunch when it comes to carving out time from their busy lives. So in addition to timesaving recipes, within the pages of this book you’ll find timesaving and organizational tips for other aspects of your life. And if you happen to be a writer, you’ll also find a plethora of great ideas to help you organize your writing life.

Authors who contributed to this book include: Lisa Alber, Reggi Allder, Judy Alter, Krista Ames, Rose Anderson, Cori Lynn Arnold, Judy Baker, Beverley Bateman, Donnell Ann Bell, Paula Gail Benson, Kris Bock, Maureen Bonatch, Ava Bradley, Susan Breen, Lida Bushloper, Michelle Markey Butler, Ashlyn Chase, Judy Copek, Maya Corrigan, Mariposa Cruz, Melinda Curtis, Lesley A. Diehl, Conda V. Douglas, Nancy Eady, Helena Fairfax, Jennifer Faye, Flo Fitzpatrick, Kit Frazier, Shelley Freydont, Mariana Gabrielle, Rosie Genova, Marni Graff, Joanne Guidoccio, Margaret S. Hamilton, L.C. Hayden, Linda Gordon Hengerer, Heather Hiestand, R.Franklin James, Kathryn Jane, M.M. Jaye, Elizabeth John, Stacy Juba, Gemma Juliana, Carol Goodman Kaufman, Melissa Keir, Kay Kendall, A.R. Kennedy, Lynn Kinnaman, Marie Laval, B.V. Lawson, Claudia Lefeve, Alice Loweecey, Cynthia Luhrs, Sandra Masters, Lisa Q. Mathews, J.M. Maurer, Sandra McGregor, Kathy McIntosh, Claire A. Murray, Ann Myers, Tara Neale, Stacey Joy Netzel, Jayne Ormerod, Alice Orr, Laurel Peterson, Irene Peterson, Pepper Phillips, Caridad Pineiro, Kathryn Quick, Renée Reynolds, Josie Riviera, Elizabeth Rose, C.A. Rowland, Cindy Sample, Sharleen Scott, Terry Shames, Susan C. Shea, Judy Penz Sheluk, Joanna Campbell Slan, Karen Rose Smith, Lynette Sofras, Kaye Spencer, Skye Taylor, Lourdes Venard, Lea Wait, Regan Walker, Lois Winston, and Aubrey Wynne.

Thank you, Lois, for offering me a spot in this awesome book, and all of you readers for considering its purchase or promotion.

MM Jaye

Call to Arms – Jackie Weger’s take

Published on by MM Jaye1 Comment

A list of “Above the Fold” and “Below the Fold” promoters for your books, recommended by a writer in the know. Great stuff!

Nicholas C. Rossis

Jackie Weger is more than an author of great romance novels; she’s a tireless supporter of Indies, both on her own and through her eNovel Authors at Work group.

Jackie has written a score of posts detailing her (rather extensive) marketing experience. As she includes the experience of the 50-odd authors in her group as well, this is an excellent resource for anyone interested in paid ads. As she puts it,

“eNovel keeps a Preferred List and on the Preferred List, we have Above the Fold and Below the Fold. On Above the Fold are promoters to whom we always submit. Below the Fold are promoters we like and trust, but sometimes do not deliver as well as hoped. If a single author reports dreadful results with a promoter, we note it. However, at least three or more authors have to report less than stellar results for a promoter to…

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Advertise with Amazon: a Step-by-step Tutorial

Published on by MM Jaye1 Comment

Advertise on Amazon for Dummies. Everything you want to know in one post.

Nicholas C. Rossis

I was reading Chris McMullen’s excellent (as usual) post on Amazon’s new advertising service, and thought I’d give it a go. My monthly advertising budget is $100, but I hadn’t spent anything in January. So, I had this month’s and the previous one’s budget at my disposal – which allowed me to place two ads. For my first one, I chose the Pearseus bundle. This was done for two reasons: one, it offers great value for money. Second, its higher cost of $3.49 will hopefully allow me to cover the ad’s cost.

The second ad was for Runaway Smile. This allowed me to test two very different ways of targeting my audience, as you will see below.

Oh, and I took lots of screenshots, so as to share with you the process. That way, should any of you decide to advertise with Amazon, you’ll know how to do it. And…

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Free Children’s Book: Runaway Smile

Published on by MM Jaye3 Comments

Nicholas Rossis is a friend. As a person he is both highly perceptive and sensitive, and as an author he is very talented; the perfect combo to undertake the knee-wobbling task of writing for children. His first children’s book, Runaway Smile, you can read for free. Read the post to find how. Congrats, Nicholas!

Nicholas C. Rossis

I woke up this morning and I had lost my smile and it wasn’t my fault and I looked everywhere and it was gone. Then I met a workman and a king and the best salesman in the world and a clown and no-one wanted to give me theirs. At school, I asked Miss to give me hers, but she gave us a pop quiz instead, and then no-one was smiling and…

From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's books

A little boy wakes up in the morning and realizes he has lost his smile. After spending the entire day trying to find it, he learns the truth behind smiles: the only real smiles are the shared ones.

Runaway Smile is my first children’s book and it is finally here, after two long years of preparation! Just for the wonderful people following me on my blog, I have posted it online, where you can read it for free! If you enjoy it, feel…

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99c Sale on Effrosyni’s books on Nov 13-15 (Amazon US only)

Published on by MM Jaye1 Comment

I have reviewed both The Necklace of Goddess Athena
(here’s my Goodreads Review) and The Lady of the Pier: The Ebb
(GR Review) and I can vouch for their quality writing. If you want a first-hand experience, head over to my excerpts’ blog for enticing excerpts of both books: here and here.

This offer is not to be missed! Two days to go…