Category Archives: Published Books

Monday Blog Post: Anyone have a Super Bowl Hangover?

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e-book Cover, Lost Rainbows, J.A. Marlow

Cover for Lost Rainbows by J.A. Marlow

I just finished watching the Super Bowl. I chose to root for the Patriots because I’m from upstate NY. No other reason. Imagine my delight that they won. My 2nd brother, I have 4 of them, was rooting for the Seahawks. Sorry Bro. I invited my husband’s brother down from the neighboring town and the four of us, Hubby, me, mom and Bro-in-law, had a good time chowing down on pulled pork sandwiches and chicken wings and coleslaw. Brother-in-law brought a coconut cream pie for dessert. Yummy.  A good day all around.

I have finished getting Lost Rainbows up on both Smashwords and CreateSpace so you should be able to find the book on Amazon at the very least. I put the first chapter out last month on my newsletter. You didn’t get it? Sign up for the newsletter on my blog, www.conniesrandomthoughts.wordpress.com. You’ll get the scoop on what I’m writing much earlier than I post it here.

Today I’m headed for Phoenix with a bunch of hiking friends. We’re going to ride our bikes on a Greenway path from Scottsdale to Tempe Town Lake and back again, about 30 miles. I think I have lost my mind but we’ll see. Tuesday is the regular hiking day and it’s a 7 mile hike. Yep, I’m thinking I need an evaluation. Hopefully on Wednesday I’ll be still walking.

On the writing front. I’m still working on the first draft of my All About Bob series, It’s a College Thing. The title sucks, I hope by the time I finish it something better will occur to me. I have seven scenes left to write so it will be a novella, unless in revision it becomes something else. This remains to be seen. I’m also editing the NaNo novel from November, Mystery at the Fair. I have a lot of irons in the fire, for sure. Want special updates and offers? Check out signing up for my newsletter.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Lost Rainbows released January 25th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Busy December

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Candy and cookies have been made and mailed. That’s a huge load off of my mind. I then went into full Christmas decorating mode. The tree is up and presents for Mom and daughter are under it. Knick-knacks and decorative cloths are distributed around the house. Yay! Done!

The garden is still waiting as I’ve been busy. Last Wednesday I spoke at the local Soroptimist’s meeting. I had a lovely lunch and met a lot of nice women. They seemed to enjoy my little speech and a handful of books were purchased. A good day. I also had three more people sign up for my newsletter. That’s a big win for me.

I’ve been talking to my Mom nearly every day. We’ve painted her room a light lavender, hung the curtains, and shampooed the carpet. The chest of drawers is painted, the bed assembled, a computer desk and chair were found at a local thrift shop and installed in the room. I bought a new quilt for the bed. It looks good in there. Hubby set up the TV to work with our Dish service and set up the computer for her too. She arrives tomorrow. I’m excited.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

The Downtrodden: a Brown Rain Story released November 22nd! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Weekly blog post: Finishing off the Year

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Books, Book Table, Sell Books

Me and My Book Table, November 29, 2014

Thanksgiving at my friend’s house was great. Of course we all ate more than necessary but lots of good conversation was had.

I signed books at the Swiss Village Small Business Saturday Christmas kickoff. The day started warm enough, I was in the sun. By noon the sun had moved to put my spot in the shade. It got cooler after that until at 4pm I called hubby to have him bring my winter coat. I stuck it out until 7pm. Met some nice people, sold a few books and had three people sign up for my newsletter.

My NaNo book, Mystery at the Fair, finished first draft at about 52,000 words. I need to do some research and lots of rewriting and editing. It may be my March 2015 release, I’m not sure yet.

My book, The Downtrodden, book two of the Brown Rain series is up on Smashwords and I’m finally got it up on Amazon, Apple and Barnes and Noble. I’m still featuring a special for newsletter recipients. Sign up for my newsletter and tell me you’d like to do a review and I’ll send you a free ebook. Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link. If you’re already a newsletter recipient and you’d like to review a copy, drop me a comment or an email and I’ll send you the secret code!

No work has been done on the last two garden beds. Last week was nutso and nothing was accomplished. I did, however, manage to get my outdoor Christmas lights up on Sunday. Hubby and I will do the final connectivity today and test the timers. Yay, Christmas! I sent my Christmas cards out on Friday, day after Thanksgiving. It’s a lot easier when I’m not making the fifty or so cards I send out. Up next? Candy making and sending, interior cleaning and Christmas decorating as well as getting those garden beds cleaned up. I only decorate for Christmas so for me it’s a pretty big deal.

I’ve been talking to my Mom nearly every day. Looking forward to her flying out here. Sixteen days to go!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

The Downtrodden: a Brown Rain Story released November 22nd! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Last Monday in November

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Thanksgiving Day, Mom, Turkey

My mom checking out the Thanksgiving Day turkey. Photo by Randy Cockrell

Are you wondering, as I am, where 2014 went? Zoom! It’s gone. Thanksgiving is upon us already. My hubby and I are going to a friend’s house for the big meal. We’re bringing coleslaw. In my family we called it Cabbage Salad and cabbage was grated on an old fashioned box grater along with a carrot and an onion. Miracle Whip was the dressing. Now, since I’m celiac, Miracle Whip is out of the question. But I still make a pretty mean ‘cabbage salad’ and it reminds me of my childhood. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it.

I’m definitely on tap to sign books at the Swiss Village Small Business Saturday Christmas kickoff.  http://conniesrandomthoughts.wordpress.com/where-will-i-be/. On Saturday the 29th, the biggest day of the three day event, I’ll have a tent set up to sell and sign my books. I have invites out to a few other authors, so I’m hoping there will be four of us there to say hi and sign books. The event starts at 10am and runs until after Santa leaves, probably 9pm. Hope to see you there.

I’m still doing well on my National Novel Writing Month challenge. I’ve passed the 40K  point and to be honest, I’m enjoying the story more and more. Estimated release date? Maybe March. I’ll see how the revisions and editing go.

My book, The Downtrodden, book two of the Brown Rain series is up on Smashwords and I’m working to get it up on Amazon. I’m having a bit of a cover snafu but it will be resolved soon. As usual, I’d love to have some reviews. Sign up for my newsletter and tell me you’d like to do a review and I’ll send you a free ebook. Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link.

I’ve been working on cleaning up my garden from the summer excesses. The compost bin has been cleaned out and two garden beds (I do raised bed gardens here in central Arizona) have been cleaned of dead or dying vegetation and readied for winter. We’ve had several frosts and even the Swiss Chard is lying limp and sad in the garden bed. The sage, however seems to be as healthy as ever. I’ll use fresh sage for as long as it lasts. Then I have an awesome supply of dried to get me through the winter.

I mentioned that I’m getting ready for my mom to come and live with me. I’ve ordered a new bed for her and curtains that have already arrived. We still need to clean the room, paint and put up the curtains and new furniture. We are going to have so much fun.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

The Downtrodden: a Brown Rain Story released November 22nd! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Sewing, Cooking, Planning for NaNo, Writing, and Christmas Cards?

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H Ween002

Hubby and me, Bad Witch and Good Witch, photo by Randy Cockrell

Saturday my hubby and I attended a Halloween party with a lot of our hiking friends. That’s the pic, there at the top of the post. We had a lot of fun. I went as a good witch and made my own costume. That’s where the sewing part came in. I had to modify hubby’s costume as well so, more sewing there.

The planning for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo) proceeds down to the wire. I still need two stories for the 14th and 28th of Thanksgiving.  My outline for my Cozy Mystery, working title, Mystery at the Fair, continues with difficulty. I have 45 scenes. I seem to toss more than I write new. I keep going through the cards, wondering where I can insert more trouble for my main protagonist, Jean Hays. I’m starting to wonder if I need another plot line. I have 4 days to figure it out.

I’ve also been thinking about the cover for Mystery at the Fair. Since I want to write these as a series, I’ve been contemplating the theme that will continue from book cover to book cover. My first thought is to have the same background color on each book. I’ll keep you posted on what the unifying element will be. If you don’t know, NaNo is a writing challenge. Every November thousands of authors, new and experienced, try to write 50,000 words or more in the month. It turns out to be 1667 words per day, minimum. You can go to the website and check it out. www.nanowrimo.org/en/sign_in It’s free to join and there are forums to visit to talk with others about writing.

I’m well into the final edits for the second book in my Brown Rain series. It’s at the editor’s now and I expect I’ll have it back from them in the next day or two. I’ll make the final corrections and start the formatting process. I finished the cover for it. It looks great. I think I’ll do the cover reveal next Monday. Stay tuned for that.

That thyme? Still on the drying rack. Sigh. I’d better hurry up and get that down and the rosemary and sage up on the rack.

Oh, and the Christmas Cards? I have made my own Christmas Cards for several years. It’s so much fun to pick a design and then the paper and colors and make all the pieces for assembly. The problem is that I send out about 60 cards, it’s a big family and we have a lot of friends. Unfortunately, it’s the end of October and I don’t have anything planned. Then there’s NaNo taking up a lot of time in November. So, I’ve decided that there won’t be homemade cards this year. I’m a little bummed but relieved that I can put that stress away to concentrate on writing. So, to my friends and family used to getting a homemade card, I apologize, but something has to give.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Like any author, my books sell based on reviews. Would you be interested in getting a free copy to review for me? Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link.

First Encounter: a Brown Rain Story released September 18th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Weekend at the Craft Fair: Author Signings

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The Drawing Prize Basket by Connie Cockrell

The Drawing Prize Basket by Connie Cockrell

I organized a book signing for this weekend’s craft fair. http://pinestrawberrybusinesscommunityaz.com/fallapple.html I started a couple weeks ago, contacting the fair people and it happened a fellow author volunteers for the event. We teamed up and were hoping to get an outdoors 10X10 ft. space for a discount. It turns out they had space inside and the other authors (3 of them) that we were going to shoehorn into the space, sharing the cost, would get tables inside too, all for the fact the one author volunteers. Yay! So five 8 ft tables indoors. Here’s the low down on all of them.

Me:

Me at my table by Connie Cockrell

Me at my table by Connie Cockrell

I sold the entire Gulliver Station series at the craft fair. I sold 4 complete sets and 2 of the first novel of the series. I also had 11 people sign up for my newsletter. I’m calling that a win. You can find links to locations were you can find all of my books on the Books tab on this blog site. I also have an Author Page on Amazon where you can find a list of my books.

Nancy Lee Burns:

Nancy Lee Burns at her Table by Connie Cockrell

Nancy Lee Burns at her Table by Connie Cockrell

This is the wonderful volunteer. Many thanks Nancy. She had two books at the signing, her first book: Retirement: Sacred or Scared and her newest book, Enjoy the Apple: You Picked It. Click on the titles to go to the Amazon links. She calls these Spiritual Adventure books.

Ken Crump:

Ken Crump and his book by Connie Cockrell

Ken Crump and his book by Connie Cockrell

Ken brought his children’s book, The Last Moment, to sell and sign. Click on the book title to get to the Amazon page. He had a wonderful illustrator for the book, Amy Abney, also local to my area. Her art work is amazing. His blog is www.brickhousepiggy.com and can be reached at [email protected].

Carole Emma Mathewson:

Carole Emma Mathewson and her Book by Connie Cockrell

Carole Emma Mathewson and her Book by Connie Cockrell

Carole has two books out, The Hostess of Providence, a one woman play, and her newest book, The Waste of War, a Civil War era Historical Fiction that is about her great-grandparents, a Union surgeon and his wife, who served as his nurse through some of the most horrendous parts of the Civil War.

Finally but not least, AnneMarie Eveland:

AnneMarie Eveland doing a Face Reading by Connie Cockrell

AnneMarie Eveland doing a Face Reading by Connie Cockrell

She brought her Self Help/Psychology book, At First Glance: What Faces Reveal. She spent much of Saturday doing readings for people. It was quite well accepted. Her site is www.HurrahForHumans.com and can be reached at [email protected].

We all had a great time chatting with craft fair goers, trading writing tips and enjoying a wonderful camaraderie. The basket drawing was won by Tara Fuller of Chandler who has donated the basket back to us. We’ll have to decide what to do with it now. I threw all the rest of the tickets away in Pine so have no way to draw a new winner.

I for one, learned a few things.

– Many people saw my SciFi books and assumed they were for kids. I had to gently tell them they had adult themes.

– People visiting a craft fair tend to walk as far from the tables as they can get and do their best not to make eye contact.

– Having a drawing, which we did, brings people in close enough to chat. Our drawing was a basket with one book donated by each author and a big mug with 5 different ways to make hot chocolate. If the word free didn’t bring them in to make out a ticket to drop in the jar, the word chocolate seemed to do the trick.

– Once you have them in to chat, we had great conversations and some people even took our business cards. A few even bought a book.

– Catchy book titles will bring passing visitors in for a look. Nancy’s book, Retirement: Sacred or Scared generated quite a few conversations.

– Don’t throw the drawing tickets away until we actually get the prize to someone.

Overall, we had a great time and hope we can get together again sometime.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Like any author, my books sell based on reviews. Would you be interested in getting a free copy to review for me? Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link. Let me know if you’d like to be a reviewer on Goodreads or the e-tailer site of your choice.

First Encounter: a Brown Rain Story released September 18th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Exciting Week

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Pink Flower by Connie Cockrell

Pink Flower by Connie Cockrell

It’s been a bit of a tough week for me. Last Tuesday I was at lunch in a restaurant with my husband when I bit into a tater tot and had a bottom molar disintegrate(with crown). Nothing like a mouth full of potato and tooth. I was able to see the dentist that afternoon. He ground the broken bit down so I wouldn’t cut myself then scheduled me for a new crown the next morning. Four hours later I was home with a new crown and minus $800 as my insurance wouldn’t cover a new crown for that tooth. They said they’d only cover a new one every 5 years and I was 6 months too early. Sigh. What can you do?

The tooth thing took me through Wednesday. Then on Saturday hubby and I drove about 200 miles to see a friend in Prescott. After a nice lunch and chat, we parted ways. Hubby and I did a little shopping but were on the road about an hour after lunch. Being diligent, I took that ride time to draft out another chapter in the book I’m using as my Two Year Novel project. The farther we went the worse I felt. I finished the scene and tossed the notebook into the back seat then tried to deal with the pain in my abdomen. I eyed passing scenery with the idea I might have to stop. A full on sweat broke out and I began to feel shaky. Finally, just after the tiny town of Strawberry, about 15 miles from home I had the hubby pull the car over and proceeded to loose my lunch on the side of the road.  Still sweating and shaky we made it home but I spent about 20 minutes in the bathroom. It was definitely food poisoning. Fortunately my system seemed to clear the problem over the next 5 hours. I woke up Sunday morning feeling pretty good and went for a walk.

First Encounter, the first book in my new Brown Rain series released on September 18th as promised. You can get all of the links to purchase at the end of this post. I sent out a newsletter with the announcement and an offer that’s just for newsletter subscribers. Do you want in on the action? Look below for a link to the Newsletter sign up button.

The garden is in fall mode. The peppers, both sweet and hot, are finally turning to the colors they’re supposed to be. I may be able to roast and freeze the hot peppers soon. I have poblano and Fresno chilis. They’ll be very good this winter in my chili. I’m still am picking more cherry tomatoes than we can eat. This won’t last much longer. I expect some sort of hard frost anytime now.

The picture accompanying my blog today was taken by me on a recent hike. It’s still rainy season here in Arizona and the wildflowers are out in force.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Like any author, my books sell based on reviews. Would you be interested in getting a free copy to review for me? Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link. Let me know if you’d like to be a reviewer on Goodreads or the e-tailer site of your choice.

First Encounter: a Brown Rain Story released September 18th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Mid-September Update

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Pink Roses against the September sky by Randy Cockrell

Pink Roses against the September sky by Randy Cockrell

Oh my gosh! Totally forgot to do a blog post last Monday. I was exhausted after the fair ended last Sunday and didn’t have any brain power left to do a post. I apologize for that. The fair went pretty well. Like military plans, fair plans rarely survive first contact but we got most things done and fair-goers had fun. That’s all that counts. I’ve been posting pictures of livestock 4H and FFA winners on the fair Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Northern-Gila-County-Fair/136645043024179. These kids work really hard raising their animals and learning how to show them. It seemed fitting to post their accomplishments.
First Encounter, the first book in my new Brown Rain series is up on Amazon’s new Pre-Order feature. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MW8AYOK If you use another ereader, it’s also up on Kobo for pre-order at http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/first-encounter-6. Release date is scheduled for September 18th.
The garden is in fall mode. The green and yellow beans have withered, so no more of them. The peppers, both sweet and hot, are ripening. I may be able to roast and freeze the hot peppers soon. I have poblano and Fresno chilis. They’ll be very good this winter in my chili. I had to cut my mint down. The bees love the flowers but the flowers were going to seed. I can’t have mint seed spreading everywhere. I’d never get rid of the stuff. The bees can still visit the oregano flowers so they’ll have flowers until they go into hibernation. My butternut squash is also ripening. The very first ones to grow this spring are ready to pick. I’ll store them in my garage and the last ones will keep all winter. Tomatoes are sprawling all over. I still am picking more cherry tomatoes than we can eat. The regular tomatoes I par-boil, skin, chop and freeze. They’ll make great spaghetti sauce this winter. Do you garden? What’s still going strong for you?
The picture accompanying my blog today was taken by my husband of some of the roses I have blooming right now. I love the way they look against this mid-September sky.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today.
Like any author, my books sell based on reviews. Would you be interested in getting a free copy to review for me? Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link. Let me know if you’d like to be a reviewer on Goodreads or the e-tailer site of your choice.
Revolution: A Gulliver Station Story released August 1st! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

August is a long Month

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Cover for First Encounter by Connie Cockrell

Cover for First Encounter by Connie Cockrell

We’ve had a lovely rain a few days ago, an inch and a half’s worth. Everything plant perked right up. Two of the apples fell from the tree Saturday morning. They aren’t very large but they tasted good. Husband saw them on the ground from the office window and told me they “self-harvested.”
The Northern Gila County fair is in two weeks. The fair book is out, posters have been hung around the area and we’ve kicked off a contest. Take a selfie with one of the posters and after Liking our Facebook page, post the picture. Drawings will be made for prizes. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Northern-Gila-County-Fair/136645043024179. I try to post something new on there at least once per day. I continue to update the website, www.NorthernGilaCountyFair.com, to add information concerning all of the activities, attractions and entertainment.
My novella, The Beginning, has had a title change to First Encounter. I am also trying out a new editing service, SilverJayMedia.com. I sent them a sample and they returned it quickly and with a lot of corrections. Ack! I thought I had edited it better than that. Anyway, I’m going to have them edit the whole thing. They have a very cool estimating tool on their site so you can see how much their different editing services will cost. I really like that feature. With it you can see how much each service costs individually or added all up. You can pick the service or set of services that best meets your needs and wallet. Give it a try you writers out there.
Hot! I tried out Amazon’s new Pre-Order feature. It was very easy for me to use and I put First Encounter up on it for pre-order. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MW8AYOK Release date is scheduled for September 18th.

My author friend Selena Laurence is getting ready to release several books over the next two or three months. In celebration of that, she’s promoting two of her previous books, A Lush Betrayal and Camouflaged. She’s an author of Edgy Contemporary Romance, and knows how to make those stories hot and sassy. Both books have been discounted for this promotion. Hurry to take advantage of it.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.
Like any author, my books sell based on reviews. Would you be interested in getting a free copy to review for me? Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link. Let me know if you’d like to be a reviewer on Goodreads or the e-tailer site of your choice.
I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here. Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.
Revolution: A Gulliver Station Story released August 1st! I’m pretty excited about it. Apple (iTunes) and Barnes and Noble now have it up on their sites. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Time is Flying

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Immature Gala Apple

Immature Gala Apple by Connie Cockrell

No rain since the last Monday blog post. It’s been a very disappointing monsoon season to be sure. The lakes and reservoirs are at fifty percent capacity or less, making everyone in Arizona very nervous. I’ve had to water my garden every other day, fruit trees included. I picked my 6 peaches a few days ago. Yummy! I have 5 Gala apples on the tree. The late April frost and snow killed most of the buds on both trees so I only have those few. No pears at all, which makes me sad. Maybe I’ll have more fruit next year. Anyway, I spoke with a farmer at the Farmer’s Market. He told me Gala’s mature mid to late fall. So in the picture above, those apples may actually double in size in the next four to six weeks.
The Northern Gila County fair is in less than a month. The fair book has been proof read and sent to the printer to publish and I continue to update the website, www.NorthernGilaCountyFair.com, to add information concerning all of the activities, attractions and entertainment. What’s your favorite event or activity at your county fair?
I am editing the first book in my Brown Rain series. The working title is The Beginning, which to be frank, is sort of lame. Would you like to help me name this novelette? Click on the link below to sign up for my newsletter by the 16th of August and I’ll send you a PDF copy of the rough draft of the story for you to read. Then you can go to my blog and leave a comment on this post with your Title suggestion.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today.
Like any author, my books sell based on reviews. Would you be interested in getting a free copy to review for me? Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link. Let me know you’d like to be a reviewer on Goodreads or the e-tailer site of your choice.

I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here. Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.
Revolution: A Gulliver Station Story released August 1st! I’m pretty excited about it. Apple (iTunes) and Barnes and Noble now have it up on their sites. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!