Tristi Pinkston's newest book!

Author Tristi Pinkston is excited to announce the release of the third novel in her Secret Sisters Mysteries series.

Titled Hang ‘em High, this novel takes place on a dude ranch in Montana. When Ida Mae’s son invites her to come for a visit, of course she brings Arlette and Tansy along with her. They are expecting to spend the week looking at horses, avoiding the cows, and making amends in Ida Mae’s relationship with her son. What they don’t expect is to be stuck on the ranch in the middle of a blizzard and to be thrust headlong into the middle of a mystery.

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Help Tristi celebrate her new novel in two ways. First, come participate in the two-week-long blog contest, where you can win a book nearly every single day! All the details are up on Tristi’s blog.

Second, come to the book launch!

You are invited to an

August Authorama!

Saturday, August 13th

Pioneer Book, 858 S. State, Orem

12 – 4 pm

Games, prizes, balloons, face painting,

and Dutch oven cobbler

prepared by world champion cook

Keith Fisher.

Authors Tristi Pinkston, J. Lloyd Morgan, Cindy Hogan,

Nichole Giles, and Heather Justesen

will all be there to sign books.

This is one book launch event

you will not want to miss!

Check out this Giveaway!

My friends over at the Lateiner Gang Book Review Spot have made a big splash. Hop on over to their blog for details on how you can win.

He talked me into giving away two sets of the Alvor series, so let's make it worth it!

And here's a bit of odd trivia. Wings of Light has sold more copies in New Jersey than any other state. And no, Dave Lateiner didn't even know that.

I am hoping to spread the word to more places. Check out the Evil Scheme to get points in helping me do this.

Yesterday Heather from Ireland got it in her local library. I was super excited to read that. Wings of Light not only visits Ireland, but a new spunky character in that story is from the Emerald Isle. Very cool. Thanks for helping Heather!

No matter where in the world you live, there is a good chance you can get this book into a library at the very least. My publisher works with an internationally recognized distributor. And thanks to the internet, no matter where in the world you live, you can enter our contests.

So, "Top o' the morn to you," and I can't wait to see where all of your help takes this story.

Join my evil marketing scheme...

Just when I thought I would hang up my writing hat for a while as I work towards my Irish exams, I find myself working on marketing.

Remember that fabulous book you've been meaning to buy? You know, Wings of Light... Oh yeah, that one. Well, I'm trying to get it into some stores near you.

A little trick that you could do to help me in this quest...

Call your local bookstore or library and ask if they have Wings of Light by Laura Bingham. When they say no, or offer to special order it for you, just say, "That's okay, I'll just order it from Amazon," and then hang up.

Here's the carrot for you, leave a post saying that you did this and you will be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card. For each store or library you call, you get one entry.

And, we'll only give away $25 if we get at least 25 stores or libraries called by August 6. We'll use Random.org to choose the winner.

Alright, get your phones out and let's do this thing. It takes people like you to make things work. Thanks for your help.

Six Seconds with my Son

You'll probably have to click the video to see him- my blog cuts him off. But hey, what's six seconds. Sometimes it's the little things in life that make it worth remembering.

Hot summer nights are overrated

"I was really hoping for a break, but instead, everything broke." - my husband last night

I don't know why, but it's starting to make me laugh.

Let's see... the AC went out just when summer kicked in.

Last night we discovered that someone used our credit card to buy $147.50 worth of products on itunes. Said credit card has been canceled- ten day wait for our new debit/credit card :(

And, just to top it off, this morning I find that my e-mail account has been hacked. A different one this time, and the hacker was a commercial. At least the police didn't show up at my house to see if I really was stuck in Europe somewhere like they did last time.

And just for fun, let's look at how this relates to the world of writing. Oh yeah, it sounds exactly like writing. Whether we're talking about obstacles for characters in your book or the obstacles you face in publishing, this is all sounding very familiar.

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and it seems like so many bad things have happened that you really don't know how this character can go on? Well, I see it a lot. In fact, that is what makes books (or movies) so good. It's when they've painted themselves into the proverbial corner that I have to know how they get out.

In the writing industry, the same feelings of failure can apply. I know, there are the exceptions. I like to think of them as just that. Exceptions to the rule. But for a great number of people, rejection and disappointment is a part of the process that can't be avoided.

In those books and movies the main character does find a way out of the problem. Writers who don't give up will too.

It might not fix the air conditioning in the middle of July, but slushies and popsicles have never tasted so good.

Plan A on a Silver Platter

If you want you Plan A to be served to you on the theoretical silver platter, then may I suggest a few things.

Plan B should be served on a gold platter and Plan C on a platinum one.

I've been thinking about how my "best laid plans of mice and men" have been working out for me over the last three years. Well, let's just say that NOTHING in writing has worked out exactly how I planned. Thus the "Mice and Men" theory. Ever read that book? It's a depressing tale of how making plans doesn't equal realizing them.

But I think that's pretty common in the writing world. And the fact is, there is a good chance you don't know what would be best for your career experience and growth. Maybe Plan B is better, and Plan C,D,E,F or Z is better yet.

Don't be afraid of it. The only element entirely in control of the author is the writing itself. What happens to it after that can be shaped, shifted and influence, but never completely controlled alone by the writer. It becomes a product of others.

I'm not saying you're off the hook once you've written your work and revised it to death, actually, it's the opposite. If you don't do everything in your power to push it into the world, I guarantee it will never get there. (Agents and editors don't knock on the door and ask non-famous writers for their latest manuscript.)

Wherever you are in your writing career, don't be afraid of change. Especially changing your mind. That winning book you wrote might be the ticket to get an agent, but then they never sale it. No worries. Write another one.

You published with a small press and you are doomed to stay small potatoes. Not to fear. You can write as many new books as you want and try your hand at the national market.

You lost your agent when she decided to go into retirement. Okay, this sounds a little familiar to me... Get back on the horse. If you can't sell your manuscript to another agent, yeap, you guessed it, write another novel.

And most importantly, don't give up. Giving up isn't a plan. Taking a break is a plan. Rethinking is a plan. Quitting is not.

I know how hard it is to see your dreams take on shapes so different than the ones you had in mind, but trust that the future is still there waiting for you. And that in it, your dreams still have a chance to come true, even if it is served on a different colored platter.

Winner Announcement

Okay, okay... I know I said June 30- but that was before I knew I would be leaving town. I'm back now and finally have time to post our winners. Thanks to all who stopped by to leave a comment.

Without further ado, here are our lucky winners for today:

Winner of a copy of WINGS OF LIGHT van_pham

Winner of an electronic copy of THE BOOK BLOGGER'S COOKBOOK: Wicked Walker

Both winners were chosen using Random.org