Mid-September Update

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

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!

Mid-Month Update for July

Horn Worm in the Tomatoes by Randy Cockrell

Horn Worm in the Tomatoes by Randy Cockrell

I cannot believe it’s the middle of the month already. July is a busy month and I guess that’s why it’s going so fast.

Fourth of July was pretty much rained out here in Payson. The town held the fireworks but very few people were left to watch them fire off in the rain.

The garden has been going like blockbusters. I’m harvesting blackberries, swiss chard, herbs, and sungold cherry tomatoes. The other tomato plants are producing but they’re all still green. There is no sign of hornworms yet, which makes me thankful. They get as big as my forefinger and can eat a tomato plant to just stem in no time flat. This is the time of year they show up so I’ve been carefully examining the plants every time I water. Unfortunately, they look exactly like a tomato leaf so they’re tough to spot. Other plants in the garden, hot and sweet peppers, cantaloupe, summer squash, butternut squash, peas, and green and yellow beans. The cantaloupe have, so far, produced two small ‘lopes but the pill bugs are eating them before they are even close to ripe. I don’t generally like to use bug killer but if I don’t, there won’t be any cantaloupe for me. The picture at the top of the page is of a hornworm, just in case you’ve never seen one before. It looks like an alien, doesn’t it?

July’s Camp NaNo is proceeding nicely. I have a 7K short story done and yesterday I completed the first of two novelettes for my new Brown Rain series. The novelette, titled The Beginning, finished at 21K words in the first draft which puts it in the novella category. I don’t mind. Longer is nearly always better in my opinion. I’ll start the second one today and continue my march toward the 50K NaNo goal for the month. I’m at 28K, past the word mid-point with time to spare.

I’m 18 chapters into the semi-final revision of Revolution, a little over half way done. I’ll hand it off to one more editor, my hubby, for a final look see then one last edit before formatting for release. Yes, the editing, rewriting process takes longer than the 1st draft writing. Be patient, it’s on its way.

The Goodreads site offers a Question the Author option. What do you think, are there questions you’d like to ask and no place to ask them? Would you be interested if I signed up for that on the Goodreads site?

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 the e-tailer or Goodreads 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.

Hard Choices: A Gulliver Station Story released May17th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Today It’s All Writing News

I have TWO books coming out at the end of July. One is the final book in the Gulliver Station series, Revolution. The second is the first book in a new series, a dystopian science fiction about two young women, one of whom is very special, who set out to heal the world. It’s called The Beginning: A Where The Brown Rain Fell series. I’m writing the second series in conjunction with a writing class about series. I’m very excited to both finish one series and start a second one.
So the covers. The first is, obviously, for Revolution. The second is for The Beginning, The Brown Rain Series. Under each cover is a snippet of story for you to enjoy.
Revolution Cover

Revolution: last book in the Gulliver Station Cover Reveal by Connie Cockrell

Revolution: last book in the Gulliver Station Cover Reveal by Connie Cockrell

Kenna stood in front of fifty of her members, men and women, in a Level 8 warehouse. “You’ve been selected by your team leaders for your knowledge of this station. You know every nook and cranny. It’s your job to search this station, from Level 9 to Level 1 and find my daughter.”
Sean and Darin stood to Kenna’s left behind her.
“I want every room searched. Not just the empty rooms, every room. I don’t care how you do it. We do not have StaSec support, it may get ugly. I’ll do the best I can for you and your families if things go wrong.”
She stopped and looked them in the eyes. “Think about how you’d feel if it was your child.” She stopped again as she choked on the last word. Kenna cleared her throat and took a deep breath, controlling the tears that threatened to flow. “I’m trusting my daughter’s life to you. Please find her.”

The Beginning Cover (Draft) Tell me what you think about it. Would you make any changes?

The Beginning, 1st book in the Brown Rain Series, Draft, by Connie Cockrell

The Beginning, 1st book in the Brown Rain Series, Draft, by Connie Cockrell

Kyra held her shot. Now that it had come down to it, she was reluctant to kill the dog. She was reluctant to kill anything. She’d only shot at targets back at the school. Malcolm had told her not to hesitate. “The first time is going to be hard, Kyra,” he told her. A faraway look shone in his eyes. “It will be the hardest, but if you’re threatened, don’t hesitate. Doesn’t matter if it’s an animal or a human. Hesitation will get you and Alyssa killed. Take the shot.”
Sweat ran down her forehead and into the outer corner of her left eye. She blinked and the center dog, crouched down, still approaching slowly. The first dog was on her right, also in a crouch. “Alyssa. Is your dog in a crouch?”
“Yes. I think it’s going to attack.”
“I think so, too.” Kyra pulled the string back just a hair more and fired at the center dog. The dog screamed and flipped around as the arrow hit him in the middle of his chest. She turned and pulled a new arrow in one fluid movement. The first dog was charging. She could hear Alyssa scream, “Look out!” behind her. The first dog was five feet away when Kyra pulled the bow and shot the dog in the neck. She dropped the bow and pulled her boot knife while spinning around to Alyssa. The last dog was in the air, a snarl sounding as it leapt straight for Alyssa’s face.
Kyra threw her knife, hitting the dog in the ribs and knocking it aside. It yelped and rolled. Kyra grabbed Alyssa’s knife from her hand where she was frozen with fear and charged the dog. It rolled to its feet and crouched, ready to lunge, it’s mouth in a snarl and teeth ready to tear her apart. The blood pounded in her ears as she circled the dog. The thing must weigh about fifty pounds, she thought. It’s wounded. I can do this. It leapt, her knife falling out of its ribs. She slashed at the throat, as she braced herself in a crouch for the impact. The knife slashed the animal but not enough. It yowled as she spun to get out of its way. She crouched again, knife ready as the dog hit the ground, spun around and leapt at her again. This time she let the creature hit. It snapped at her, its breath foul in her face. From her left she could hear a yelp. Alyssa! screamed through her mind but she had to deal with this dog first. Holding the dog’s throat with her left hand, she swung with all her strength for the dog’s ribs with her right. The knife plunged into the dog, she could feel the blade scrape a rib as the knife went in up to the hilt. She pulled it out as she rolled over, the dog thrashing, and on top, she stabbed it again. The dog screamed and she rolled to her feet in a crouch. Where’s Alyssa!
In front of her, Alyssa stood over the first dog, Kyra’s knife in her hand, blood dripping from the tip. The dog lay at her feet, unmoving. Kyra ran to her. “Are you all right?”
Alyssa stared at the dog, her eyes filling with tears. “I had to, Kyra. It was getting up. Getting ready to kill you.”
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 the e-tailer or Goodreads 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.
Hard Choices: A Gulliver Station Story released May17th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Surprise! The Bad Boys of Summer Anthology

Aside

TBBOS E-Book Cover

What a surprise! My friend Selena Laurence has joined forces with six other authors to put together an anthology for charity! Brought to you by The REAL Housewives of Romance and Sugar & Spice Book Reviews

Available July 7 for a limited time for 99 cents

The Bad Boys of Summer Anthology

by Emily Snow (Goodreads Author)Erin Noelle (Goodreads Author)J.S. Cooper (Goodreads Author)Michelle LynnNevaeh Lee (Goodreads Author)Selena Laurence (Goodreads Author)Shanora Williams (Goodreads Author)T. Torrest (Goodreads Author)
Seven Full-Length Books from NYT, USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Authors. All proceeds from the sale of The Bad Boys of Summer Anthology will benefit Represent Magazine and Youth Communication, an organization dedicated to helping at-risk teens develop their full potential through reading and writing.
Savor You by Emily SnowMetamorphosis by Erin NoelleCrazy Beautiful Love by J.S. Cooper

Collaboration by Michelle Lynn & Nevaeh Lee

A Lush Betrayal by Selena Laurence

Who He Is by Shanora Q. Williams

Remember When by T. Torrest

Perfect for a summer vacation read. Good for you, good for charity.

Five copies are up for free at  http://bit.ly/1qRlBHc

Please buy a copy, it comes out July 7th, 2014, 99 cents for a limited time.

New Book by Eric Alagan: Mechanic Leigh

As a writer, I follow many other author’s blogs, tweets, facebook and Google+ pages. One of those I follow is Eric Alagan. His newest book, Mechanic Leigh is now out in paper back. You can check out his blog at: http://ericalagan.net/

Here’s what he has to say about Mechanic Leigh.

I’m happy to announce that Mechanic Leigh, paperback, is now available from Amazon. Please click on image for Amazon USA:

Click here for Amazon UK

Mechanic Leigh

Mechanic Leigh

The back cover contains eight (8) comments, a small selection from the many supporters of Mechanic Leigh. I reproduce these comments below:

I enjoy your Mechanic Leigh stories. The info on Singapore, the language and the cultural info wrapped in a clever and enjoyable prose – Stephen Baum, California, USA

Loved it as it took me back to my evil teen years – Ian Grice, Queensland, Australia

This whole saga of Mechanic Leigh is so beautifully written – Soma Mukherjee, New Delhi, India

I really enjoyed these Mechanic Leigh stories – Melissa Perera, Maryland, USA

Eric is a living testimony to the belief that if we write from the heart, we will touch other hearts – Jane Thorne, Buckinghamshire, UK

The characters are funny and such fun – Val Logar, Texas, USA

Every single episode resonates with my childhood experiences. The stories are very entertaining, light-hearted and uplifting – Jasey Chua, Singapore (Jasey does not blog)

The ghostwriter device is genius! I’m still chuckling – Jane Stansfeld, Texas, USA

Thank you all for your generous comments and support. My gratitude has no expiry date 🙂

Have a great week.

****** Mechanic Leigh Video – Singapore Slant ******

Be a friend – Reblog, Retweet, or post on your Facebook or LinkedIn – and leave a comment/link below.

************** ### ****************

Published!

Piano Poster by Elthenstorm via www.DeviantArt.com

Piano Poster by Elthenstorm via www.DeviantArt.com

I’ve been working like crazy on my books this month. Today, I got my 3rd Gulliver Station book, Hard Choices, up on Amazon (ASIN: B00KEVWYHW) and Smashwords (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/439286).  Distribution to other distributors will take a week to two weeks to accomplish.  I’ve decided to give my readers a deal. Sign up for my newsletter and I’ll reward you with a free copy of Book 2, The Challenge. Sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link. You all are getting this offer before even my newsletter people. Hurry, offer ends Sunday the 25th!

This month I’m continuing the writing habit with my writing site’s May Story a Day. I’ve written seven stories so far in addition to working on my 2YN novel, well on my way to 10 stories this month. In addition, I’ve challenged myself to write at least 1K of words per day in new writing five days per week. I’m doing well with both challenges.

My blog has been undergoing a makeover. My friend Brianna Jill Soloski, has given the site a face-lift and fixed my Books page. See it on www.conniesrandomthoughts.wordpress.com. If you like what she did, she’s ready to hire at: (http://girlseeksplace.wordpress.com/hireme/). Blogs, Etsy pages, whatever you need in editing and a whole lot of other things.

The weather has been fine and we’re now up into the 80’s. I don’t expect any more frosts. I put in seed for Serano peppers, Rutger’s tomato, summer green and yellow squash, a bird house gourd, butternut squash, peas, green bush beans, green pole beans and yellow beans. Potatoes, herbs and swiss chard are already growing on their own. I’m going to buy more tomato, basil and pepper plants. I’m lazy and didn’t get seed started in time. I put my bay leaf tree and lemon tree out in the yard. So far they’re fine.

The town has been a hive of activity again this weekend. For the fine arts people, a classical piano recital by a 13 year-old girl was held on Saturday night. I didn’t go but friends I walked with on Sunday morning said the young lady was quite accomplished. She even threw in some Gershwin, just to keep it interesting. On the other end of the scale, the Spring Rodeo was in town on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. People both local and from far away traveled into town to see the riding, bronc bustin, and ropin’. Saturday is a big yard sale day. My hubby and I picked up a nearly new oak dining room table and six matching chairs for an amazing price. The yard sale people even delivered it. Yay! There’s something for everyone in my little town.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Please sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. Want to know how to get a free copy of each new book? 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 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.

Hard Choices: A Gulliver Station Story, released May17th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Seleana Laurence Cover Reveal and Giveaway

New Covers, New Sales, Big Giveaways!

by Selena Laurence

I could not be more excited today because I get to reveal the cover for Lush 2 – For the Love of a Lush! This cover was designed by Cover It! Designs, who do all of the Lush and Hiding From Love covers. Take a look at Walsh and Tammy, and when you’re done, scroll down for information on the special sale we’re having for Lush 1, and your chance to enter a whole Lush giveaway!

Lush 2 smalljacket

To help celebrate the cover reveal for Lush 2, we’re putting Lush 1 – A Lush Betrayal on sale for just $.99 for a limited time. Don’t miss this chance to try out the rock star romance that NYT  and USA Today Bestselling Author Lauren Blakely described as: “Delicious and intriguing”

ALB_99_web2

image

Screen Shot 2013-10-23 at 9.56.21 PM

image

Now for the Giveaway!

Go to Rafflecopter Here

Selena Laurence | April 17, 2014 at 6:00 am | Tags: A Lush BetrayalFor the Love of a Lush | Categories: NewsNewsletterThe Cover Gal | URL: http://wp.me/p3asno-r5

The Challenge Cover Reveal

The Challenge front cover

The Challenge front cover

Editing and formatting are complete on The Challenge, the second book in the Gulliver Station series. How do you like the cover? The manuscript has been entered on both Smashwords and CreateSpace so will be available shortly. For those of you new to my blog, Smashwords is an ebook publishing site and distributes to many ebook vendors like Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and others. It also puts my stories on library lists and book lists that book stores buy from. CreateSpace is an Amazon owned publishing venue. It gives me a paper copy as well as a Kindle copy of my book.  In a day or two, The Challenge will be up on Amazon. It takes a little longer for Smashwords to get it distributed out to the other vendors, though if you want an ebook version right away it’s up on Smashwords now.

What else is going on?

Hubby is power washing our wooden fence. It had never been painted or stained and the wood had turned grey with black streaks. Once he finishes washing it (what he’s done looks better already) we’ll paint or stain it. There’s a lot of fence to do but he takes the job in stages and eventually, it will be washed.

Spring is here in Arizona. My peach and nectarine trees have already bloomed. The pear trees are in bloom now. The apples will be another week or so, they just began to bud out. The early daffodils have come and gone, the mid-season ones are in bloom now. I have been so busy getting my books out that I haven’t even looked at my garden seed catalogs. It’s time for me to get my seed order in and get my tomatoes and peppers and eggplant started. I love being able to step out of my back door and pick fresh stuff for dinner. I’m tickled every time I do it. I’ve already been harvesting green onion, parsley, swiss chard, chives and oregano. How cool is that?

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Go ahead and sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. 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 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.

A New Start: A Gulliver Station story released January 31st! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Kobo: Not Available Yet. I’m working with their Help Desk to resolve whatever the issue is that is preventing A New Start from being listed. I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn’t affect The Challenge.

Blog spot for Debra Kayn’s Grasping for Freedom

 GraspingForFreedom - 500x
 
In Debra Kayn’s newest biker romance novel, Sergeant at Arms of Bantorus MC, Torque Kendler fights to keep his past hidden, while protecting the one woman who’s capable of bringing chaos down on Pitnam out of desperation and love.
Torque Kendler, Sergeant at Arms of the Bantorus Motorcycle club, tenaciously safeguards his marked past. Shot twice by Los Li and nearly killed last year, he wants to hold on to the familiar and retain his freedom. However, there are too many changes happening in Pitnam for him to trust anyone…especially the new chick managing the bar that’s giving him attitude and consuming his thoughts.
Sent by Los Li to work at a biker bar called Cactus Cove, Brandy Haas expects to get the information she came for and save her dad from the Mexican mafia. Worried about her dad, struggling at her job, and scared of failing again, she adds to her problems by lusting after the most dangerous biker in the MC. One biker, one hothead, one wonderful gift Torque unknowingly gives her could destroy everything she’s trying to protect.
Available at AmazonBarnes & NobleAll romance and where most ebooks are sold
Goodreads