Month: June 2015

Open Book Blog Hop – Music to Live By

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Do you like to read? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the MMB Open Book Blog Hop each Wednesday and they will tell all. Every week we’ll answer questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.






If you’ve come this way from PJ Fiala’s blog, hi! Did you have a chance to check out her books while you were there? If not, head over to her Amazon page PJ Fiala and then come back here! Please and thank you! 
And if you come from somewhere else, nice to see you!




Now for this weeks question:
Let’s talk music. What do you like? What are your favorite songs? Band? 


I may have mentioned this before, but some people might consider me an old fart. I actually remember when the Beatles first hit it big. I didn’t quite understand why the older girls on the school bus got so excited just talking about them, but I did enjoy their songs. 



I was introduced to a lot of other music from various sources as well. My mother enjoyed Frank Sinatra and Big Band Era musicians. My father liked country and western (And it was Country and Western back then, not just Country) My older brothers were into some of the early rock bands. 

Later my awakening to the singer-songwriter movement and anti-war protest songs happened. At the same time, my school was teaching us the basics of classical symphonies. Quite a heady mix.

When I went off to college and met my soon-to-be-husband, he opened my eyes to yet another genre of music. I like to say he courted me to the music of John Denver, The Wings That Fly Us Home Elton John, and Pink Floyd. And that pretty much describes the interesting mix of music I still listen too—an eclectic mix of just about anything. I’ve even been  know to listen to rap on occasion, although  it’s rarely my first choice.

I like to listen to music while I write. Or while I clean house, or read, or drive or just about anything else else you can think of. It helps me to concentrate.I’m always discovering new artists and new songs to add to my list of favorites.

So if you ask me my favorite band or singer or song, it’s going to change depending upon my mood.But  my go-to answer for who’s my favorite singer is John Denver. I’ve got a large collection of his albums., everything from vinyl to DVD’s and everything in between. And my favorite song I’d name as Funeral for a Friend (Love Lies Bleeding) by Elton John.Love Lies Bleeding


I have to mention my love for various female singers. Buffy Sainte-Marie, Running For The DrunJoan Baez, Joni Mitchell  and Janis Joplin to name some of them. There are plenty more—Adele, Amy McDonald, Stevie Nicks and The Cranberries. I appreciate women who don’t feel like they have to flaunt their bodies to get people to listen to their songs.

Want to know what Traci Wooden-Carlisle listens to? Head on over to her blog at here: Traci  Don’t forget to check out her books while you’re there.

New Release-Doctors in Hell

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I’m please to welcome to welcome Janet Morris and the newest release in her Heroes In Hell Series, Doctors in Hell.

Damned souls wail as plagues wreak havoc, doctors up their fees, snake-oil salesmen make a killing, and Satan turns his hit-man loose. Be there when Erra, the Babylonian plague god, and his 

seven personified weapons, spread terror throughout the underverse! 

Rookie authors write prescriptions for perdition, while veteran hellions diagnose the damned: Deborah Koren, Andrew P. Weston, Janet Morris, Joe Bonadonna, Matthew Kirshenblatt, Chris Morris, Michael H. Hanson, Rob Hinkle, Jack William Finley, Bill Snider, Richard Groller, Paul Freeman, Nancy Asire. 


Victor Frankenstein and Quasimodo develop a vaccine — with diabolical results… 


Satan looses Daemon Grim, the Devil’s personal hit man, and damned souls cower… 


Bat Masterson finds himself caught between plague victims and Wyatt Earp… 


Judas learns you can’t teach an old dog new sins… 


Calamity Jane and her Sinchester carbine defend hell’s last uninfected outpost… 


Nietzsche and Lilith, Adam’s first wife, face the Beast and come to fiendish accord… 


Doc Holliday tries one last gambit, and unleashes all hell’s fury… 


And there’s worse to come, even an excerpt from bestselling author Andrew P. Weston’s forthcoming Heroes in Hell novel! If you think life is tough, try the afterlife, where the doctor is always wrong, sinners never win, misery runs amok, and all hell’s damned get their just deserts — eternally.






Available on Amazon 

http://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Hell-Heroes-Book-18-ebook/dp/B00Z753EX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1434849983&sr=1-1&keywords=doctors+in+h

Janet Morris began writing in 1976 and has since published more than 40 novels, many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. Her debut novel, written as Janet E. Morris, was High Couch of Silistra, the first in a quartet of character-driven novels with a female protagonist. According to original publisher Bantam Books, the Silistra quartet had over four million copies in print when the fourth volume, The Carnelian Throne was published. Charles N. Brown,Locus Magazine, is quoted on the Baen Books reissues of the series as saying, “Engrossing characters in a marvelous adventure.”
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She created, orchestrated, and edited the Bangsian fantasy series Heroes in Hell, writing stories for the series as well as co-writing the related novel, The Little Helliad, with Chris Morris.


Open Book Blog Hop- Diet & Exercise

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Do you like to read? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the MMB Open Book Blog Hop each Wednesday and they will tell all. Every week we’ll answer questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.


If you came here from PJ Fiala’s blog, hello! And if you came via Facebook or Twitter or somewhere else, welcome! If you haven’t checked out Patti’s books yet, you should. Her amazon page is here: PJ Fiala. Pt if you didn’t take the time to explore her blog, it’s Here.
This week’s question is:
Do you diet? Do you exercise? Tell us what you do to stay healthy.

Quick discloser: I work for an organization that stresses giving its employees the skills they need to live  a healthy lifestyle. We are even given “health coaches” to encourage us in our path to wellness as well discounts to health clubs. Our cafeteria offers foods for a nutritious diet, including a salad bar, along with more “traditional” cafeteria-type foods. I know what I should be doing.

So how much do I do? Not enough. I don’t smoke, I’ve given up soda and I’ve never been a coffee drinker, so I can check those bad habits off my list.

And I’m lucky. For many years, I was more than moderately athletic, and that has helped me stay in good shape even now that I’ve slowed down. I hate calisthenics, always have, but I walk whenever I get the chance. I’m in pretty good shape for an old fart.

I don’t “diet” but I do watch what I eat. My biggest problem is that I love to snack. And there isn’t much in the way of “healthy” foods that I like  to eat.

But I make an exception for blueberries.

It may be because I grew up in an area where, every August, my friends and I would go pick wild huckleberries. Even better, we knew of an abandoned farm with a few domestic blueberry bushes. Although we tried to take enough berries home to share with our families, we’d eat a good portion of our find as we were picking. So eating blueberries now reminds me of those happy summer days.

But I know my downfall. Like so many others, I love chocolate. Dark chocolate especially. Hey, it’s good for your heart, right?

So yes, there are still things I need to change to meet the standards that the health industry wants us to follow. But my motivation to do them is slim. And maybe someday I’ll regret not doing more. Or not.

To find out what Traci Wooden-Carlisle does to stay healthy, drop by her blog Traci’s blog. You can find her books on Amazon at Traci’s Amazon Author Page.

Open Book Blog Hop- Exclusive on Amazon?

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Do you like to read? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the MMB Open Book Blog Hop each Wednesday and they will tell all. Every week we’ll answer questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.

For those of you who “hopped” here from Kelly Williams’ blog, thanks for coming. Did you check out her books while you were there? If not, you can find her author page on Amazon at Kelly on Amazon.






And howdy to everyone! 


This weeks question:is:

As an author, do you sell your books exclusively on Amazon or do you sell your books on  all platforms? Why or why not? Which platforms do you like best?


Before I started into the publishing game, I spent quite some time on authors’ loops on Yahoo, and this question came up—a lot. And I thought about it when I was ready to release my first book and gave it a try. As a new author, I hoped to get some traction from Amazon’s Kindle program,


Well, it didn’t work. I released Wolves’ Pawn in January, and in May (after a quick edit for some typos my early readers caught) I put it up on Nook, Kobo, and  iTunes. First day I had it on Nook, someone bought a copy. That cemented in my mind that I would never be exclusive again.


Then the Amazon Kindle program happened. And I was tempted. Very tempted. But other authors were having mixed results so I held off. I held off for several months. Then I put the book on sale over the Christmas holidays, and thought why not. So I pulled it off the other platforms and enrolled it in the lending program. I figured I couldn’t lose.






When I saw the first borrow, I got excited. That didn’t last very long.The book got borrowed 3 times the first month, and 2 times the second and third months. The good part is I earned more from the borrows than I did from the actual book sales per unit. The bad part? I have no idea how many sales I might have made on other platforms that same period if the book had been available elsewhere.


So my second and third books, The Oak Grove Mysteries, haven’t been Amazon-only releases. I won’t say never, but I have no plans to ever make them exclusive on Amazon. I may only sell a few on other sites, but to me every reader counts.Besides, I’m an old hippie, and I don’t believe in monopolies! 


Oh, if you want direct links to any of my books, see the “My Books” page of this blog. 





































So while I think the concept of Amazon’s borrow program is interesting, it didn’t work for me, although I do get most of my sales from there. But to find out if it worked for Stephany Tullis, head over to her blog and get her take on the question.  Stephany Tullis  You can find her Amazon author page at Stephany Amazon.






I hope you’ll come back next week for our next question!

Commencement Address- Open Book Blog Hop

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‘Do you like to read? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the MMB Open Book Blog Hop each Wednesday and they will tell all. Every week we’ll answer questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.’


 If you came here by way of Stevie Turner’s blog, I’m glad you made it. Did you check out her books while you were there? You can also find them on her Amazon page at Stevie Turner


Now on to this week’s question. If you were asked to give a commencement address for college graduates, what would you say?


Before I begin, I have a confession to make. First, I hate speeches. Most of them, anyway.If you asked me what was said at any of the commencements I’ve attended, I couldn’t tell you. I’m sure there were words tossed around about the wonderful future and the brightest minds, but I’m not 100% sure about that. My selective hearing went into Charlie Brown mode—you know, wah,wah,wah.




My second confession is that I didn’t want to be a speaker at graduation. My older sister was valedictorian of her high school class, and I think she gave herself an ulcer preparing and revising her speech countless times. I was pleased that I didn’t have to do it when I graduated.


So I’m not going to give you a normal speech. In fact, you parents out there might want to cover your ears. I suspect that you aren’t going to like what I’m going to say.


Dear graduates, be ready for life to kick you where it hurts the most. I have no doubt that you’ve worked hard to be out there today, wearing those hot robes and silly hats, and you think you’re ready to face the world. Maybe some of you already have jobs lined up and if so, congratulations. If not, good luck on the search. But remember, whatever you go next, you’re on the bottom of the pile again. You’re starting from scratch. Unless, of course, you’re lucky enough that you’re going to work for your mommy or daddy.






But the majority of you are going to be trying to scratch your way to the top again—or at least to somewhere in the middle. And just when you’re getting somewhere, there’s a chance that life will steamroll you back to the bottom again. But it will be easier the second time around, because of what you’ve already learned.


Also, remember no matter how smart you are, there’s someone smarter than you. Don’t be jealous of them. You’re still smarter than at least 50% of the people around you.


Okay, you parents who are pretending not to listen—you can uncover your ears now.


So I’d like to give you one—no, two pieces of advice. The first one is to be kind. Remember, everyone around you is in the same boat. A little kindness goes a long way. And I’m a firm believer in karma- if you do good for someone else, eventually, that good will come back to you. And hopefully it will be when you need it the most.


And the second piece of advice is well-worn but still relevant.. Life is a journey. If all you’re looking for is the destination, you’ve already lost the game.Take time along the way to look around. You never know who you will find. If you’re lucky you’ll find yourself.

So graduates, go out and do great things. Oh, and put down those cell phones once in a while. Yes, you. You know who you are. And so does everyone else.


To find out what Kelly Williams would say, visit her blog at www.BlueHonor.com/blog/. You can find her books at Kelly’s books.