Pages of Fear Blog Hop

Welcome to the first ever Pages of Fear Blog Hop. It's a pre-Halloween event celebrating authors who like to fright and delight with their writing. As you progress through the twenty-eight blogs / websites, you'll learn about authors you may already know and be introduced to some new ones.

Everyone loves the opportunity to get something free so twenty-eight authors have gathered together to give ONE lucky winner signed copies of their books (one per author). You may even find other types of giveaways on their sites, so keep your eyes open. While you're looking, you'll want to locate the secret word on each site. Make a list of the words in the proper order. When you reach the final destination (Authorsfbenson.com), you'll find an email address. Send your list to it. The winner will be selected courtesy of random.org

Ready?

Get on your marks.

Get set.

GO!

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This weekend is going to be a super busy one for me! Not only am I participating in this awesome Pages of Fear Blog Hop, but I'm also attending the Ozarks Indie Book Fest in Springfield, MO.

The event kicks off tonight with a keynote speech from Christina Benjamin followed by an awesome treasure hunt with some sweet prizes for the best hunters.

If you haven't already gotten your tickets yet, you can click on the image above and it will send you right to the ticket page, or you can buy your tickets at the door. I hope to see you there because it's going to be an amazing weekend, full of treasure (books, books and more books) plus lots of FUN!

Also, before you go, I have a couple more FANTASTIC giveaways to share with you.

First, another Spooktacular Authors Giveaway. Click the image for a chance to win some Halloween treasure.

 
And how about some Harry Potter treasure? Click the image and all the fun could be yours.

Good luck and I hope to see you in Springfield!

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To continue the hop, please go to Stephany Wallace's site at https://www.stephanywallace.com

Did you get lost? Enter the hop at the middle? Retrace your steps here or begin the hop at Lily Luchesi's site at http://lilyluchesibooks.wixsite.com/lilyluchesi.

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Tyrabbisaurus Rex, Finalist for the Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award

What an amazing day!

Tyrabbisaurus Rex was recognized as a Finalist for the Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award at a luncheon earlier today.

I had two of my nieces with me, which made it even more special. My youngest niece, Josie, is T-Rab's biggest fan, so she was super excited to see him honored, while my older niece, Tobi, is one of MY biggest fans, always encouraging me and asking me how my writing's going.

When I accepted the award, I thanked them both, acknowledging the very real impact they've both had on my writing. As I said in the moment, "Between the two of them, I'm definitely kept on track when it comes to my writing goals."

The other person I thanked (she was actually the first person I mentioned) was Jeanine Henning, the artist who brought to life the Tyrabbisaurus Rex character, in a way I wasn't even sure was possible when I began my search for an illustrator. I've never been so happy to have been wrong. Jeanine literally breathed life into T-Rab's character, somehow managing to showcase his enormous attitude without ever losing his utterly adorable bunniness. As I said when accepting the award, "The book wouldn't be what it is without Jeanine's amazing cover and brilliant illustrations."

The award was sponsored by the Kansas City chapter of the American Association of University Women and the Kansas City Public Library. I'll leave you with a picture of the absolutely gorgeous award they presented me with.

 

Revenge of the Tiger: NOMINATION

I'm super excited to announce that my second Tyrabbisaurus Rex book, Revenge of the Tiger, was nominated for Best Children's Book by Ozarks Indie Book Fest.

What a fantastic honor!

Voting closes Sept. 15, so be sure to vote for your favorite indie books and authors before then. You can vote here.

Winners will be announced at the Ozarks Indie Book Fest on Saturday, Oct. 21. You can buy your tickets for the book festival here.

Hope to see you there!
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The Trouble with Quilling (a.k.a. The Spines of Torture)

The Trouble with Quilling

(a.k.a. The Spines of Torture)

is finally here!

Meet Tessa Hedgehog.

She's one quill away from committing hedgicide. Okay, so maybe that's not a word, but it should be! If those hedgies, Alex and Brock, don't stop pestering her, she won't be responsible for her actions!

She may be little, but she's got 6,000 spines ready for action.

Now Available on Amazon

New Release: Revenge of the Tiger

Finally! A new book for T-Rab!

Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

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Hey! Who let the tiger back in the classroom?

And why are the students
so happy to see him?
Don't they know he's up to no good,
plotting against their beloved Tyrabbisaurus Rex?

Well, it's a good thing T-Rab's got a plan 

to save the world 
from that dastardly spy of a tiger!

Warning: This book contains bunny poop, 

fierce Tyrabbisaurus Rexes 

and a rampaging Tiger-Spy. 

Read at your own risk.

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Tyrabbisaurus Rex has his own Facebook page!

 Visit him at www.facebook.com/tyrabbisaurus
Of course you can still find him on Twitter @tyrabbisaurus as well.

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Ozarks Indie BookFest: Anthology Cover Reveal (UnderDogs) and More!

I am so excited to be an attending author at Ozarks Indie BookFest. Not just because it's a fantastic event, benefiting two amazing charities (Loving Paws Rescue and Companions for Heroes), but also because we will be launching an anthology I participated in at the event. 

It's a charity anthology, again benefiting the two charities above, and has an amazing collection of authors. You can visit their Facebook pages by clicking on their names below:

Cover Designed by The Always Amazing Jo Michaels

SF Benson  
Jeanine Binder
Susan Boles
Susan Burdorf
Elise Faber
Sandy Goldsworthy
Kelly Risser
JG Sumner 
Julie Wetzel

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I hope you will consider joining me 

in the Ozarks this October. 

The event is sure to be amazing!

Tickets are available for purchase here.

Hope to see you there!

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Join me in Nashville!

Revenge of the Tiger is here!
Pre-order your copy on Amazon today.

Release date is July 10.

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Join me in Nashville at UTOPiA

June 22-25

PANEL:
Walking the Tightrope from Tween to Teen

Friday, June 23
2:00

Moderated by NY Times bestselling author, Chanda Hahn

EXHIBITOR TABLE #10

Friday, June 23

10:00 - 2:00      3:00 - 6:00

Saturday, June 24
11:00 - 1:00      2:00 - 4:00

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EARLY RELEASE COPIES OF
REVENGE OF THE TIGER
FOR SALE AT THE EVENT

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UTOPiA nominations are in!

Vote for your favorite books here!

I'm super excited to announce that Shifter High received two UTOPiA nominations this year.   
 

The Trouble with Antlers 

(a.k.a. Melvin's Rampant Rack)

was nominated for Best Novella of the Year 

&

Shifter High 
was nominated 
for Best Serial Series 
of the Year.

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Revenge of the Tiger: COVER REVEAL

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it!

Tyrabbisaurus Rex would like to make several announcements. First, he would like it understood far and wide that he is most emphatically, 100% NOT a cuddly bunny (he's said this before, but no one seems to be listening). He'd also like to point out that contrary to vicious rumors...

Got that? He is NOT the Easter Bunny! That means, NOT cuddly, NOT cute, NOT bringing you baskets full of eggs and chocolate bunnies (in fact, he protests their very existence), NOT hopping to your Easter party anytime soon.

He is a dinosaur, people! A tyrabbisaurus rex, to be exact! And he RRROOOAAARRRS at you with the power of his mind.

Now that he's gotten that out of the way... his second announcement is that he is hosting a Read Along event on Facebook. Activities, question, games, etc. will be posted every day through to the end of the month. So hop on over there to join the fun!

And last, but certainly, not least, DRUM ROLL......

Tyrabbisaurus Rex would like to reveal the cover of his upcoming book Revenge of the Tiger.

Yes, he knows. You're understandably upset about this terrible news. Rest assured, so is he!

Honestly, he can't believe it either, but the terrible truth is...

The tiger is back. 

Rex was certain he had vanquished him for good, but that tiger is wily and clever, and now, yes, HE'S BACK. Even worse, he's out for revenge.

Cover art and design by Jeanine Henning

Good thing the world has Tyrabbisaurus Rex to save it from that dastardly, up-to-no-good, evil tiger-spy!

The Power of Choice

Welcome to another stop along the Read Self-Published Blog Tour!

I'm going to take a moment outside my regular, more lighthearted blogging nature, to speak seriously about what it means to self-publish my books.

It all comes down to choice.

There's something truly empowering about choice.

There's a perception that still lingers around authors choosing self-publication. And I say "choosing" deliberately because often the perception is that it wasn't a choice, that instead it was a matter of "settling" – settling for second best maybe. Or not even second best. Maybe just settling for what we could get.

But I know so many authors today who made a deliberate choice to self-publish and I stand proud as one of them. For us, it wasn't about settling. It was about empowerment. It was about taking control of our own careers, of having choice when it came to matters surrounding the art of our souls.

It's no little thing to allow someone else the power to choose the cover of your book, the artist to illustrate it, the marketing it receives (or doesn't), the manner in which it's formatted, even the types of stories you'll write, anything from their length to their plots to their very genres. Having those choices stripped away is like a form of death. To our art. To our visions. To our worlds.

I emailed a traditionally published author, one of my favorites, about eight years ago, asking why she'd chosen to switch sub-genres. I absolutely loved the historical romances she'd been writing for more than a decade, but now she was writing romantic suspense, and I didn't enjoy them anywhere near as much. At the time, I read both genres voraciously and felt that, although this author was exceptionally gifted at creating her historicals, her romantic suspense novels lacked their depth and charm. Her reply to me (and I was thrilled to receive a reply) was that her publisher wanted her writing in the romantic suspense genre because they felt that was where the readership was.

What a tragedy.

I wanted to ask her if it was what she wanted to be writing. Was she happy following this new road? I didn't want to rub salt in the wound, though, in case she wasn't. Maybe she was fine with it, but I was truly disheartened to think that maybe she'd given up her passion to follow the demands of her traditional publisher.

Self-published authors make choices every day that more traditionally published authors don't have to make. Or don't get to make. It depends on your perspective. From my perspective, getting to choose my illustrator is worth everything to me. I have the most amazing illustrator in the world for both my Tyrabbisaurus Rex and Shifter High series. I wouldn't give up Jeanine Henning for the most lucrative, traditional contract in the world. It would be like stripping those books of their life, the characters of their personality. It would be like peeling them down to the barest of bones and leaving them to wither and die.

None of this is to say there's anything wrong with choosing to go the traditional route. After all, that's the point I'm making.

It's our choice. And no matter how we choose, we own it because it's ours. Whether the choice is for a more traditional route, a completely indie one or a hybrid path, we choose.

As for me, I'm thrilled to have made the choice I did. I'm honored to be a part of the self-publishing community. I hold my head high and when people ask about the choice I made, I always tell them it's because I get to make choices that I made the one I did. I choose the length of my books, their subject matter, which taboos I break, which genres I write in, which illustrators I work with, which covers I approve, which book I write next and which book I'm not ready to write (or never want to write).

I choose. There's nothing more empowering than that.

Read self-published works. I guarantee you'll find an amazing array of gifted authors whose choice to break from tradition has meant that their works are anything but traditional. They break all the rules and in the doing, give their readership the gift of unique and varied reading choices.

Thanks for visiting my stop on the Read Self-Published Blog Tour. You can go back to the beginning here or head on to the next stop here. Find out more about events planned during Read Self-Published Month here.

Best wishes and happy reading!

Happy Read Self-Published Month!

April is Read Self-Published Month and as an indie author, this is super important to me. I'm excited to participate in some fantastic activities throughout the month to celebrate and encourage others to read indie authors and works.

I'll be highlighting several indie authors in a number of different genres over the next couple weeks, so keep an eye out for some spotlights there.

In the meantime, here are some things to look forward to in April:

• Read Self-Published Blog Tour – it all began April 1 (yes, I'm late to the party, as usual) at Zachary Chopchinski's blog. Check back here April 9 for my contribution to the tour.
• Giveaways – Check out all the exciting giveaways available from April 1 - 14 here and giveaways from April 15 - 28 here (the Audible version of Tyrabbisaurus Rex is only one of many exciting offerings this month!)
• Facebook Takeover Events – A number of fantastic indie authors will be taking over the Facebook Read Self Published Page throughout the month. Each author has their own events and activities scheduled so be sure to check the page regularly throughout the month of April. My scheduled day is April 22. See you then!
• Read Alongs – Check out some fantastic indie books here. You can discuss these books with their authors as you read them – what an awesome opportunity! And if you'd like to join me in reading and discussing Tyrabbisaurus Rex (and I hope you will!), please join me on Facebook beginning Easter Sunday, April 16 here

Join the Read Along here

• Sales, Sales, Sales! Tyrabbisaurus Rex will be on sale during the days leading up to the Read Along event. You can buy it on Kindle for 99 cents from April 10 through April 16. If you don't already have one, grab a copy and join the conversation! Other books of mine will be on sale throughout the month, so be sure to keep an eye on my Facebook page and my twitter feeds @ajculey and @tyrabbisaurus, as I will announce each book as it goes on sale. 

Overall, April's going to be a fantastic month, which honestly, is super good news for me because as a teacher, I can honestly say that April is generally one of the longest and slowest months of the year :) Looking forward to having so much fun to make the month pass by in a breeze!

The Trouble with Tigers (a.k.a. Katrina's Homicidal Urges)

Welcome

to Shifter High

Katrina's story is finally here!

Katrina Tiger battles her predatory instincts. 

It's all her bunny siblings' fault!

If they didn't want her to take a nibble, 

they shouldn't smell so divine!

Besides, there are so many of them, 

surely her parents won't miss one . . . 
or two . . . or ten.

Now available on Amazon

The Trouble with Tigers: COVER REVEAL

I've been sitting on this cover for a while now, as I've struggled to bring Katrina's story to fruition. I think I'm finally there though, so it's time for the big cover reveal.

Katrina's story will come out toward the end of February, but while we're waiting, here's a sneak peak at her cover, created by the fabulously talented Jeanine Henning.

The Trouble with Thieves (a.k.a. Those Blasted Bunnies)

Welcome to Shifter High

Paulie's story is finally here!

Paulie Porcupine is determined to catch the thieves who've been stealing his acorns. 

His prime suspects are the bunnies and the human, Amelia.

All Paulie has to do is figure out where they're taking his acorns and steal them back. 

With the help of his best friend, Melvin Moose, 

those acorns should be back where they belong in no time. 

That is, if Paulie can keep Melvin from getting all antlered up

every time he sees Amelia. 

No problem, right?

Available on Amazon now

The Trouble with Thieves: COVER REVEAL

I am super excited to reveal the cover for my second installment of Shifter High: The Trouble with Thieves (a.k.a. Those Blasted Bunnies).

I've had so much fun writing Paulie's story and can't wait for it to go live in a couple weeks. In the meantime, here's a sneak peak at its awesome cover, created by the always amazing Jeanine Henning.

Guest Blogger: Cara McKinnon

I'm super excited to have fellow blogger and writer, Cara McKinnon, as a guest on my blog today. Cara is here to share her writing and publishing journey. Welcome, Cara!

---

Making a Commitment to Become a Published Author

by Cara McKinnon

I have always been a writer. Since I first learned how to hold a pencil and compose a complete sentence, I have been using my words to tell stories. I wrote several half-finished novels in high school, and finally finished one in college. Then I finished another shortly after I got married. It was after finishing that book that I decided I wanted to go to school for writing.

I ended up at Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program, which is a fabulous environment for authors in various stages of their writer’s journey. I had a wonderful mentor, Maria V. Snyder, who encouraged me to immediately begin submitting my thesis to agents and editors when I graduated in 2012. But in the four years since graduation, I’ve never gotten a “bite” on my submissions. Maria says she still believes in the project, so maybe someday I’ll unearth it, but I was very discouraged by the amount of rejections I’d started to accumulate. I wrote another book and it’s been rejected a few times, too (although always with very thoughtful criticisms and praises for things I was doing right).

Then, last summer at the yearly In Your Write Mind conference hosted by the Seton Hill Alumni (which is open to all writers, and you should come!), an editor from Tor Books named Claire Eddy gave a talk about the state of publishing. She said the problem was she couldn’t buy all of the books she loved like she once did. They used to have a place in their publication schedule for something called a “midlist” – titles that would be printed as mass market paperbacks (those are the smaller sized softcovers) and would not get as much marketing push and store placement as a big hardcover release. As book sales moved online, that midlist had disappeared.

At least for big publishers. The thing is – the people that bought midlist books are still buying them. They’re just buying them from Amazon now.

And that was when I decided to start publishing my books independently. Oh, I still hope to sell some of my projects to traditional publishing houses. It’s nice to be a hybrid author, because there’s still a certain prestige that comes from being vetted by the big publishers in New York. And they have placement in bookstores that I’ll never get otherwise, and throw at least a few marketing dollars at their projects.

But I can still put my books out for the world to read. I can still share my stories with the world. I just have to do it myself. And I committed to starting that journey this year. When I finished the first draft of my new book, I told myself it would be available for purchase by the time I went to this year’s In Your Write Mind workshop.

I hired an editor, made a cover, and started my journey. Now the book is getting ready for release, I have another two releases scheduled for the rest of the year, and the future for my books looks bright.

It has been quite a journey so far, and it’s only just beginning!

AUTHOR BIO

Cara McKinnon writes fantasy romances because her heart pumps equal parts magic and passion. Her love of history caused her to set her books in an alternate Victorian era, with surprisingly few changes from the real world. She lives on the East Coast of the US with her husband, two kids, and an oversized lapdog named Jake.

Her website is caramckinnon.com.

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Blog Tour Featuring The Trouble with Antlers (a.k.a. Melvin's Rampant Rack)

It's release week for The Trouble with Antlers, which is currently available for pre-order on Amazon, and goes live this Thurs., June 23.

Available on Amazon

In honor of its release, I'm participating in a blog tour all week. Here is where you can find me this week:

Mon., June 20:  Visit Firefly Hill Press to read a memo from Shifterville's mayor, David Peacock, on the preparations being made for the arrival of the town's first human residents.

Tues., June 21:  Visit Cara McKinnon's site for a peek at how Shifter High is prepping for the arrival of its newest, and first human, student.

Wed., June 22: Visit Jennifer Loring's site for an inside look at the greatest threat to shifters today: Melvin Moose.

Thurs., June 23: RELEASE DAY! Visit Jessica Knauss' site for a sneak peak and excerpt from The Trouble with Antlers (a.k.a. Melvin's Rampant Rack).

Fri., June 24: Visit J.L. Gribble's site for an author interview, where I talk about the writing process, creating the world of Shifterville and upcoming projects.

Hope to see you there!

Interview with a Moose

Today, we welcome guest blogger, Tyrabbisaurus Rex, who will be interviewing Melvin Moose from The Trouble with Antlers (a.k.a., Melvin's Rampant Rack).

Welcome, gentlemen.

Rex, take it away.

--

Rex: So, Melvin. You're a moose.

Melvin: Shifter.

R: I'm sorry, what?

M: Moose shifter. I'm a moose shifter.

R: And what exactly does that mean?

M: Basically that I can shift from my human form to my moose one whenever I want. And sometimes when I don't want.

R: Yeah, but when wouldn't you want to be a moose?

M: Well, it's not always the best time, now is it? Would you want to be in the middle of class, trying to take a test, having to deal with sudden moositude? Well, would you?

R: Um, well, sure, I mean -

M: Of course you wouldn't.

R: Okay, so if you don't like shifting into a moose, why not choose a different animal? Like, say, an alligator?

M: Because there aren't any alligators in my family tree.

R: Aha! So there are alligator shifters, then?

M: Well, actually, I'm not sure. I've never met one before, but I would imagine they exist somewhere.

R: So how do I do it?

M: Do what?

R: Shift into an alligator, of course. I thought you'd be smarter, since you've got some animal in you, but apparently the human traits outweigh your animal ones.

M: Wait, so you want to shift?

R: Of course!

M: But you're not a human. Are you?

R: Of course not! Blech. Who would want to be a human? I'm a Tyrabbisaurus Rex!

M: Yes, but -

R: And I've decided to be an alligator too.

M: Why an alligator? Just curious.

R: Big mouth. Lots of teeth. Good for chewing veggies. Oh! Speaking of veggies. Parsley! Chomp-chomp-chomp.

M: Well, that's interesting and all, but um, I really should get going -

R: No, wait! Chomp, chomp, chomp. A.J. says you have antlers.

M: Unfortunately.

R: I want antlers too. I want to be a Tyrabbisaurus Rex shifter with antlers.

M: I'm confused.

R: I don't know why. Just show me how to shift into an alligator with antlers.

M: Well, look at the time. I've really got to go.

R: Aw, come on.

M: Nope. Sorry. Top secret shifter business. Can't be shared. You understand.

R: That's not very nice.

M: Well, you know how it is. I'm sure there are top secret bunny -

R: Bunny? Who are you calling bunny, mister?

M: Uhhh -

R: I'm a Tyrabbisaurus Rex!

M: Yes, right. So I'm sure there are top secret -

R: Tyrabbisaurus.

M: Right, tyrabbisaurus things you couldn't share with me.

R: Hm. Good point. Very well. I'll figure out this shifter business on my own. I'm smart. I'm sure I can manage one simple little shift.

M: Well, good luck with that.

R:  Don't need luck. I'm a Tyrabbisaurus Rex. I make my own luck!

M: Of course you do. Well, I'm going to go now.

R: Yeah. Bye. Antlers. Antlers. I'm picturing antlers, right about - oooh. Kale! Yummy! Chomp-chomp-chomp-chomp.

---

And that was Rex interviewing Melvin the Moose. Surprisingly, the interview revealed very little about Melvin himself. I'm sure that's not because of Rex's personality or anything. If you'd like to know more about Melvin and his world, be sure to check out The Trouble with Antlers (a.k.a. Melvin's Rampant Rack) on Amazon.

The Trouble with Antlers: COVER REVEAL

The best news ever this month: Jeanine Henning agreed to also illustrate my Shifter High series and what she is doing with these characters is simply amazing.

I love working with her and each day is a special treat as I see what she has to send me next.

Today was the cover in color. AMAZING.

Before the color version, however, there came Melvin in ink:

Awesome, right? Truly superb. I couldn't imagine that he would get any better than that. But then we had Melvin in color:

I'm kind of crushing on my cute, awkward, adorable Melvin. Seriously. I just can't even imagine this getting any better.

But then today.

The cover.  The COVER.

I am so sincerely amazed at this cover. It's just perfection. Jeanine is my absolute hero! First, she brings T-Rab to life, now Melvin and soon his friends as well. I'm on cloud nine right now.

If My Cat Could Fly: LIVE ON AMAZON

Super excited to say I have another picture book out today, illustrated by the amazing Fabiana Farcas, who also illustrated A Fairy's Job.

This book is truly near and dear to my heart because, well, it features a cat. It could be my cat or it could be your cat, but I guarantee you, if a cat could fly, that cat would be into all sorts of mischief, the kind illustrated in this book, and other mischief I cannot even imagine.

Still, mischievous or not, isn't this cat adorable?

If My Cat Could Fly