Monday, September 19, 2016

The Best Book Tour Service and Narrator Money Can Buy

Today I have an article at The Insecure Writer’s Support Group regarding blogging etiquette as a writer or author.


The Best Book Tour Service

Many of you know Mason Canyon who runs a high-profile book blog, Thoughts in Progress.

After years of dealing with publishers, authors, publicists, and blog tour services, she has branched out on her own and now runs MC Book Tours.

She’s been working with one of Dancing Lemur Press’ authors and now has over 40 stops with reviews, interviews, and articles set this fall for Mâtowak: Woman Who Cries. I’ve recommended her to my other authors with releases coming out next spring.

Mason has been around the book blogging business for many years and she knows her stuff. I highly recommend you check out her services.


The Best Narrator

Dancing Lemur Press ventured into the world of audio books this past summer. We were very
fortunate to acquire the most amazing narrator for our first three titles - Michael Burnette. He and his wife Kerry, who puts it all together, make the best team.

Michael signed on right away to do all three of Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Cassa books. Not only did he deliver quickly, but he gave us a high quality product with many layers and special effects. I’ve listened to many audio books in the past (on cassette and CD) and I can’t recall any that were as captivating as what Michael produces.

CassaStar and CassaFire are available now.
(Dragon of the Stars by Alex J. Cavanaugh and Under a Purple Moon by Beverly Stowe McClure are currently in production. Bloodwalker by L.X. Cain will go into production in October.)

Listen to a sample of the Cassa books and you will be impressed!

Find by Michael Burnett on ACX and Facebook.


And to round out this post, the cicadas have been extra thick this year and we have hundreds of their shells on our pine trees:



Wednesday, September 07, 2016

The Insecure Writer's Support Group Anthology Contest

It’s time for another edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh.


September’s question of the month - How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

Some days, I don’t. I have so many duties with Dancing Lemur Press, formatting, speaking, and other things I do to make money that usually my own writing is one of the last things on the list. Which means sometimes, I don’t get to it. Weekends I have a better shot at it though and can usually get in a couple hours. Which I did do this past weekend.

I also spent the weekend on a new page at Dancing Lemur Press - Merchandise! Our book covers featured on mugs, t-shirts, and playing cards - a great opportunity for our authors to market and their fans to show their support. Something for everyone, so please visit our Merchandise page sometime this week. (Since I know today is crazy.)


Announcing the 2016 IWSG Anthology Contest!

Eligibility: Any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging or Facebook member. The story must be previously unpublished. Entry is free.

Word count: 5000-6000

Genre: Fantasy

Theme: Hero Lost. It could be about a hero turned villain, a villain's redemption, a hero's lack of confidence, a hero's lack of smarts, etc. It can be about any kind of hero including superheroes, mythological heroes, unexpected or unlikely heroes, or a whole new kind of hero. This theme has plenty of scope and we’re open to pretty much anything along these lines. No erotica, R-rated language, or graphic violence.

Deadline: November 1st 2015

How to enter: Send your polished, previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your contact details and if you are part of the Blogging or Facebook IWSG group.

Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges.

Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title.

We’re excited to see the creativity and enthusiasm that’s such a part of this group put into action. So don your creative caps and start writing. And spread the word!

Our amazing judges this year:

Elizabeth S. Craig writes cozy mystery series for Penguin Random House, Midnight Ink, and independently. She curates links on Twitter as @elizabethscraig that are later shared in the free search engine WritersKB.com.

Richard Harland finished his first novel in 1993 and resigned a university lectureship to become a full-time writer. With seventeen fantasy, SF and horror novels published since, he went international with his steampunk fantasies, Worldshaker, Liberator and Song of the Slums. He has won six Aurealis Awards and the A. Bertram Chandler Award in Australia, the Tam Tam Je Bouquine Award in France. Writing Tips

Laura Maisano has an MA in Technical writing and is a Senior Editor at Anaiah Press for their YA/NA Christian Fiction. She’s excited to release her debut YA Urban Fantasy SCHISM, and she’s finishing up the sequel UNITY.

Russell C. Connor has been writing horror since the age of 5, and has been in the self-publishing industry for a decade. He has published 8 novels and 4 novellas in both paperback and eBook, including the Box Office of Terror Trilogy and "Whitney," an epic horror novel about hurricane survivors fighting a washed-ashore sea monster. He also designs books for clients and assists them with self-publishing endeavors.

Dawn Frederick is the founder of Red Sofa Literary, previously of Sebastian Literary Agency, and she brings a broad knowledge of the book business to the table—with multiple years of experience as a bookseller in the independent, chain, and specialty stores; sales, marketing, & book development at a YA publisher, a published nonfiction author, and an agent associate literary agent at Sebastian Literary Agency.

Michelle L. Johnson is a literary agent, the founder of Inklings Literary Agency and has a business administration background in addition to a lifetime of working with books (sales, editing, and writing) and authors (marketing, promoting, event planning), and also has been a script/story consultant for an independent film.

Ion Newcombe is the editor and publisher of AntipodeanSF, Australia's longest running online speculative fiction magazine, regularly issued since January 1998. His qualifications and employment range from horticulture through electronics into literature and communications.

Author, Public Speaker, and Executive Producer, Lynn Tincher was born just outside of Louisville, Kentucky in the beautiful city of La Grange. She has written four books, with the fifth one currently in the making. Her first book, Afterthoughts was optioned for movie production by Kilted Pictures and Dancing Forward Productions in Los Angeles. It is currently in pre-production with plans to shoot in Louisville, Kentucky very soon.


How do you find time to write?

Are you thinking of entering the IWSG contest?