Category: Promo

Weekly writing check-in: the one with giving up the ghosts

Finished off the last bit of work for my classes (for now). Yay!

I started the last of the Ghost episodes (also for now–there might be a season two). This episode is challenging. It not only has its own story arc, but also the entire season story arc comes to a close in this story. Again, hats off to television writers. This. Is. Challenging. I’m calling this last episode Must Love Ghosts–tentatively (for now).

But it’s a lot of fun. As I mentioned earlier this week, Giving up the Ghosts is live. Plus, Ghost in the Coffee Machine is free and it includes a sample of Giving up the Ghosts. So, if you’re uncertain about Coffee & Ghosts, you can give it a no-risk sort of try.

Writing Work:

  • Calvino class: All done!
  • Writing ~ 3,600 words
  • Started Must Love Ghosts
  • Revising The Ghost Whisperer

Submissions:

  • The Perfect Canvas

Rejections:

  • The Perfect Canvas

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

Giving up the GhostsGiving up the Ghosts is now live! And Ghost in the Coffee Machine is free to read.

If you want to learn more, see my post from a few days ago.

New release and a free read!

And … it’s here! The second episode in the Coffee & Ghosts series is live. Even better, the first episode is free.

Ghost in the Coffee Machine

Ghost in the Coffee Machine_series cover

Katy and her grandmother have always used coffee to catch ghosts. It pays the bills and keeps them in high-end beans. But after Katy’s grandmother dies, it’s as if she’s taken all the ghosts with her.

Until Katy discovers there’s a rival ghost hunter in town, one who uses tea–of all things–and one who has stolen all her clients. But when an epic infestation threatens, Katy can’t help but get involved. It will take all her wits–and some excellent Kona blend–to fight the ghost in the coffee machine.

Read for free!

Giving up the Ghosts

Giving up the Ghosts

Katy Lindstrom has used coffee to catch ghosts since she was five years old–a handy skill in a town with an overabundance of spirits. Now Katy wants to make her newly-minted ghost-hunting business thrive. Never mind that her partner, Malcolm Armand, is her former rival, not to mention a bit … distracting.

When a routine ghost eradication ends in disaster, clues point to someone close to Malcolm. But something sinister lurks in Springside Township, something Katy’s never encountered in all her years of ghost hunting, and something that has her doubting all her skills.

It will take more than high-end beans and the perfect cup of coffee this time around. It will take trust and teamwork and possibly a sacrifice Katy’s not ready to make.

Read for free with Kindle Unlimited–or 99 cents!

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the Memorial Day Challenge

alphacatI started this blog post with the cat on my lap. Then she moved to my desk. I made the mistake of standing up and she stole my chair. Now she’s sleeping in the dog bed.

Clearly, there’s no winning this game if you happen to human and/or a dog.

It’s kind of like the submission game this week. Three rejections! Boom, boom … BOOM. That’s the way it works sometimes. But I sent two right back out again, so there’s that. I also kept up in class, started a new one (because I’m crazy), and ended up with 4,000 words on a new Coffee & Ghosts story.

So, I’m pleased.

Writing Work:

  • Narrative Design class
  • Calvino Class
  • Writing ~ 4,000 words

Submissions:

  • Gretel and Hansel
  • Knight in the Royal Arms

Rejections:

  • March Madness
  • Gretel and Hansel
  • Knight in the Royal Arms

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

Memorial Day 2015 Charity Challenge: Gone, but Not Forgotten!

Memorial Day 2015 Charity Challenge: Gone, but Not Forgotten!

During Memorial Day week, from the 22nd to 29th of May, more than 70 veteran authors will pledge 100% of their book royalties to their favorite charities.

Once again, I will be participating in the Vets Give Back charity challenge, this time for Memorial Day. My organization of choice is Helping Paws, a local organization that has a pilot program to provide veterans with service dogs. I am pledging $100 as a baseline PLUS all royalties I earn for the week.

While I will donate all royalties, my pledge book is The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath because of its military theme.

Fine Art_blue

MacKenna’s mother died when she was a baby, a casualty of the first Gulf War. Now seventeen, MacKenna has spent her life navigating the minefield of her dad’s moods, certain of one thing: she is destined to follow in her mother’s combat boots. But when she pursues an ROTC scholarship, she finds herself at war before even enlisting.

Her father forbids her from joining the military, inexplicable considering he’d raised her to be a “warrior princess.” MacKenna turns to her grandmother—who arms her with an ammo crate containing her mother’s personal effects from the war. Hidden in the crate’s false bottom is a journal, one her mom stashed there hours before her death.

While MacKenna untangles the secrets of her parents’ tragic love story, her own life unravels. Dad’s behavior becomes erratic, her best friend grows distant and even hostile, and a boy from her past returns—with a life-threatening secret of his own.

If ever a girl needed her mother, it’s now.

The pen might be mightier than the sword, but are a mother’s words strong enough to slice through years of hidden pain? Can those words reach through the battlefields of the past to change MacKenna’s future?

Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, Print

Be sure to check out all the books on the challenge site. There is something for everyone. And if you’re a subscriber to Kindle Unlimited, you can even give for free by borrowing many of the authors’ books. So you can donate and grow your to-be-read pile all at once!

Happy reading and thank you!

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the 99 cent sale

YA Spring Fling Contemporary

The YA Spring Fling continues this week, so if you haven’t had a chance to enter, head on over. Lots of books, lots and lots of books.

I’m continuing with both of my classes (I should probably go post my homework), managed a little writing, a little outlining, a little ghost research. Plus I sent a new story out into the world.

Also, if you want to grab Now and Later for 99 cents on Kindle, it’ll be that way for a week.

Writing Work:

  • Writing work ~ 2,300 words
  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • In a Manner of Speaking

Rejections:

  • Abandonment Issues

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

None, but the Goodreads giveaway is still going on! Enter to win a print copy of Now and Later.

Or … grab the Kindle version for 99 cents. One week only!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Now and Later by Charity Tahmaseb

Now and Later

by Charity Tahmaseb

Giveaway ends April 02, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

YA Spring Fling Blog Hop with H.S. Stone

The YA Spring Fling is still going strong and there’s plenty of time to enter the giveaway. Want to know what you might win? Well, keep reading to learn a little more about one of the authors, H.S. Stone.

YA Spring Fling med

What’s your favorite thing about spring?

The fact that it’s not winter anymore! Cold weather and I don’t get along very well.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

I love coming up with new story ideas. I’ve been inspired by dreams, books that I read, or just from taking a walk. Whenever a good idea hits me, I write it down in a notebook. As a result, I can’t wait to finish my current manuscript because there are so many new ideas beckoning me!

What’s the worst thing about being a writer?

For me, the revision process is the most painful part of creating a book. After the first draft, I’ll go over my manuscript several times before sending it to an editor, and by then, I’m usually sick of reading my story.

Tell us more about your books.

I write young adult speculative fiction. About half of my books can be classified as dystopian or post-apocalyptic, while the remaining ones fall in the realm of science fiction or fantasy.

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee, but I also like tea. I like coffee-flavored anything: ice cream, cake, candy, etc.

Plotter or Pantser?

I used to be a plotter, but now I’m somewhere in between. I start out each story by writing an outline, and while I try to follow it when I write the first draft, the characters invariably lead me in a different direction. I then revise the outline to match and continue with the draft, iterating when needed until I’ve completed the story.

Are there any books involved in the YA Spring Fling that you’re secretly lusting after?

Oh yes, there are several! But since I’m secretly lusting after them, I won’t reveal which ones. I think there are lots of great books being offered, and I’m grateful to be part of it.

What are your top tips for surviving a bad review?

Remember that everyone has an opinion, and even the best books aren’t for everyone. Re-read your positive reviews to remind yourself that there are readers who enjoyed what you wrote.

What are your top tips for surviving a zombie apocalypse?

Zombieland provided some very useful tips, so I’ll refer to that list: http://www.zombielandrules.com/.

Remember the double tap.

Where can readers find your books?

You can find a full list of my books from my website with links to the retailers that carry them:

H.S. Stone’s books

 

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the YA Spring Fling

YA Spring Fling Contemporary

So, yes, the YA Spring Fling started on Friday. There are lots of books, not just contemporary YA, but fantasy, sci-fi, horror. Have a favorite genre? You can probably find it in this giveaway.

In other news, I started another class this week. Why? Because I’m crazy. Well, yes, I am, but that’s not why. Way back at the start of the year, I signed up for the Description class at the Loft Literary Center. Then the Narrative Design class came along, and I decided to start that as well.

And things are just a little bit crazy, what with Girl Scouts and dance competitions and the like. But I know that:

  1. It won’t stay busy forever.
  2. It’ll be worth it if I hang in there.

Now, a deep breath before I jump into my busy Sunday (cookie booth, here we come).

Writing Work:

  • Writing work ~ 5,250 words
  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • Straying from the Path (reprint market)

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

Publications:

None, but the Goodreads giveaway is still going on!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Now and Later by Charity Tahmaseb

Now and Later

by Charity Tahmaseb

Giveaway ends April 02, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

YA Spring Fling! Win books, swag, and more!

It’s here! The YA Spring Fling! Enter to win a whole bunch of books: print, e-books, and audio. There’s swag and other prizes as well.

The giveaway is open between now and April 3rd, so head on over and win some books!

YA Spring Fling Logo

 

 

For Valentine’s Day: The Burden of So Many Roses in audio

Just in time for Valentine’s Day! The Burden of So Many Roses is now in audio over at Toasted Cake.  Having a bad day? Well, have a listen. It could be much, much worse.

roses

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the best in category

The Kindle Countdown Deal for The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath is wrapping up. If you want to grab a copy for 99 cents, you have about a day and a half to do so. Also, maybe this just happened:

bestseller

 

So. Yeah. That was fun. Otherwise, I had a good writing week of about 1,000 words a day, and a good writing month as well. I’d love to inch that monthly word count up to 40,000. I don’t have that far to go, so we’ll see.

Writing Work:

  • Writing ~ 7,554 words
    Monthly total: 37,377 words

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

Fine Art_bluePick up the Kindle version for only 99 cents. It’s also available in print.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MazeThe Maze: Three Tales of the Future is also having a countdown deal for 99 cents. Three tales! Of the Future! But hurry. This one ends in a day and a half too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now and Later ebook coverIf you’re in a short story sort of mood, you can pick up eight young adult short stories in one volume. Currently, it’s only available in Kindle, but I plan to release the print version soon.