Showing posts with label Mar '11 virtual book tours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mar '11 virtual book tours. Show all posts

Friday, March 25, 2011

Pump Up Your Book! March 2011 Facebook Party Tonight!


Pump Up Your Book will be hosting the March 2011 Authors on Tour on Friday March 25, 2011 at 9 - 11 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 there will be a huge giveaway at the end of the chat!


Here's how it will work:

The party will kick off at our Facebook Party Page with a 2 hour chat in which all authors will get a certain time slot to answer questions. All time slots will be listed on the party page so that you'll know who is going to be up next. After the party, everyone is invited back here to find out who has won our fabulous prizes with directions on how to claim them. Easy peasy!

What you must do before the chat if you're going to attend:

1. In order to participate in the chat, you must "like" our Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/pumpupyourbook.

2. Sign up before the chat so we have time to approve you which will be the second step.

3. Once you're approved, head on over to the Facebook Party page at http://www.facebook.com/thewriterslife#!/note.php?note_id=10150097454282449 and leave a comment so we know you made it in.

Note: If you wait to sign up too late, you might not get in because once the party starts, it will be nearly impossible to get back into email to see if anyone needs getting in, so do this early please.

What to do when the chat ends:

Once the chat is over, head back over here to find out if you have won a prize. All prizes and winners will be announced in the body of this blog post. If you are a winner, you have 72 hours to contact me at thewriterslife(at)yahoo(dot)com to claim your prize. If we do not hear from you during that time, we will find another winner.

Rules & Regulations Recap:
  1. If an author does not show up, prizes will still be awarded.
  2. If you do not claim your prize within 72 hours, another winner will be chosen.
  3. You must participate in the chat in order to become eligible to win a prize.
  4. Leaving comments on this page does not make you eligible to win a prize. You must participate in the Facebook chat.
  5. Pump Up Your Book is not responsible for lost or damaged prizes.
  6. We will be using Random.org to determine winners and will be posted on this blog after the Facebook chat.
  7. This contest is in no way affiliated with Facebook and is promoted solely by Pump Up Your Book.
Our March 2011 Authors on Tour who are participating in the chat/giveaway includes:



Caitlin RotherCaitlin Rother is the author of true crime books Dead Reckoning, Body Parts, Twisted Triangle, and Poisoned Love, and the thriller, Naked Addiction. She is also the co-author of My Life, Deleted and Where Hope Begins, soon to be re-released as Deadly Devotion. She is now working on The Makings of a Monster, the story of the rape and murder of beloved teenagers Chelsea King and Amber Dubois. Rother, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist, worked as an investigative reporter at daily newspapers for nineteen years before deciding to write books full-time. She is the founder of the San Diego Writing Women blog, and her work has been published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Daily Beast. She has appeared as a crime expert on E! Entertainment, the Oxygen Network, Investigation Discovery, Greta Van Susteren's "On the Record," and America at Night." She also teaches journalism, narrative non-fiction and creative writing at UCSD Extension in San Diego. She is now working on The Makings of a Monster, the story of how John Gardner grew from a caring troubled boy into an angry man who couldn't control his compulsions to rape and murder beloved teenagers Chelsea King and Amber Dubois." You can visit her website at http://www.caitlinrother.com/

Caitlin will be giving away a paperback copy of her true crime novel, Dead Reckoning!

John AmesJohn Ames has a master's degree in English from the University of Florida, where he was a Ford Fellow. After graduation, he built a rustic house and lived for several years on the edge of a spiritual community located near Gainesville, Florida. John's search for enlightenment ended when he decided that he was too far from a movie theater. He moved inside the Gainesville city limits and taught English and film for thirty years at Santa Fe College. He has produced and acted in numerous short films and videos, including the cable TV series the "Tub Interviews," wherein all the interviewees were required to be in a bathtub. For ten years he reviewed movies for PBS radio station WUFT. He has appeared as a standup comedian and has designed and marketed Florida-themed lamps. He coauthored Second Serve: The Rene Richards Story (Stein and Day, 1983) and its sequel No Way Rene: The Second Half of My Notorious Life (Simon & Schuster, 2007), and Speaking of Florida (University Presses of Florida, 1993). His recent book is a coming-of-age novel titled Adventures in Nowhere. You can visit his website at http://www.johnamesauthor.com/.

John will be giving away a paperback copy of his coming of age novel, Adventures in Nowhere!

Megan van EyckMegan van Eyck lives near Seattle, Washington with her husband and children. Memoirs of a Widowed Mistress is her first memoir. You can visit Megan's website at http://www.widowedmistress.com/.

Megan will be giving away a copy of her memoir, Memoirs of a Widowed Mistress!

Allan LeveroneAllan Leverone is a three-time Derringer Award Finalist whose short fiction has been featured in Needle: A Magazine of Noir, Shroud Magazine, Twisted Dreams, Mysterical-E and many other venues, both print and online.

His debut thriller, titled FINAL VECTOR, is available February 2011 from Medallion Press.

For details, please visit http://www.allanleverone.com/ or his blog at http://www.allanleverone.blogspot.com/.

Allan is giving away an e-copy of his thriller, Final Vector, and 6 e-copies of Postcards from the Apocalypse!




Barbara BarnettBarbara Barnett is Co-Executive Editor of Blogcritics, an Internet magazine of pop culture, politics and more owned by Technorati Media. Always a pop-culture geek, Barbara was raised on a steady diet of TV (and TV dinners), but she always found her way to TV's antiheroes and misunderstood champions, whether on TV, in the movies or in literature. Barnett's regular column, "Welcome to the End of the Thought Process: An Introspective Look at House, M.D." features insightful episode commentaries and interviews with the House cast and creative team. It is the place for intelligent discussion of the hit television series starring Hugh Laurie. Barbara has had an eclectic career. With an undergraduate degree in biology and minors in chemistry and English, she pursued a PhD in Public Policy Analysis after spending a few years working in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Her first professional writing gig was with a food industry trade magazine, and although it wasn't exactly like writing for The New Yorker, it completely hooked her on the profession of writing. She also writes lots of other things, including technology (from a non-geek perspective), the movies, politics and all things Jewish. Based in the north shore suburbs of Chicago, Barnett is married with two brilliant children and a dog. Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D. is her first (commercial) book. She hopes it's not her last. Visit Barbara's website at http://www.barbarabarnett.com/.

Barbara will be giving away a copy her television nonfiction, Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide of House M.D.!




Hayley RoseHayley Rose grew up in the beach side town of Pacific Palisades , California, to a family of visual artists. In the early 1990's she traveled the U.S. with her band Crush Violet. In 1994, after a family reunion, she was inspired to write a children's book. Looking for a cute and catchy name for a main character, she kept hearing “first in, first out”. Hence, the name Fifo was born. Hayley's mother would often ask her what she wanted to be when she grew up, so Hayley decided to start her series of "Fifo" books with that very question. Her first book, Fifo "When I Grow Up" was published in 2002. Her love of travel inspired her second book in the Fifo series, Fifo "50 States", published in 2010. Along with writing children's books, Hayley has been working in entertainment business management for the past 15 years, specializing in concert touring. She has worked with many "A list" musicians including Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart and Candlebox just to name a few. Hayley hopes to one day soon release an album of children's songs. She is a currently member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and resides in Los Angeles, CA. You can visit her website at http://www.fifothebear.com/.

Hayley will be giving away one copy of her children's book 'Fifo: 50 States' and one copy of 'Fifo: When I Grow Up'!

Kristina McMorrisKristina McMorris lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons. Her foray into fiction began in the fall of 2006 as a result of interviewing her grandmother for the biographical section of a self-published cookbook intended as a holiday gift for the family. Inspired by her grandparents' wartime courtship, Kristina penned her first novel, a WWII love story titled Letters from Home. This award-winning debut is scheduled for release in trade paperback from Kensington Books (2-22-11; U.S.) and Avon/HarperCollins (5-5-11; U.K.). The condensed book rights have been sold to Reader's Digest, and the film rights are represented by the prestigious Creative Artists Agency of Los Angeles. Prior to her literary career, Kristina acted in numerous independent films and major motion pictures. She began hosting an Emmy-award winning television show at age nine, and most recently served as the six-year host of the WB's weekly program Weddings Portland Style. Adding to her diverse resume, McMorris is a professional emcee, literary workshop presenter, and former owner of a wedding/event planning business. Her previous writing background includes being a contributing writer for Portland Bride & Groom magazine and ten years of directing public relations for an international conglomerate. A portion of Kristina's sales proceeds from Letters from Home will benefit United Through Reading®, a nonprofit organization that video records deployed U.S. military personnel reading bedtime stories for their children. She is currently working on her next novel. You can visit her website at http://www.kristinamcmorris.com/.

Kristina will be giving away a copy of her women's fiction, Letters From Home!

F.M. MeredithF.M. Meredith, also known as Marilyn Meredith, is the author of nearly thirty published novels. Her latest in the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series, from Oak Tree Press, is Angel Lost. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Internet chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com/ and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/. You can like Marilyn on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marilyn-Meredith/276444167416.

F.M. will be giving away a copy of her mystery/crime, Angel Lost!




Cynthia KocialskiCynthia Kocialski is the founder of three companies - two fabless semiconductor and one software company. In the past 15 years, she has been involved in dozens of start-ups and has served on various advisory boards. These companies have collectively returned billions of dollars to investors. Cynthia has worked with established companies to bring start-up techniques and technologies to corporations desiring to process improvement and efficiency. Prior to her work in the start-up community, Cynthia has held a wide range of technical, marketing, and management positions at major corporations. At IBM, Cynthia began with financial software to facilitate the tracking of sales and inventory for international operations. She later moved into development and engineering management working of scientific workstations. Finally, Cynthia transitioned into technical marketing and strategic planning role for graphics and digital video components for personal computers. At Matrox, Cynthia was the general manager, overseeing the R&D area of digital video and image processing product lines, Cynthia graduated of the University of Rochester with bachelor's degrees in mathematics and applied statistics. She also has graduate degrees from the University of Virginia in both electrical engineering and systems engineering. She also writes the popular Start-up Entrepreneurs' Blog and has written many articles on emerging technologies. Her latest book is Start Up from the Ground Up: Practical Insights for Entrepreneurs. You can visit her website at http://www.cynthiakocialski.com/.

Cynthia will be giving away 10 paperback copies of her startup business book, Startup from the Ground Up!

LainaLaina Turner-Molaski is a businesswoman, mom, author, Professor, and a major supporter of shopping. She has an undying love for shoes and coffee, which is why she created her main character and alter-ego Presley Thurman. With a lot of letters after her name and a ton of student loan debt, she is always working to pay the bills. While she enjoys her day job, her passion is writing, and she uses a lot of company time writing her fiction or working on her social website for women, Chiczofrenic.com. She is hoping to sell her book before she gets fired from her day job for goofing off. Laina is currently living in Indiana, with her family, and is always writing something, whether it's blogs, articles, business journals and books or ideas for her next novel. She is continuously doing what she loves which is writing or drinking coffee. You can visit her website at http://www.lainaturner.com./

Laina will be giving away a paperback copy of her novel, Stilettos & Scoundrels AND a copy of The MS Project: Orange is the New Pink!

Pump Up Your Book will be giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate!!!!

More prizes to be announced!

If you have any questions, you may leave your question below or email me at thewriterslife(at)yahoo(dot)com

See you at the party!!!!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Interview with Bill Shears, Author of Kite (Giveaway)

Joining us today is Bill Shears, author of KITE. We'll talk to Bill about this book, his writing, and what's up next.

Welcome to The Book Connection, Bill. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I work with computers and I'm married with three kids. Though I read all kinds of books, I've been a fan of science fiction since grabbing a paperback edition of The War of the Worlds from a Bookmobile at about age 10. I also remember which book I read right after that, The Time Machine.

Where did you grow up?

Philadelphia.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

Summers at the shore in Wildwood NJ.

When did you begin writing?

First stab at a novel was in the early 80s. But I remember school assignments that were well-received.

Do you write during the day, at night or whenever you can sneak a few moments?

I find a clear mind and post-dream state waiting for me when I wake up early in the morning. Never thought I'd be an early riser but now I get up at about 5 am, settle in and then get a good hour of writing in before the chaos of the day begins.

What is this book about?

Kite is about a working-stiff aboard the utility ship, Kite, the flagship of the Earth Orbit Maintenance department's fleet. His job is to cleanse the space around Earth of debris that comes along with the tourism and other commercial activity that's commonplace up there, although in the time of the book there is a recession. His name is Mason Dash and he has a highly customized and beautiful companion, a virtual personality named Sheila. On the last day of his three-month shift he spots some movement on an abandoned space station where there should be none. He decides to investigate, suspecting foul play. Meanwhile Sheila embarks on her own adventure, and finds a touch of romance, in the Kite computer system, which is undergoing a kind of digital power struggle. Amidst all of this, humankind's first unearthly visitor happens to make an appearance. He goes by the name of Troy and he's none too pleased with what he finds. The world's fate hangs in the balance with only Dash, Sheila and the humble maintenance ship Kite standing between Earth and destruction.

What inspired you to write it?

By the turn of the millennium and beyond, every country with a space program had been blasting junk up there without regard to who would clean it up. Eventually this pile of trash will get big enough to get in the way. If Earth is our home, then in the cosmic scale of things Earth's orbit is like the front stoop. Imagine if every trip out of your house on the way to work you dropped sharp objects on the steps. Eventually it will become too dangerous to leave the house. If humans ever want to spread out to the rest of the solar system, and not just send robotic probes, we'll have to sweep the stoop.

Back when I first conceived of the idea for a story about it (Who knows really how these things happen?) the issue of space debris was not nearly as prominent as it is now. At least once a week these days you see news about the problem. The International Space Station has had to dodge some and they considered evacuating because of it. Plus the idea that space would someday be a work-a-day place always intrigued me, so the story of a working stiff in orbit was a natural.

Who is your favorite author?

Alive: Neal Stephenson

Dead: Robert Heinlein

Very dead: Edgar Allan Poe

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Here are the links:

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/KITE-Bill-Shears/dp/1601459327/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253931974&sr=1-2

Barnes & Noble

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Kite/Bill-Shears/e/9781601459329/?itm=6&USRI=kite

Books a Million

http://booksamillion.com/books/4294.html

Do you have a website and/or blog where readers can find out more?

The main site URL is

http://www.infinitybound.com/

The Kite page, with synopsis and a two-chapter excerpt, is here:

http://kite.infinitybound.com/

What is up next for you?

Soon to be released ebook, a paranormal mystery called The Doppelgänger Song. And a high-pedigree science fiction film project for a small outfit is in the scripting phase. Still under wraps but I'll let you know when there's news.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Just thank you, and best of luck to you and your readers.

Are you intrigued? I sure hope so, because you have a chance to win a copy of Kite for yourself. Here's how:



1) You must be a follower or subscriber of The Book Connection to win.


2) For your first entry, leave a comment with a valid email address. You can't win if you don't provide an email address.


3) One additional entry if you friend me on Facebook. Leave a comment with your profile link to show you're friending me.

4) One additional entry if you follow me on Twitter. Leave a comment with your profile link to show you're a follower.

5) Two additional entries if you like the Kite page on Facebook.

6) You must be 18 or older and reside in the U.S. or Canada to be eligible to win.

Deadline for entries is 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday, March 27, 2011. Winner will be selected out of all entrants who followed the rules governing this contest. The author will ship direct to the winner. The Book Connection is not responsible for lost or damaged items.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Book Review: Angel Lost by F.M. Meredith

The Rocky Bluff P.D. is back with the latest book in this mystery/crime series, Angel Lost, by F.M. Meredith.

Vice Officer Stacey Wilbur is having trouble keeping the thoughts of her upcoming wedding at bay while at work. Between her job and all the wedding plans, she hasn't had much time to spend with her fiancé, Detective Doug Milligan. Then comes a new case, a flasher showing himself off to women jogging along the beach. Stacey decides to set herself up as bait, and Doug is less than happy about it.

Vaughn Aragon has recently transferred to the Rocky Bluff P.D. from L.A. He says he is looking for a slower lifestyle, but his strange behavior makes some of his fellow officers suspicious.

Abel Navarro has trouble concentrating on his work when his mother begins to show signs of Alzheimer's. One forgotten memo could put an officer's life on the line.

When a mysterious angel appears in the window of a local furniture store, not everyone is sure what to make of it. Is it real? Is it a hoax? One thing's for sure, it means members of the Rocky Bluff P.D. will be working crowd control until the excitement dies down.

The lives of the Rocky Bluff P.D. are never boring.

I began reading the Rocky Bluff P.D. series when Smell of Death came out. That was prior to my working with Marilyn Meredith (also writing under the name F.M. Meredith), to promote her Deputy Tempe Crabtree and Rocky Bluff P.D. books. What I picked up right away on with this series, is that Meredith focused on showing how the personal lives of the members of the Rocky Bluff P.D. are impacted by their jobs. From divorces, to deaths, to marriages, and everything in between, a career in law enforcement means you don't leave your job at the door when you come home.

With Angel Lost, it appears the author decided to concentrate more on the personal lives of her characters than their jobs. Not that there isn't a lot going on at the Rocky Bluff P.D.--there is--it's just that we have Stacey and Doug's upcoming wedding, Gordon Butler (my favorite) planning to move out of Doug's house so that Stacey and her son Davey can move in after the wedding, and Abel's mother developing signs of Alzheimer's. The appearance of the angel in the furniture store window is also something I consider more personal, as Barbara and Ryan Strickland are a bit divided over if it's real or not.

After I read Smell of Death in 2008, I purchased and read all the previous books in the series:

Final Respects
Bad Tidings
Fringe Benefits

I believe the first book I represented through Pump Up Up Book was No Sanctuary, followed by An Axe to Grind. The series has changed publishers since the beginning, so some books are only available through the author's website.

Upon considering Angel Lost against the previous books in the series, I felt it wasn't as edgy as the others. The crimes, though many, didn't hold as much of an element of danger as I have come to expect from the Rocky Bluff P.D. books. While I still enjoyed watching the further development of characters I've grown to love, I kind of was hoping for a major gruesome murder. Does that make me a sick individual?

I was glad to see the addition of Vaughn Aragon to the force. He quickly became a favorite. I hope we see more of him in future books. I'm also hoping my other favorite, Gordon, gets a book that focuses mostly on him. A lot of what he gets into brings comic relief, but you have to like a guy who attracts nothing but bad luck and odd cases.

With Angel Lost, Meredith continues to do what she does best:  provide an entertaining story that draws you in and takes hold of you until the very last word. In addition, all these books, while part of a series, are excellent stand-alone novels. This book, like the others, left me eager for more of the members of the Rocky Bluff P.D. It's a good thing I know 2012 will bring the next book. I'm not sure I could wait patiently otherwise.


Title:  Angel Lost
Author:  F.M. Meredith
Publisher:  Dark Oak Mysteries
ISBN-10: 1610090055
ISBN-13: 978-1610090056

SRP:  $12.95


The author paid a fee to promote her book with a virtual book tour through Pump Up Your Book! This fee did not include a favorable review. I received no monetary compensation for this review, which contains my honest opinions of the book. An e-Copy of the book was provided free of charge by the author.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Pump Up Your Book! Announces March ‘11 Authors on Virtual Book Tours



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--

Join a talented and diverse group of 26 authors who are touring with Pump Up Your Book! Virtual Book Tours during the month of March 2011.

Follow these authors as they travel the blogosphere from March 1st through March 25th to discuss their books. You’ll find everything from memoirs to business books, historical novels to thrillers, children’s books to young adult novels and more!

The month of March is filled with returning authors. Lisa Gardner is back to promote her latest Detective D.D. Warren novel, “Love You More.” Also returning is Lou Aronica and his fantasy novel, “Blue,” Dr. Jennifer Freed with “Lessons from Stanley the Cat,” Diana Gabaldon with her historical romance sci-fi adventure novel, “Outlander,” Cynthia Kocialski’s business book, “Start Up from the Ground Up,” James LePore’s thriller, “Anyone Can Die,” and Allan Leverone and his thriller, “Final Vector.”

Pamela Samuels Young continues her virtual book tour for the legal thriller, “Murder on the Down Low,” and coming back for her eighth virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! is F.M. Meredith. She’ll be promoting the latest book in her Rocky Bluff P.D. series, “Angel Lost.” Kath Russell is back to promote her coming of age historical, “Deed So.” Elle Newmark is back with a new book, “The Sandalwood Tree.” Sheila Hendrix also returns with her YA paranormal, “The Betrayal.”
Memoirs come to you from Barry Fixler and Megan van Eyck, while historical novels are being promoted by John Milton Langdon and Paula McLain. Other fiction titles come to you from Laurel Dewey, Emily Sue Harvey, and Laina Turner-Molaski. Also on tour is Kristina McMorris and her women’s fiction novel, “Letters from Home.”

Barbara Barnett tours with “Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D.,” while Caitlin Rother promotes her true crime book, “Dead Reckoning.” Also on tour in March are Borneo Tom McLaughlin, Emma K. Piers, and Hayley Rose. Turner-Molaski will also tour during the second half of the month with, “The MS Project: Orange is the New Pink”, her MS awareness anthology. A portion of the proceeds from book sales will go to support the MS Society.

Visit Pump Up Your Book! on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/PumpUpPR#p/a/u/1/PfxzbLrX7Zw  to view a video trailer introducing our authors on tour in March.

Pump Up Your Book! is a virtual book tour agency for authors who want quality service at an affordable price. More information can be found on their website at www.pumpupyourbook.com.

Contact Information:

Dorothy Thompson
Founder of Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tours
P.O. Box 643
Chincoteague, Virginia 23336
Email: thewriterslife@yahoo.com