Pump Up Your Book is pleased to announce Richard Tillotson’s  Acts of God While on Vacation Virtual Book Tour 2012 beginning February 6  and ending on February 29 2012. Richard will be on hand during his worldwide tour talking about his book in candid interviews and guest posts!  Lots of fun along the way as Richard stops off at blogs around the world to give his fans a chance to ask him questions and to find out more about this talented author.

About Richard Tillotson

Richard Tillotson has been a Peace Corps volunteer in Borneo, a playwright in New York, a copywriter in Hawaii, and is a relative of an English Lord, all of which helped him write Acts of God While on Vacation, a National Semi-Finalist for the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and named “Hawaii’s best fiction book of 2011” by The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He works in Honolulu and vacations in Washington DC.

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About Acts of God While on Vacation

ACTS OF GOD WHILE ON VACATION begins with a death threat received by a philandering general manager of a lavish Hawaii resort, jumps to an anthropologist researching headhunters in the jungles of Borneo, then to a demonic, scandal-mongering paparazzo in New York, and on to a gorgeous, party-loving English aristocrat in London. Alternately desperate and hilarious adventures draw them all to Waikiki, where their arrival coincides with an international conference on shamanism and a catastrophic, force-five hurricane. ACTS OF GOD WHILE ON VACATION was a National Semi-Finalist for the AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD.

“A rollicking page-turner … This is Hawaii’s best fiction book of 2011.”

- HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER

“A shamanically-skewed romp of brilliant insight and slapstick comedy”

- HAWAII PUBLIC RADIO

“As entertaining as it is enlightening”

- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“Laugh-out-loud funny, while also ringing true”

- HONOLULU WEEKLY

“It’s a comic novel with serious edges. Even more remarkable: It’s one of the few fictions set in Hawaii that gets all the details right.”

- HONOLULU MAGAZINE

About Pump Up Your Book

Pump Up Your Book handles all the aspects of virtual book touring from pre-buzzing your book before the tour starts to making sure buyers will find your book long after the tour is over. If you are the author of a newly published book, have an upcoming release or just want to give a previously published book new life, a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book is the answer. We welcome traditionally published, electronically published and self-published authors. Our esteem list of clients include Claire Cook, Caridad Pineiro, C.W. Gortner, Barbara Bretton, Cody McFayden, James Hayman, Karen White, Kathleen Willey, Lisa Daily, Lisa Jackson, Mary Burton, Nancy Thayer, Randy Sue Coburn, Ray Comfort, Sandi Kahn Shelton, Sheila Roberts, Therese Fowler, Hope Edelman, Wendy Wax, Jon Meacham, Shobhan Bantwal, Pat Williams, Jane Green, Judge Glenda Hatchett and cook show personality Paula Deen. We also represent Random House, Abingdon Press, Zumaya Publications, WND Books, Sheaf House Publishers, New Hope Publishers, Guardian Angel Publishers, Genesis Press, and Moody Publishing. Contact us to find out what we can do for you and your book!

If you’d like to interview Richard or review his book, contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife(at)gmail.com. Pump Up Your Book is an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion for authors. Visit us at www.pumpupyourbook.com.

Tags: Acts of God While On Vacation, Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, blog tour, book campaign, book promotion companies, book promotions, book publicists, book publicity, book publicity companies, book tour, borneo, death threat, English aristocrat, Hawaii, Hawaii author, Hawaii resort, Honolulu, hurricane, jungles of Borneo, literary comic fiction, literary comic fiction author, literary comic fiction book, London, promote your book, Pump Up Your Book, Richard Tillotson, sell your book, virtual book publicity, virtual book publicity tour, virtual book tour, Waikiki

About Vincent Tuckwood

Vincent Tuckwood is a story-teller working in fiction, song and verse. At any given point in time, he’s proud to be a father, husband, son, brother, cousin and friend to the people who mean the world to him.

He is the author of the novelsEscalation, Family Rules, Karaoke Criminals and Do Sparrows Eat Butterflies? as well as the 2010 poetry collection, Garbled Glittering Glamours. His screenplays are Team Building and the screen adaptation of Family Rules, Inventing Kenny.

Vince regularly connects with his audience at VinceT.net and at his story-teller page on Facebook, often writing poetry in response to their prompts, and encourages everyone to get in touch there.

You can find out more about him and his work at http://vincet.net.

5 Things You Should Know About Kenny Walsh, the main character in the novel Family Rules, by Vincent Tuckwood.

1. Kenny spent the first five years of his life on the UK comedy, ‘Family Rules!’ His television family is more real to him than his biological parents. These formative experiences leave Kenny with a distorted sense of his identity and a need to run away whenever reality comes too close.

2. On the set of ‘Family Rules!’, Kenny was given a spoon of Valium in honey to keep him calm between scenes. He grew to look forward to the gaps between scenes more than the scenes themselves.

3. By age 19, Kenny is on the streets of New York chasing any addiction that might help him avoid the emptiness. In Washington Square Park, he befriends, Ivvy, a junkie-cop lost in a similarly invented life.

4. Kenny turns to stealing cars for the immediate rush of the chase. This comes to an end when he steals a car in New Jersey only to find Bella, a two-year old child, in the back seat.

5. Panicking, and in desperate to avoid this new reality, Kenny decides that he will step into the role of the child’s father. For a lost, doomed weekend, Bella is his daughter and Kenny is her Dad.

About Family Rules

New York. In this city that never sleeps, anyone could make a brand new start of it. Or so the song goes.

For some people, starting again is no option.

Kenny is adrift in the city, tormented by the scars and memories of his unique upbringing as a child star in the UK, chasing any addiction that can fill the void he carries at his core.

Increasingly unable to paper over the cracks, to numb himself with street corner narcotics, or build an abiding relationship with his junkie soul-mate Ivvy, he turns to stealing cars to provide momentary escape from his increasingly desolate life.

Estranged from his parents, Kenny has no hope or vision of a better future.

Until one night he steals a car from a gas station in New Jersey and is offered an unexpected, final opportunity for redemption; a radically different role to play.

Family Rules is an intense personal account of an invented life, where all the rules of family life are inverted, and of the damage done when the boundary between reality and television is truly no boundary at all.

Tags: Family Rules, Family Rules by Vincent Tuckwood, Vincent Tuckwood

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A Day in the Life of Greg Messel
by Greg Messel

I live in Seattle, which is a beautiful, wonderful place to live. I live two blocks from the beach of the Puget Sound and I love to be outside enjoying it all.

However, it is now November and most days it’s rainy, blustery and cool. This is why cups of coffee are very important to Seattlelites. It’s that kind of vibe and that kind of weather. Put on your sweater, grab a good cup of coffee.

Maybe go cozy up to a good book or go see a movie–two other favorite past times of people who live in Seattle.

As the leaves turn in the fall and the rains move in, that’s when I get some serious writing done. I usually spend the summer contemplating and planning my next novel.

Then as the weather turns cool and rainy, I become immersed in the new world I’m creating in my novel. This is my favorite part of the entire journey as an author.

Marketing not so much, but when I’m creating a new world and new characters it is a magical high. I can live in a time and place where I’ve never been.

The world which now exists in my mind is 1957 in San Francisco. As I research what life was like in that time and place,it’s amazing to realize how much the world has changed.

I did live in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1957 but I was eight years old.

In my new novel I’m attempting my first detective story. It’s a mystery than unfolds on foggy nights in San Francisco of the 1950s.

I’m about halfway through the first draft. I expect to spend the rest of the winter finishing it and polishing the story. I love that process, especially where the story starts evolving and starts writing itself.

I’ve heard writers describe the development of their book as somewhat “organic.”  I was always a little puzzled by that term in regards to writing but this time around I have discovered what that means.

I started with a basic outline of where I thought I wanted to go with the story and characters. However, now I’m off the outline and the chapters are tumbling out. The story and characters are going places I did not imagine.

It is hard to describe how that happens to someone who is not a writer. I heard a story about a wood carver. He was asked by an admirer how he made these wonderful carvings. The wood carver simply explained, “I take a piece of wood and just start making some chips.”

I’m at the point where the chips are flying on my new novel. Ultimately, I hope it will be the best thing I’ve ever written. Next summer, I hope it’s finds an audience and readers enjoy it.

However, for now, it’s that wonderful time in the process of writing, when the story and characters live only in my imagination. They are my private property for a few months this winter. Then they will become public and everyone will start giving their opinion of my story and the characters.

This process is what keeps urging me on to write on these rainy fall and winter days in Seattle. It’s magic.

Greg Messel has written three novels and three unpublished memoirs. He published his premiere novel “Sunbreaks” in 2009, followed by “Expiation” in 2010 and “The Illusion of Certainty” in 2011. Greg has had a newspaper career as a columnist, sportswriter and news editor. He won a Wyoming Press Association Award as a columnist. Greg also spent many years in the corporate world as a Financial Manager. He now devotes his energies to writing at his home in Edmonds, Washington on the Puget Sound just north of Seattle, where he lives with his wife, Carol.

You can visit his website at www.gregmessel.com.  Connect with Greg on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gregmessel or Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.messel.

About The Illusion of Certainty

The Illusion of Certainty follows two parallel storylines. Marc is a successful businessman who seems to have everything—a great job, a beautiful wife, a house in an upscale neighborhood of Portland, Oregon and two great kids who are preparing for college. But something is not right. Marc is unsettled by the sudden change in his wife, Aimee, who seems distant and unhappy. What’s going on with her?

The second storyline involves a successful young attorney, Alexandra Mattson. Alex, as she is called by her friends, meets a handsome young cop, Sean, during an unexpected crisis in her neighborhood. Sean and Alex seem made for each other and begin to merge their futures in a world of uncertainty.

The only certainty in life is that we will face uncertainty. Despite all fo the technology and controls available in the modern world, sometimes the only comfort comes from the human touch.

Tags: A Day in the Life, Greg Messel, Guest Blogger, The Illusion of Certainty

Pump Up Your Book is pleased to announce Alexia Fraser’s  Memories of Mom Virtual Book Tour 2012 beginning on January 3  and ending on January 27 2012. Alexia will be on hand during her worldwide tour talking about her book in candid interviews, you’ll be able to watch her first AuthorVid, and do stop off at Pump Up Your Book’s live chat room on January 27 where she will be giving away a copy of her book to one lucky attendee!  Lots of fun along the way as Alexia stops off at blogs around the world to give her fans a chance to ask her questions and to find out more about this beautiful and talented author.

About Alexia E. Fraser

Alexia Elizabeth Smart-Fraser was born in the beautiful island of Jamaica. After marrying her high school sweetheart Edward, she migrated to the United States. She is the proud and loving mother of two children, son Sean and daughter Paige. Alexia studied acting at H.B. Studio. She worked as an extra on the set of “Cosby Mysteries” with Bill Cosby, “New York Undercover” with Malik Yubo, “Central Park West” with Lauren Hutton, and the series “Prince Street” with Mariska Hargitay. As well, Alexia Fraser has written and produced three original non-fiction one act plays both off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway. “The Ryans,” “Dope the Endeavor” and “Blind Trust.” Her fourth play “Our God is Awesome” is not yet produced, but will be in the near future. Alexia is the original founder and partner of her production company, Paige Unlimited, LLC (www.paigeunlimitedllc) of which she is the Creative Arts VP. Memories of Mom is Alexia Fraser’s first published book. She was driven to share her story after seeing her mom suffered unacceptable nursing home and hospital care. Her second book is already partially scripted. “Write what you know” is what she believes.

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About Memories of Mom

Memories of Mom (M.O.M.) is a poignant story about an extraordinary mother, written by a daughter who loved and cared for her during her last lap of life. This story is written from the heart, and will inspire love and affection in millions of daughters and sons who will someday be caring for their elderly parents or loved ones. It is about undying love, unyielding sacrifices and compassionate role reversal. The circle of life.

For more information on Alexia’s blog tour, visit her official tour page at www.pumpupyourbook.com/2011/12/18/memories-of-mom-virtual-book-publicity-tour-january-2012/.

About Pump Up Your Book

Pump Up Your Book handles all the aspects of virtual book touring from pre-buzzing your book before the tour starts to making sure buyers will find your book long after the tour is over.  If you are the author of a newly published book, have an upcoming release or just want to give a previously published book new life, a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book is the answer.  We welcome traditionally published, electronically published and self-published authors.  Our esteem list of clients include Claire Cook, Caridad Pineiro, C.W. Gortner, Barbara Bretton, Cody McFayden, James Hayman, Karen White, Kathleen Willey, Lisa Daily, Lisa Jackson, Mary  Burton, Nancy Thayer, Randy Sue Coburn, Ray Comfort, Sandi Kahn Shelton, Sheila Roberts, Therese Fowler, Hope Edelman, Wendy Wax, Jon Meacham, Shobhan Bantwal, Pat Williams, Jane Green, Judge Glenda Hatchett and cook show personality Paula Deen.  We also represent Random House, Abingdon Press, Zumaya Publications, WND Books, Sheaf House Publishers, New Hope Publishers, Guardian Angel Publishers, Genesis Press, and Moody Publishing.  Contact us to find out what we can do for you and your book!

If you’d like to contact Alexia for an interview or review her book, contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife(at)gmail.com.  Pump Up Your Book is an innovative public  relations agency specializing in online book promotion for authors.  Visit us at www.pumpupyourbook.com.

Tags: Alexia Fraser, Bill Cosby, blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, book publicity tour, book tour, Central Park West, Cosby Mysteries, creative arts, elderly parents, extra, H.B. Studio, Jamaica, Lauren Hutton, memoir, Memories of Mom, New York Undercover, nursing home care, one act plays, online book promotion, online book tour, Paige Unlimited, Prince Street, promote your book, Pump Up Your Book, sell your book, the circle of life, The Ryans, virtual book tour

Pump Up Your Book is pleased to announce Karen Glick’s Questions in the Silence Virtual Book Tour 2012 beginning on January 3  and ending on January 27 2012. Karen will be on hand during her worldwide tour promoting her book and giving us candid interviews and guest posts where we learn more about the author, she will have her first Twitterview and AuthorVid, both implemented by Pump Up Your Book, as well as giving her fans an opportunity to talk to her live via Pump Up Your Book’s chat room on January 27 where she will be giving away a copy of her book, Questions in the Silence!  Lots of fun along the way as Karen stops off at blogs around the world to give her fans a chance to ask her questions and to find out more about this talented literary fiction author.

About Karen Glick

Karen Glick lives outside of Philadelphia. She is a clinical psychologist whose other interests include writing, painting, and acting. When not feverishly engaged in these pursuits, she enjoys spending time with her four children, husband, cavalier king charles spaniels and cats.

Karen has just published her first novel, Questions in the Silence.

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About Questions in the Silence

Ari Rothman, born with psychic abilities, has a lifelong fascination with spiritual issues. Childhood visions and intuitions combine to make her a bit of an outsider in her peer group and she turns to religion to create meaning in her life.

Ari’s childhood experiences and her strong desire to help others make her a natural psychotherapist. However, the conflict between her intuitive abilities and a more rational approach to the human psyche intensifies when her first long-term client ends his sessions unexpectedly.

Visit her official tour page at www.pumpupyourbook.com/2011/12/17/questions-in-the-silence-virtual-book-publicity-tour-january-2012/.  Win copies of her book, learn more about the author and be sure to join her on January 27 2012 in the Pump Up Your Book chat room.

About Pump Up Your Book

Pump Up Your Book handles all the aspects of virtual book touring from pre-buzzing your book before the tour starts to making sure buyers will find your book long after the tour is over.  If you are the author of a newly published book, have an upcoming release or just want to give a previously published book new life, a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book is the answer.  We welcome traditionally published, electronically published and self-published authors.  Our esteem list of clients include Claire Cook, Caridad Pineiro, C.W. Gortner, Barbara Bretton, Cody McFayden, James Hayman, Karen White, Kathleen Willey, Lisa Daily, Lisa Jackson, Mary  Burton, Nancy Thayer, Randy Sue Coburn, Ray Comfort, Sandi Kahn Shelton, Sheila Roberts, Therese Fowler, Hope Edelman, Wendy Wax, Jon Meacham, Shobhan Bantwal, Pat Williams, Jane Green, Judge Glenda Hatchett and cook show personality Paula Deen.  We also represent Random House, Abingdon Press, Zumaya Publications, WND Books, Sheaf House Publishers, New Hope Publishers, Guardian Angel Publishers, Genesis Press, and Moody Publishing.  Contact us to find out what we can do for you and your book!

If you’d like to contact Karen for an interview or review her book, contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife@gmail.com.  Pump Up Your Book is an innovative public  relations agency specializing in online book promotion for authors.  Visit us at www.pumpupyourbook.com.

Tags: acting, authors, Authors on Tour, blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, book tour, books, cavalier king charles spaniels, childhood visions, clinical psychologist, human psyche, human psyche books, Karen Glick, literary fiction, literary fiction author, literary fiction book, literary fiction novel, online book promotion, online book publicity, painting, Pennsylvania authors, Philadelphia authors, promote your book, psychic abilities, psychic abilities book, publicity, Questions in the Silence, sell your book, spiritual, spiritual issues, spiritual issues book, virtual book publicity tour, virtual book tour, writing

Pump Up Your Book is pleased to announce Chris Shella’s Reasonable Facsimile Virtual Book Tour 2012 beginning on January 3  and ending on January 27 2012.  Chris will be on hand during his worldwide tour promoting his book and  giving us candid interviews where we learn more about the author, tips on writing legal thrillers and advice on how to become a published author as well as giving his fans an opportunity to talk to him live via Pump Up Your Book’s chat room on January 27 where he will be giving away a paperback copy of his book, Reasonable Facsimile.  Lots of fun along the way as Chris stops off at blogs around the world to give  his fans a chance to ask him questions and to find out more about this talented legal thriller urban fiction author.

About Chris Shella

Author Chris Shella is a graduate of Morehouse College and the University of Texas Law School and started his legal career in Long Island, New York at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. He is admitted to the practice of law in New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina. Shella is also admitted to the federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the Middle District of North Carolina, U.S. District of Columbia, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eastern District of New York, and the Southern District of New York.He is also admitted to the Bar Of The United States Supreme Court. He and his cases have been covered on Court TV, CNN, and in the New York Times, and other media outlets across the globe. He has represented everyone from lawyers to major drug traffickers to a serial killer in Baltimore. His two most famous case are the Vegan Baby Case and his defense of the Duke Lacrosse Case accuser for the alleged murder of her boyfriend.

Chris now resides in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife and son.

His latest book is the legal thriller, Reasonable Facsimile.

You can visit his website at www.reasonablefacs.com.

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About Reasonable Facsimile

Can Jasper Davis pull himself from his life of loose women, liquor, and general debauchery in enough time to win a murder case and possibly save his own hide ? Jasper Davis is a criminal trial lawyer in Baltimore who has slowly but surely become like the drug dealers and lowlifes he represents. He spends more time with hookers than clients and more time drinking Jack Daniels than studying the law books. Simply put. he is a shade of his former self. In Reasonable Facsimile, Jasper is in the middle of a first degree murder trial when he becomes the suspect in the murder of a DEA agent who was set to testify against his client. Jasper is so far gone on women and liquor he sees his trial skills deteriorate right before his eyes. Jasper is confronted by the situation is he gonna continue to be a reasonable facsimile of a human being or is he gonna become the man he once was.

Visit his official tour page at www.pumpupyourbook.com/2011/12/22/reasonable-facsimile-virtual-book-publicity-tour-january-2012.  Win copies of his book, learn more about the author and be sure to join him on January 27 2012 in the Pump Up Your Book chat room.

About Pump Up Your Book

Pump Up Your Book handles all the aspects of virtual book touring from pre-buzzing your book before the tour starts to making sure buyers will find your book long after the tour is over.  If you are the author of a newly published book, have an upcoming release or just want to give a previously published book new life, a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book is the answer.  We welcome traditionally published, electronically published and self-published authors.  Our esteem list of clients include Claire Cook, Caridad Pineiro, C.W. Gortner, Barbara Bretton, Cody McFayden, James Hayman, Karen White, Kathleen Willey, Lisa Daily, Lisa Jackson, Mary  Burton, Nancy Thayer, Randy Sue Coburn, Ray Comfort, Sandi Kahn Shelton, Sheila Roberts, Therese Fowler, Hope Edelman, Wendy Wax, Jon Meacham, Shobhan Bantwal, Pat Williams, Jane Green, Judge Glenda Hatchett and cook show personality Paula Deen.  We also represent Random House, Abingdon Press, Zumaya Publications, WND Books, Sheaf House Publishers, New Hope Publishers, Guardian Angel Publishers, Genesis Press, and Moody Publishing.  Contact us to find out what we can do for you and your book!

If you’d like to contact Chris for an interview or review his book, contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife@gmail.com.  Pump Up Your Book is an innovative public  relations agency specializing in online book promotion for authors.  Visit us at www.pumpupyourbook.com.

Tags: author promotions, author publicity, authors, bestselling books, blog tour, book campaign, book promotions, book publicity, book tour, books, Chris Shella, CNN, Court TV, criminal case, criminal trial lawyer, DEA, DEA agent, drug dealer book, Drug Dealers, Duke Lacrosse, law books, law practice, lawyer, lawyer author, legal thriller, lowlifes, Nassau County District Attorney's Office, online book tour, promote your book, Pump Up Your Book, Reasonable Facsimile, sell your book, The New York Times, Urban fiction, urban fiction author, urban fiction book, urban fiction legal thriller author, urban fiction legal thriller book, urban fiction legal thriller novel, urban fiction novel, Vegan Baby Case, virtual book tour

1. It took me a total of ten years to write it. There were some breaks, of course. I kept putting it away, taking it out, and seeing places that needed improvement.  I enjoyed this process, but I was also glad when it was over! I’d probably revise till I dropped dead, if anyone would let me. Good thing publishers have deadlines.
2. It’s about a mute Mayan girl kept chained in a shed in Guatemala who kills the doctor who rescues her. Despite this description, it has a positive spin that I think readers will find uplifting.
3. It originated in a trip I took to Guatemala during the Civil War there, back in the seventies. I went with a girlfriend. We were young enough to want to discover the “real” Central America, so we went without reservations or plans, traveled on second-class buses and stayed in no-star hotels. I think we did learn more that way, but we were rather naïve and possibly if we’d known more about the dangers, we’d never have done it. So in this case, ignorance was bliss.
4. The main question that moves the book forward is “why?” not “who?” Caitlin, the female protagonist, is a journalist who was the partner of the doctor the Mayan girl, Inez, killed. She had come to love Inez, too, and is devastated by what happened. Driven by a need to know more, she sets out on a journey of discovery, both external and internal.
5. I’ve been told it’s a suspenseful, moving story that will appeal to readers of psychological suspense as well as literary fiction. It’s also been called “an intelligent read”. I’m gratified that it already has 7 positive reviews from readers on Amazon at the time of this writing (Nov. 20), as well as from Publishers’ Weekly. I hope more readers will enjoy it and leave reviews.

About Sheila Dalton

Sheila Dalton was born in England and came to Canada with her family at the age of six. She studied English Language and Literature at the University of Toronto. She has worked as a barmaid, an art gallery assistant, and an independent craftsperson and artist.

Sheila was a freelance writer and editor for many years before becoming an Adult Services Librarian for the Toronto Public Library. She lives in Newmarket, Ontario with her husband and two cats. She has written over ten books, including a collection of adult poetry, three children’s picture books, a literary novel, and a YA mystery which was shortlisted for a major Canadian crime writer’s award, the Arthur Ellis.

You can read more about The Girl in the Box and Sheila’s other her work at her website:
http://sheila-anne-dalton.com

WE’RE HAVING A FACEBOOK PARTY!!!!

Pump Up Your Book will be hosting the December 2011 Authors on Tour on Friday December 16, 2011 at 4 – 10 p.m. (eastern time – adjust to your time zone)!  Tell your book friends that not only will this give them an opportunity to chat with their favorite authors BUT…

WE’RE GIVING AWAY ALMOST 100 PRIZES!!!!

All you have to do to be eligible to win any of our almost 100 prizes is to visit our Facebook page where the chat will be held.  Ask an author a question and you’re in!

YOU CAN CHAT WITH OVER 60 AUTHORS!!!!

To find out which authors will be featured, click here.

SO WHERE IS THIS CHAT????

To access the chat, click here.  Be sure to leave a comment to let us know you’re coming!

SEE YOU AT THE PARTY AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM PUMP UP YOUR BOOK!!!!

Tags: author chats, blog tours, book promotions, book publicity, happy holiday, Pump Up Your Book, virtual book tours

5 Things You Should Know About Writing

1.    You do not need a shed at the bottom of the garden to write—earplugs works well.
2.    The main part of your job is to minimise distractions and write (see my post).
3.    Some of your good friends and family members will never read your work. You will not cry about this.
4.    You may work best with some added pressure. So create a date to finish the first draft.
5.    Listen to your editor. They have your best interest at heart.

5 Things You Should Know About Book Promotion

1. Writing a good story is only part of the deal today—next you have to gather a following, create a platform and get connected.
2. You probably don’t have a similar numbers of followers to authors like Paulo Coelho or Neil Gaiman yet, but join Facebook and Twitter and start anyway.
3. When you’re ready, go on a blog tour.
4. Word-of-mouth is still one of the most powerful ways to sell books.
5. Create a promotion to ignite the fire.

5 Things You Should Know About The 58th Keeper

1. All the places “The 58th Keeper” goes to are real: London, Istanbul, Paris, Rome.
2. If you read it and review you may win a Kindle or Nook.
3. Vincent is the son of one of England’s wealthiest men.
4. Book two will be finished soon.
5. Archy does look like a young Prince Harry.

5 Things You Should Know About R.G. Bullet

1. He was born in England but lives in Miami.
2. He has lived in nine different countries.
3. He has written a Victorian zombie short story series titled: The Caldecott Chronicles (PG13)
4. He’s addicted to Red Bull.
5. He once won a scratchcard lottery.

5 Ways to Connect With R.G. Bullet

1. Check my my website: www.RGBullet.com
2. Follow me: Twitter: @rgbullet58
3. Blog: TheWindsorTimes.com
4. Facebook/rgbullet
5. Or email me rgbullet58 {at} gmail.com

About R.G. Bullet

R. G. Bullet was born in Berkshire, UK. After living in nine different countries he has finally settled in Miami Beach, USA.

He is addicted to tea, reading, writing, motorbikes and shamefully Call of Duty.

His middle grade debut novel: The 58th Keeper has just been released.

To learn more go to www.rgbullet.com

Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RGBullet58
and join the fan page for the latest updates and fun competitions
www.facebook.com/rgbullet

Tags: Action, author publicity, author tour, author tours, blog tour, blog tours, book blog tour, book campaign, book marketing, book promotion, book promotion companies, book promotion company, book promotion online, book promotions, book publicists, book publicity, Book Reviewers Wanted, book tour, book tours, books for review, Earl, goodreads, illustrated, Manor, online book promotion, online book publicity, online book tour, online book tours, Pump Up Your Book, Pump Up Your Book Promotion, Purdey Shotgun, R.G. Bullet, Short story, The Caldecott Chronicles (No.1), Undead, Victorian England, virtual author tour, virtual blog tour, virtual blog tours, virtual book tour, virtual book tours, young adult, Zombie

History made fun! In this fast-paced and action-packed time travel adventure, the wise-cracking whiz kid, Puggie Liddell’s modified Gameboy activates a time travel portal and he lands in the 1890s with his sibling rival, annoyingly prissy teen sister, Gigi, who thinks history is like-totally-gross.

The kids must learn to work together to find a time travel portal back to the present before the eccentric scientist, Nikola Tesla, or his arch nemesis, inventor Thomas Edison, can steal the Gameboy and use it to complete a death ray machine, an invention powerful enough to disturb the very fabric of space-time and create an instantaneous world disaster.

5 Things You Should Know About The Incredibly Awesome Adventures of Puggie Liddell

1.  Sibling rivals Puggie and Gigi Liddell travel back in time and visit the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, which was so spectacular, it inspired both the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz and Disneyworld!

2. Puggie and Gigi also have an opportunity to ride the original Ferris Wheel, which made its debut at the Chicago World’s Fair.

3. Puggie and Gigi became two of the 38 million visitors, who marveled at P.T. Barnum’s magnificent American Museum, which held a wide array of animals, fascinating objects, human oddities, before its demise in 1865.

4. Author Oscar Wilde toured the United States in 1882 but was caught in a time-loop when he met Puggie and Gigi on a train in 1893.

5. Puggie and Gigi learned to work together to save the world from rival inventors, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, who wanted to use Puggie’s Gameboy to complete a death-ray machine, an invention powerful enough to destroy the planet.

Dr. Karen Mueller Bryson is an optioned screenwriter, produced playwright and published novelist.

She is the author of several romantic comedy novels for adults and is the creator of Short on Time books, a series of fast-paced and fun novels readers can finish in one sitting.

The Incredibly Awesome Adventures of Puggie Liddell is Karen’s first novel for young people.

For additional information about Karen Mueller Bryson, visit her website: http://www.ahorsewithnoname.com

Tags: adventure, adventure novel, author publicity, author tour, blog tour, blog tours, book blog tour, book campaign, book marketing, book promotion, book promotion companies, book promotion company, book promotion online, book promotions, book publicists, book publicity, Book Reviewers Wanted, book tour, book tours, books for review, gameboy, history, Karen Mueller Bryson, Nikola Tesla, Novel, online book promotion, online book publicity, online book tour, online book tours, promote your book, Pump Up Your Book, Pump Up Your Book Promotion, The Incredibly Awesome Adventures of Puggie Liddell, Thomas Edison, time travel, tween, virtual author tour, virtual blog tour, virtual blog tours, virtual book tour, virtual book tours

5 Things You Should Know About The Incredibly Awesome Adventures of Puggie Liddell

By Karen Mueller Bryson 

1.  Sibling rivals Puggie and Gigi Liddell travel back in time and visit the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, which was so spectacular, it inspired both the Emerald City in the Wizard of Ozand Disney World! 

2. Puggie and Gigi also have an opportunity to ride the original Ferris Wheel, which made its debut at the Chicago World’s Fair. 

3. Puggie and Gigi became two of the 38 million visitors, who marveled at P.T. Barnum’s magnificent American Museum, which held a wide array of animals, fascinating objects, human oddities, before its demise in 1865.   

4. Author Oscar Wilde toured the United States in 1882 but was caught in a time-loop when he met Puggie and Gigi on a train in 1893. 

5. Puggie and Gigi learned to work together to save the world from rival inventors, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, who wanted to use Puggie’s Gameboy to complete a death-ray machine, an invention powerful enough to destroy the planet.

Dr. Karen Mueller Bryson is an award-winning/optioned screenwriter, produced playwright and published novelist. She is the creator of Short on Time Books, a line of fast-paced and fun novels for readers on the go. When Karen is not at her computer creating a new story, she spends time with her husband and their bloodhounds. Learn more about Karen at her website: http://www.ahorsewithnoname.com/

Giveaways, Contests & Prizes!

In celebration of Karen Mueller Brysond’s new release, she will be appearing at  Pump Up Your Book’s 1st Annual Holiday Extravaganza Facebook Party on December 16.  More than 50 books, gifts and cash awards will be given away including a signed copy of The Incredibly Awesome Adventures of Puggie Liddell!  Visit the official party page here!

Tags: author tour, author tours, blog tour, blog tours, book blog tour, book promotion online, chapter books, Chicago World's Fair, death-ray machine, Disney World, Five Things You Should Know, Guest Blogger, Karen Mueller Bryson, literarily speaking, Nikola Tesla, online book promotion, online book promotions, online book publicity, online book tour, online book tours, Pump Up Your Book, The Incredibly Awesome Adventures of Puggie Liddell, Thomas Edison, tween chapterbook, virtual author tour, virtual blog tour, virtual blog tours, virtual book tour, virtual book tours

5 Things You Should Know About the Dead

By Jason Krumbine

1. They often don’t want to be dead. True story. Everyone’s always taken before their time, even that old guy who was around for the invention of the wheel.

2. They are always disoriented. Dying is often sudden, even when it’s not. One moment you’re alive, the next you’re not. It’s a shift of your very being and it can someone a few minutes or more to get organized.

3.  Some times they can be very mean after they’re not so disoriented. After all, they didn’t want to be dead in the first place so they take it out on the living.

4.  They’re gross. Blood, guts, bullet holes, knife wounds, it’s all very gross.

5. They almost always have unresolved issues. Remember when I said everyone always dies before their time? Well, that leaves a lot of things left undone. Some times it’s never saying I love you. Some times it’s forgetting to turn off the oven.

Jason Krumbine is the author behind the pulse pounding, wisecracking Alex Cheradon Series, the dead soul hunting Grym Brothers Series (including Two and a Half Dead Men, The Dead Couple and Better Off Dead), and the tongue-in-cheek paranormal romance “A Graveyard Romance.”

You can visit his website at www.jasonkrumbine.com or visit him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasonkrumbine and Facebook at www.facebook.com/jmkwriter.

You can also email him at onestrayword@gmail.com

Tags: 5 Things You Should Know, Guest Blogger, Jason Krumbine, The Dead Couple

Join Terri Giuliano Long, author of the women’s fiction novel, In Leah’s Wake (Createspace/Inspired Quill), as she virtually tours the blogosphere November 14 – January 27 2011 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

About Terri Giuliano Long

Terri Giuliano Long is the bestselling author of the award-winning novel In Leah’s Wake. Books offer her a zest for life’s highs and comfort in its lows. She’s all-too-happy to share this love with others as a novelist and a writing teacher at Boston College.

Her life outside of books is devoted to her family. In her spare time, she enjoys walking, traveling to far-flung places, and meeting interesting people. True to her Italian-American heritage, she’s an enthusiastic cook and she loves fine wine and good food. In an alternate reality, she could have been very happy as an international food writer.

Terri loves meeting and connecting with people who share her passions.

You can visit her website at www.tglong.com or connect with her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/tglong and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tglongwrites.

About In Leah’s Wake

Protecting their children comes naturally for Zoe and Will Tyler—until their daughter Leah decides to actively destroy her own future.

Leah grew up in a privileged upper-middle class world. Her parents spared no expense for her happiness; she had all-but secured an Ivy League scholarship and a future as a star athlete. Then she met Todd.

Leah’s parents watch helplessly as their daughter falls into a world of drugs, sex, and wild parties. While Will attempts to control his daughter’s every move to prevent her from falling deeper into this dangerous new life, Zoe prefers to give Leah slack in the hope that she may learn from her mistakes. Their divided approach drives their daughter out of their home and a wedge into their marriage.

Twelve-year-old Justine observes Leah’s rebellion from the shadows of their fragmented family. She desperately seeks her big sister’s approval and will do whatever it takes to obtain it. Meanwhile she is left to question whether her parents love her and whether God even knows she exists.

What happens when love just isn’t enough? Who will pay the consequences of Leah’s vagrant lifestyle? Can this broken family survive the destruction left in Leah’s wake?

This mesmerizing debut novel tells the tale of a contemporary American family caught in the throes of adolescent rebellion – a heartbreaking, funny, ultimately redemptive quest for love, independence, connection and grace.

In Leah’s Wake is the 2011 BOOK BUNDLZ BOOK CLUB PICK and recipient of the Coffee Time Reviewers Recommend (CTRR) Award. This award, as selected by reviewers, recognizes outstanding writing styles in all book types and genres.

Visit her official tour page here to find out how you can find out all about this talented author plus when some cool prizes!

Tags: blog tours, book campaign, book promotions, book publicity, family story, In Leah's Wake, Ivy League, middle class, motherhood, online book publicity, online marketing, parenting, parents and teens, Pump Up Your Book, sisters, teen rebellion, teens, Terri Giuliano Long, virtual book tours

5 Things You Should Know About Descriptive Visualization aka *Over-Active Imagination*

By Robert Nelson
1. The first thing you should know about descriptive visualization is to put yourself in your character’s shoes. Feel what they feel, see what they see, even smell what they smell. Transport yourself into the pages.

2. Setting is key to putting yourself into your character’s shoes. If you can create a descriptive enough environment; it would prove a million times easier to interpret how your character reacts to it.

3. It’s the little details that add the zest to the salad. Only just like too many croutons, or too much dressing; an excessive fusillade of imagery can bore a reader. Moderation is key, so make each detail precise and specifically essential to the particular moment in the story.

4. Beeeee patient, don’t force the story. Let it come to you to encourage the flow of the pages. A true writer won’t over think the plot, force it together and make it appear choppy. Only describe what’s essential in setting up the next scene.

5. Action can be found in even the slightest gestures. I found it is far more alluring to set up a large action scene with a small catalyst, such as a wink, a whisper, a gust of wind. Just a slight nudge before the reader delves into the abyss wrought by the ink of your pen.

Robert Nelson was born and raised in Garner, North Carolina where he earned the connections and street credibility needed to bring a sense of authenticity to his work. Consequentially, this lead to his stay in the luxurious NC-DOC where through a lot of retrospection he developed a strategy to defeat what he had become. Through the guidance of the Aryan Brotherhood and the variety of other hardened criminals he  played cards with he focused his energy into developing his skills as a writer to keep the youth from making the same mistakes he did. If he can open just one pair of eyes through his writing, everything he’s put into these pages would have paid off.

Tags: author publicity, Author Robert Nelson, blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, book tours, Drama, Gangs, gangster lit, murder, online book promotion, Pump Up Your Book, racial, racist, Real Eyez Realize Real Liez, Real Eyez Realize Real Liez by Robert Nelson, Robert Nelson, Robert Nelson Virtual Book Tour, skinhead, thriller, urban, urban thriller, virtual blog tour, virtual book tour

Peter Murphy was born in Killarney where he spent his first three years before his family was deported to Dublin, the Strumpet City. Growing up in the verdant braes of Templeogue, Peter was schooled by the De La Salle brothers in Churchtown where he played rugby for ‘The Wine and Gold’. He also played football (soccer) in secret!

After that, he graduated and studied the Humanities in Grogan’s under the guidance of Scot’s corner and the bar staff; Paddy, Tommy and Sean.

Murphy financed his education by working summers on the buildings sites of London in such places as Cricklewood, Camden Town and Kilburn.

Murphy also tramped the roads of Europe playing music and living without a care in the world. But his move to Canada changed all of that. He only came over for awhile – thirty years ago.

He took a day job and played music in the bars at night until the demands of family life intervened.

Having raised his children and packed them off to University, Murphy answered the long ignored internal voice and began to write.

He has no plans to make plans for the future and is happy to let things unfold as they do anyway.

LAGAN LOVE is his first novel.

You can visit his website at www.peterdamienmurphy.com or his blog at www.peterdamienmurphy.blogspot.com.  Connect with him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/PeeloMurphy and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LaganLove.

About Lagan Love

If you know something about passion, and desire, and giving everything to live your dreams then leave your world behind for a while. Come with Janice to Dublin, in the mid nineteen-eighties when a better future beckoned and the past was restless, whispering in the shadows for the Old Ways. Janice has grown tired of her sheltered existence in Toronto and when Aidan leads her through the veils of the Celtic Twilight, she doesn’t hesitate. In their love, Aidan, Dublin’s rising poet, sees a chance for redemption and Janice sees a chance for recognition. Sinead tells her that it is all nonsense as she keeps her head down and her eyes fixed on her own prize – a place in Ireland’s prospering future. She used to go out with Aidan, before he met Janice, so there is little she can say. And besides, she has enough to do as her parents are torn apart by the rumours of church scandals. But after a few nights in Grogan’s, where Dublin’s bohemians gather, or a day in Clonmacnoise among the ruins of Celtic Crosses, it won’t matter as the ghosts of Aidan’s mythologies take form and prey on the friends until everything is at risk. Lagan Love is a sensuous story of Love, Lust and Loss that will bring into question the cost we pay for our dreams.

What on earth made you do it?

By Peter Murphy

My mother, who is no longer with us, would often run her hands through her hair and ask with emphasised exaggeration: ‘What on earth made you do it?’

It was the standard response when she confronted each one of her 6 sons on their latest bout with stupidity. Sometimes it was forgetting some vital provision from the shop; or a school assignment; or getting caught in the neighbours orchard; or taking a mitch (unauthorised absence) from school ; or the prize winner – forgetting to tell her that there was a dead eel in the pockets of the pants she was hand washing.

As the youngest I learned to borrow from my brothers responses but my mother had the type of eyes that could see all the way down to the core of your soul so lying was useless.

She would have liked my novel LAGAN LOVE but she would have sniffed with disdain at the sexuality and the cruder language. ‘What on earth made you want to go and write something like that?’ she would ask if she could.

The reasons are very clear in my mind. I wanted to capture something I believed was about to become extinct – pre Celtic-Tiger Dublin. You see I grew up there and while many of us have strong affinities with our home towns, Dublin is a city like no other. It was never really an Irish city; founded by the Vikings and home to the Norman invaders before it became the Provincial Capital of British rule. But all of that just made it more interesting. Full of larger than life characters that have elbowed their way onto the pages of some of the great literary works of the pantheon of Irish writers, Dublin was the high protein diet for anybody who wanted to write about life as it really was. Sure you can set your historical romance there but you can set those anywhere.You see Dublin is where the human soul has been sculpted by the winds and tides of fate.Misshapen and deformed to where beauty and ugliness conjoin the soul of Dublin will always be like a siren’s song for me.

I realised all of this years ago when I spent my evenings, and sometimes mornings, and afternoons, in Grogan’s of South William Street. You see it was where the remnants of Irish Literati gathered under the gentle and caring gaze of Paddy O’Brian – a publican of the finest order – and Tommy Smith who still runs the place. Conversation was the currency of the place that had no television nor live music though the on occasion a preferred customer might get a few bars out before the dish cloth came flying out from behind the bar. My good friend Emmanuel even got to play guitar there one quiet afternoon but the place was all about talking or sitting quietly – if that was what you preferred.

That was where the seeds were sown, fluttered down into my fertile mind from the lofty draughts of the banter of the brilliant. Politics, Mythology and Literary Classics were all blended with a generous dollop of good old personal gossip. It was the music of life and I was hooked.

As the Tiger approached, it seemed that all of that might be forgotten as everyone got ready to reinvent themselves in the New and Improved Ireland and I wanted to ensure that they, the voices of Grogan’s would never be forgotten. So if my mother was to ask I would have to say I was trying to capture a picture of a dying culture.

‘You could have done it without all the sex and scandal and bad language,’ she would argue with a flick of her head.

I could but that would not have done the place justice. That, you see, was why I had to write LAGAN LOVE.

Tags: abuse, art, artists, Austin Clarke, author tour, Battle of Jarama, Beanshee, Blackbird of Derrycairn, blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, book tour, Brehon Laws, Brendan Behan, Celtic Tiger, Celtic Twilight, Clonmacnoise, Don Mills, Dublin, Glendalough, Gratton's Parliament, Grogan's, Hell Fire Club, Howth, International Brigade, Ireland, Irish, James Joyc, Jimmy Neil, Kilmainham, Lagan Love, Leanan Sidhe, Leinster House, Liffey, literary fiction, literature, London, loss, love, Luke Kelley, lust, Mannekin Pis, Mount Pleasant, mythology, online book publicity, Paddy O'Brian, Patrick Kavanagh, Peter Damien Murphy, Peter Murphy, Pump Up Your Book, Raglan Road, Rathmines, scandal, Stephen's Green, Succubus, Tommy Smith, Toronto, Trinity College, virtual book tour, W.B.Yeats, wapping

Creating Shouty Mack as a comic strip for a high school newspaper, NeonSeon developed Life of Shouty as a book series for children in 2010. NeonSeon grew up in Chicago’s Hyde Park community and currently resides in Atlanta. Honors include a Mom’s Choice Award for Life of Shouty: Good Habits.

For more information, visit www.SHOUTY.com.

About Life of Shouty: Food and Fitness

Shouty returns with a new challenge: his health. The second book in the Life of Shouty™ series by award-winning author and illustrator NeonSeon shows Shouty’s ups and downs on the path to wellness.

Like many of us, Shouty places a premium on being a productive person, and crossing items off his daily to-do list. While healthy food and fitness don’t make his list of priorities, Shouty is unaware of the impact this has on his declining health. Over time, Shouty becomes painfully aware that he must make lifestyle changes to improve his health, quality of life, and self-esteem.

Touching on themes of overeating, obesity, and inactivity, Shouty’s journey is illustrated in a way that captures his despair, as well as his ultimate triumph.

Debuting on Child Health Day, it is NeonSeon’s hope that this book affirms the importance of making healthy choices in one’s life and helps readers envision healthier versions of themselves. If you’ve ever found yourself on either end of the health spectrum, or are making your way somewhere in the middle, Shouty hits several notes on his path that will surely sound familiar.

5 Things You Should Know About Life of Shouty: Food & Fitness by NeonSeon

1. Shouty struggles with making the right choices in food and fitness, but he excels in other areas.
2. Shouty is tempted by TV ads and sweets.
3. Swimming, biking, running, basketball, hiking and yoga are some of the activities illustrated in the book.
4. Shouty tries more than once to make the right choice.
5. Shouty dreams of becoming healthy and fit! Do you?

Join Michelle Richardson, author of the contemporary romance novel, It’s Simple (iUniverse), as she virtually tours the blogosphere November 1 – 23 2011 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

The general consensus is that relationships are easy to start but challenging to maintain. Although we may not think so, our choices ultimately determine the types of relationships we have. It’s truly funny how after we’ve contributed to the chaotic state of the relationship, we hire therapists to fix us, to tell us it’s not our fault when it typically is. The truth? Therapists don’t fix us; they provide tools that guide us. Ultimately, we find the solutions ourselves and, for the most part, we really need to forget what we’ve heard. Relationships can be complicated, littered with challenges and that preventable thing called drama. Just ask Tia and Chase.

They met as teenagers. Upon graduation from college, things got complicated. Chase was drafted to the Los Angeles Lakers; Tia was offered a position in the Obama administration. Despite the geographical distance, Tia and Chase stayed together.

But how easy is it to make love last? It’s simple-if we can be honest, forgiving, and patient with each other. Here’s a unique look at a progressive couple and how their choices impact their journey; providing a truthful and sometimes painful look at real life scenarios and how two fiercelly driven and stubborn lovers choose to handle them. Experience life from a different perspective.

Giveaways, Contests & Prizes!

WIN THIS BEAUTIFUL BASKET!

Would you like to win this gorgeous basket with lots of goodies from Michelle Richardson???

On Friday, November 18, Michelle will be giving this beautiful basket away at the Pump Up Your Book Live! Chat / Book Giveaway Party! Contents include one signed copy of It’s Simple, five (5) It’s Simple bookmarks, one earthenware mug w/Tea for Life packets, one decorative votive candle holder and candle and one Live. Love. Laugh decorative box!

Participate in the chat and you could win!

Click here to find out more details!

* * *

It’s Simple Thanksgiving Giveaway!

To celebrate the release of It’s Simple, Michelle is having a contest!  Share your ideas for establishing and maintaining a fulling relationship, tell us if there is someone from your high school years you regret not developing a relationship with or what you would sacrifice to have a good, loving long-lasting relationship, you could win a “Live Love Laugh It’s Simple Keepsake Box” with a host of delectable goodies inside!

To win, click on Michelle’s It’s Simple Facebook Fan Page here and leave your comment!  You can find out how to win by clicking here!  If you already aren’t a fan, click “Like” at the top of the page to leave your comment.  Good luck!

* * *

Enter to win a copy of It’s Simple at Goodreads!

Win a copy of It’s Simple at Goodreads!  Contest closes November 19.

Click here to enter!

You can visit her official tour page here!

Tags: blog tour, book publicity, It's Simple, Michelle Richardson, Pump Up Your Book, virtual book tour

Join Jason Krumbine, author of The Grym Brothers Series, Two and a Half Dead Men, The Dead Couple and Better off Dead (One Stray Word Books), as he virtually tours the blogosphere November 1 – 23 2011 on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

About Jason Krumbine

Jason Krumbine is the author behind the pulse pounding, wisecracking Alex Cheradon Series, the dead soul hunting Grym Brothers Series (including Two and a Half Dead Men, The Dead Couple and Better Off Dead), and the tongue-in-cheek paranormal romance “A Graveyard Romance.”

You can visit his website at www.jasonkrumbine.com or visit him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasonkrumbine and Facebook at www.facebook.com/jmkwriter.

You can also email him at onestrayword@gmail.com.

About The Grym Brothers Series

TWO AND A HALF DEAD MEN

People die every day.

But not all of the souls can or want to move onto the afterlife.

That’s where the brothers Thane and Mort Grym come in.

Thane and Mort are bounty hunters for dead souls. They inherited the job from their father and they’re two of the best in town.

But when there’s a double homicide at the Kirkland Motel the Grym brothers end up with more than they bargained for. In a world without vampires, zombies or the undead, one of their bounties might not be as dead as he’s supposed to be.

THE DEAD COUPLE

Jack and Cindy were a happily married couple. She was an elementary school teacher. He was an aspiring children’s book author. They had the perfect life together, until the day they decided to kill themselves.

Suicides, by their very nature, tend to head directly into the afterlife.

Jack and Cindy’s souls never arrived.

Grim Reapers are real. They are governed by the Council of Reapers. Reapers are responsible for the capture and containment of dead souls that refuse to or cannot move on to the afterlife.

Thane and Mort Grym are two such reapers.

BETTER OFF DEAD

They say dead men tell no tales, but that’s just because they’ve never worked as a Grim Reaper.

Grim Reapers are real. They are governed by the Council of Reapers. Reapers are responsible for the capture and containment of dead souls that refuse to or cannot move on to the afterlife.

Lori Standford’s mother died six months ago. Now she’s back, haunting Lori out of her home. Lori turns to her close friend, Emma Grym, mother of Thane and Mort Grym, for help.

Now Thane and Mort find themselves embroiled in a mystery of dead men that stretches all the way to the top.

Giveaways, Contests & Prizes!

Join Jason Krumbine at the Pump Up Your Book Live! November Author Chat / Book Giveaway Party on Friday, November 18 starting at 8 p.m. eastern!

Jason will be giving away three e-copies of his books in The Grym Brothers Series!  You could win a copy of Two and a Half Dead, The Dead Couple and Better Off Dead simply by attending the  chat and asking Jason a question.  All there is to it!

For details on chat, visit the official chat page for the November authors at Pump Up Your Book Live!

Please show your support for such a talented author by visiting his official tour page at Pump Up Your Book by clicking here!

Tags: Alex Cheradon Series, Better Off Dead, blog tours, book promotions, book publicity, Crime, ghost, Jason Krumbine, One Stray Word, Pump Up Your Book, The Dead Couple, The Grym Brothers Series, Two and a Half Dead Men, urban fantasy, virtual book tours

5 Things I Learned After My Book Was Published

By Mary Ann Loesch

The road to publication has not been an easy one for my novel, Nephilim.  Finding the right home for this urban fantasy took some time and careful thought. In the end, it fell into the capable hands of Lyrical Press Inc.  Now that it’s published, I’d like to share a few things I learned about writing and publishing after Nephilim was released.

1.       Remember your editor’s advice for future projects. Listen to your editor. Love them. Write them big thank you notes. My editor, the wonderful Tiffany Maxwell, guided me through the process of cleaning up my novel.  I’m so glad to have worked with her! Having published the novel, now I appreciate the importance of a second set of eyes who really knows what they are talking about. The things she pointed out to me as writing weaknesses are things that I now use when working on other projects.

2.       It is never too early to promote your book. The sooner you do this and have a plan of action in place, the better off you will be after the book comes out.

3.       Tooting your own horn is important! This is different than creating a website or a webpage where you just blindly promote. Tooting your own horn means being confidant enough to talk to people face to face about what you have accomplished. There is a time and a place for humble pie, but being able to chat about yourself and your book is just as important as setting up your Facebook or Twitter page.

4.       You can be successful without an agent. I really worried over this one. As writers, we are trained that the only way you can achieve success is if you have an agent and get published through a major publishing house. That is no longer the case. Agents can play a vital role, but they aren’t the last word on whether or not you can make it as a writer. I don’t have an agent and I feel fine.  At least for today…

5.       Continue to make time to write. Just because you have a book out doesn’t mean you should stop writing. This is tough one sometimes because the promotion process is so time consuming. Make sure that you are still putting aside time to write that next novel or short story, too.

Mary Ann Loesch is an award-winning author living in the Austin Area. Teacher by day, writer by night, Ms. Loesch has an extensive background in Theatre Arts and education. In 2009 her novel, Nephilim, won the Writers League of Texas Manuscript contest in the category of Science Fiction/Fantasy. Having published short stories in SNM Horror Magazine, A Side of Grits, and Red Fez, she is also a proud contributor to the blogs All Things Writing and Loesch’s Muse, both guides for beginning writers. Lyrical Press, Inc. published her urban fantasy, Nephilim, July 2011.

You can visit her website at www.maryannloesch.com or her blog at http://www.loeschsmuse.blogspot.com.

Tags: A Side of Grits, All Things Writing, angel, angels, Austin, author tour, authors, award-winning author, beginning writers, blog tour, book event, book promotions, book publicity, book publicity tour, book tour, books, demon, fantasy, grim sleeper, hellish beings, ink, literarily speaking, Loesch’s Muse, Lyrical Press, Mary Ann Loesch, Nephilim, paranormal, paranormal author, paranormal fantasy, Pump Up Your Book, Red Fez, romance, science fiction, serial killer, seven deadly sins, sixth street, SNM Horror Magazine, tatoo, tatoo artist, tattoo shop, tattoos, teacher, Theatre Arts, urban fanasy blog tour, urban fantasy, urban fantasy novel, virtual book tour, Writers League of Texas Manuscript contest

Title: Taken Away
Author: Patty Friedmann
Publisher: Tiny Satchell Press
Paperback: 427 pages
ISBN: 0984531823
Genre: Young Adult Fiction

What does young Summer Elmwood do when her little sister disappears during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and everyone blames her?

When Summer Elmwood’s hot, bedraggled, exhausted family arrives unannounced at the door of her aunt’s elegant Houston house, her mother explains. “We’ve had a disaster. Not the hurricane, a real disaster.”

It is one week after Katrina laid waste to the Elmwoods’ hometown of New Orleans, and like most residents, they were too close to the tragedy to see its scope. Besides, they were coping with a possible tragedy of their own, and only because their city has closed down have they evacuated. Summer’s baby sister disappeared the day the storm hit.

Two-year-old Amalia Elmwood had open-heart surgery three days before the storm, and in the chaos—breaking windows, loss of power, rising water, departure of doctors and nurses—Amalia has disappeared from Intensive Care. The Elmwoods find themselves helpless to find her in an abandoned city.

When her parents start to suspect Summer—who aches for some positive attention—might be the culprit, Summer musters all her resources to track her sister down. With parents who don’t like technology, she must sneak to use computers and cell phones, but with the help of a friend, Haydn Glade, who also is exiled in Texas, she picks up clues that the FBI ignores and eventually figures out what happened. Haydn, whom she “would be in love with if I didn’t love him so much,” seems a much more romantic boy in Texas. Summer has to decide how much.
Book Excerpt:

Hurricane Katrina

I go up to every person who’s not talking to someone else. “My sister’s two. She was in intensive care. We can’t find her.”

Oh, we’re airlifting them out first,” is the answer they all give.

“She was missing before the helicopters came,” I explain.

“We were lining people up before the helicopters came,” they all say.

I ask where the helicopters are going.

“They won’t know until they’re airborne,” is what I hear from everyone. “But close.” Close, I’m told, is like Thibodaux, possibly Baton Rouge, hopefully not Lafayette. That means sixty or eighty but probably not a hundred-twenty miles away.

I think I have facts to give to my parents, but I wonder if the sequence of events really fits. My head is too full of jumbled information, and I don’t quite have a time line. I’ve lost track of the days and the hours. Right this second it’s impossible for me to figure out if I can relax, to think that maybe Amalia went on a helicopter to another hospital.
About Patty Friedmann
Patty Friedmann’s two latest books are a YA novel called Taken Away [TSP 2010] and a literary e-novel titled Too Jewish [booksBnimble 2010]. She also is the author of six darkly comic literary novels set in New Orleans: The Exact Image of Mother [Viking Penguin 1991]; Eleanor Rushing [1998], Odds [2000], Secondhand Smoke [2002], Side Effects [2006], and A Little Bit Ruined [2007] [all hardback and paperback from Counterpoint except paper edition of Secondhand Smoke from Berkley Penguin]; as well as the humor book Too Smart to Be Rich [New Chapter Press 1988]. Her novels have been chosen as Discover Great New Writers, Original Voices, and Book Sense 76 selections, and her humor book was syndicated by the New York Times. She has published reviews, essays, and short stories in Publishers Weekly, Newsweek, Oxford American, Speakeasy, Horn Gallery, Short Story, LA LIT, Brightleaf, New Orleans Review, and The Times-Picayune and in anthologies The Great New American Writers Cookbook, Above Ground, Christmas Stories from Louisiana, My New Orleans, New Orleans Noir, and Life in the Wake. Her stage pieces have been part of Native Tongues. In a special 2009 edition, Oxford American listed Secondhand Smoke with 29 titles that included Gone with the Wind, Deliverance, and A Lesson Before Dying as the greatest Underrated Southern Books. With slight interruptions for education and natural disasters, she always has lived in New Orleans.

You can visit her website at www.pattyfriedmann.com.

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