What’s New–and Free–Wednesday
I’m trying to turn over a new leaf and blog more regularly, so since Wednesday is usually when the unexpected happens I’m starting here with a new feature on anything I find New or Free. Yeah, I know that sounds oxymoronic to start something on the day of the week I can usually control the least, but I’m always up for a challenge. So, here’s a potpourri of things I found interesting and/or free that I thought y’all might be interested in seeing, too. This first idea is one that involves repurposing items with a little ingenuity and creativity. So items get recycled instead of ending up in landfills. I love projects like this–especially when you can get the materials cheaply or for just the cost of hauling it away for someone who doesn’t want the stuff anymore. This is a “Make Your Own Pallet Bookshelf” and a mini-tutorial can Read more…
Great Day Today for Blog Giveaways!
I’ve noticed several great blog posts today that also offer wonderful giveaways. If you have a few minutes, give these blogs a read and if you like the authors’ books sign up for the giveaways 🙂 Sparkle Abbey writes terrific humorous cozies that throw a spotlight on some fabulous dogs and cats who play key roles in the story lines. The authors (the books are written by a two-woman team) are at The Seekers Blog today, speaking to unpublished and wannabee authors about voice, and giving away a copy of one of their books to a lucky commenter. Krista Davis is over at the Escape With Dollycas blog and not only talking about THE DIVA STEALS A CHOCOLATE KISS, but how one of her characters came to life on the page. This is one of my favorite series, and I always love the entertaining tips and recipes Davis shares within the story. Her Read more…
More Great Reads, Contest Fun and Prizes
A lot of great new contests and giveaways have started up lately, and this is the third blog I’ve written on this subject in the past week. If you didn’t read the other blog posts, scroll down to look them over as some of the contests mentioned have long entry periods, and the book blogs mentioned have new contests all the time. But in the spirit of new opportunity, here are a few more sites to check out, and these links are the kind that have giveaways pretty regularly. Dru’s Book Musing is a great reading site that offers unique and fun info for fans, and giveaways as well. Features include A Day in the Life, that lets secondary characters in books take the spotlight to reveal more of their personality and voice, cover reveals of new and upcoming books, book reviews, and giveaways provided by authors and/or publishers. All you Read more…
More Ongoing Giveaways
I love when the seasons start to change, and new books come out, and new contests crop up on the horizon. Here are just a few contests going on right now. Some of these sites, like Lori’s Reading Corner, have book giveaways almost every day of every week, so keep these web addresses in mind when you want to check back later. From March 7-21 to Nancy Cohen is offering chances to win one of four signed ARCs of Hanging By A Hair in her Goodreads Giveaway. Here’s the link for that giveaway, http://bit.ly/15SmIi0 or you can to the contest page on her website at  http://nancyjcohen.com/fun-stuff/contest/ and click the Enter To Win button there. Lori’s Reading Corner offers a great place for readers to read guest posts by their favorite authors, and get the chance to win a copy of a new release, too. I guest posted on this site last week and Read more…
Why Two is Better Than One–And a Giveaway
I’m over at Lori’s Reading Corner today, blogging about books and authors that shaped the way I write. I also give the evidence behind the title I used for this brief post. So if you’re curious, or have a couple of minutes to spare, check out the blog post at Lori’s. There’s a Book Giveaway, too–a copy of ORGANIZED FOR MURDER–so be sure to leave a comment at the Lori’s Reading Corner blog to enter! Here’s the link to the blog: Guest Post with Giveaway ~ Organized For Murder by Ritter Ames
Reviewing December–Diary of a Debut Fiction Author
If you follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/RitterAmes or FaceBook  https://www.facebook.com/ritter.ames or subscribe to this blog (go ahead, it’s free, and I tell you about authors giving away free and discounted stuff when I learn about it), then you know that my first fiction novel COUNTERFEIT CONSPIRACIES was released December 1, 2013. This isn’t going to be a sales pitch, I promise, but it is going to be kind of a recap on some of the things I learned about marketing a new novel. FIRST: Everything every author says about having to spend as much or more time marketing your book is absolutely true. In the month of December I worked pretty much ten hour days because I had so many things to do all at the same time–and none of it involved Christmas tasks. I’d started building my name’s presence on FB this fall, but now I spent time each day posting and Read more…
CONTEST! This weekend only!
All the posting I’ve done recently about contests makes me want to do a giveaway myself. I wanted to do one where I could hear everyone’s stories, and make it tie to the good feelings of the holiday season. The recent kindness of a friend helped me determine exactly what to do.  Maria Grazia Swan is an author with an absolutely beautiful soul. I recently needed “almost immediate” copy editing for a writing project. Despite the fact that she’s just as busy (if not more) than the rest of us this time of year, Maria stepped up in my hour of need. She not only noted specific problems, but found someone in Belgium to quickly review and vet the revision. Besides being a wonderful friend, Maria is a fabulous author. Her recent release Gemini Moon is the first in a new series featuring Lella York. This is a wonderful suspense ride that Read more…
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