Dog Days of Summer Tour

Just a quick note: I'm participating in the "Dog Days of Summer Tour" (hosted by Saoirse Redgrave) this holiday weekend so be sure to drop by, check out my interview, the excerpts, and more and be sure to post a comment to get your chance to win!

Don't miss it!

LINK: http://13-to-life-a-werewolf-tale.blogspot.com/

P.S.: Be sure to check out Saoirse's upcoming wolfie tale too!!

Updated Database, FaceBook, & On Leave

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I have just updated the POD Database and there's now only three shy of a cool one-hundred companies listed, which I believe gives plenty of options, no matter what your specific independent publishing needs are.

And this update also made me aware of another matter...soon it will be approaching a nice neat decade that I have spent doing this for all y'all. My how time flies! Zip-pow-bam! Gone!

Just like I will be for a short while. Yes, yes, I hear your despair but it seems reality has been calling me hard lately (which is why I've not been posting much) and I forsee it will be a trend for at least the next couple months sooooo with that in mind, I thought I'd best announce I'll be taking a hiatus from this blog for a bit until things settle down.

But as always: if you need me, you know where to find me, and if you're just looking, you can also find me on Facebook, occasionally posting and checking in with everyone so be sure to 'friend' me when you have a chance for more regular updates and new news ;)

Another Top 25 plus a New Review for FBOW

Just popping in to let everyone know that Calypso’s Revenge was cruising the “Top 25 Hot New Releases” in Science Fiction for the Kindle Edition at Amazon.com this past week--putting it just a few notches down from some mighty notable players :)

(does little happy dance here)

And in addition to that, I’ve just received my first review for my paranormal novella, “For Better or Worse,” from Maura at Coffee Time Romance, who had this to say about my newest were-wolfie tale:

"I really enjoyed the concept of this story; a werewolf who wants to live a normal life with a husband and family... I liked Sandra’s loyalty to her husband... The characters’ emotions are very real and there are some scenes that had me biting my nails. This story is going into my keeper file..."

This news was very nice to hear since I’d taken some chances writing-wise with this story that I'd done before and wasn’t quite sure how it would be received. If you'd like to know more about what was said, you can find the full review at:

Coffee Time Romance

New Review for "Calypso" from MyShelf.com

Hey all!

I am so very excited for I just had a new review come in this weekend for my latest release, "Calypso's Revenge: A Traitor's Heart" -- and it's a great one!!!

You can read the whole review at MyShelf.com but to give you a taste:

"(Calypso is) an unflinching tale of friendship, forgiveness and trust. It’s also one of the best books I’ve read in a while. It was a hard book to put down. I suspect it will be even more difficult to forget…" -- PG Forte, MyShelf.com

Curious for more of what this reviewer had to say? Then make sure that when you get a free moment, you go check it out:

http://www.myshelf.com/romance/09/calypsosrevenge_ebook.htm

Guest: Karen Cioffi

This week's guest is Karen Cioffi. Karen, who lives with her husband Donald in New York City, is an author and freelance writer, a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Children’s Writing Coaching Club, Writer’s Digest and Writer’s Market. She's also a member of several other writing groups.

1. Karen, now that you've got that first "book under your belt" as to say, what has been the best thing about your publishing experience so far?

I would have to say all the great authors and friends I've met in the marketing aspect of it--it's opened a whole new world to me.

2. The illustrations for "Day’s End Lullaby" are wonderful; how did you find an illustrator for your book or did you do the artwork yourself?

I looked for an illustrator in a school, but didn't get anyone interested and I couldn't afford to hire a professional illustrator so I did the illustrations myself. I know it's advised not to do that unless you're a professional, but it was me or no one. My first intention was to do the illustrations in black and white, but Robyn thought it would be better in color.

3. What tips do you have for other authors who may be considering to independently publish an illustrated children's book?

I would first say join a critique group and polish your ms as best you can - if you're not getting it edited professionally. As far as the illustrations go I would recommend looking around different groups to see if you can find an illustrator who will work with you. If you have enough talent, do them yourself. I read in one of the tours that Joy Delgado taught herself to do illustrations on the computer. There are some programs out there, such as PhotoShop Elements, that you can use for this. Finally, I would say to thoroughly research the PODs and self-publishing companies out there. If you can get a recommendation from someone who has already used a company with success that's even better.

4. How has the response been from others/the general public?

From the feedback I've gotten so far the book has gone over very well. I've gotten several reviews and they were all great. Wayne, from Stories for "Children's Magazine" gave it a 5-Star rating, my local paper did a three-quarter page write up about it, and my local librarian is working on getting it into the library.

5. What has been the hardest part of being a children's author?

For me, I would say keeping the words age appropriate. After that I think it's the learning aspect of writing specifically for children. There are a lot of rights and wrongs that go into this genre. It's important to learn the craft and that takes time and effort.

6. What do you enjoy the most about writing for children?

Children are such a joy and source of inspiration. My co-author, who happens to be my daughter, and I are both advocates of education and reading. Reading opens new worlds to children. It can enlighten them, it can open their imagination and it can teach them. Being a part of that is just a wonderful feeling.

7. Where do you want to be a year from now?

In regards to writing, I would like to have had my story, "Walking Through Walls," accepted by a publisher and my freelance writing published in paying markets.

8. And lastly, where can interested readers find out more about you and your work?

"Day’s End Lullaby" is available at Amazon, BookSurge, Alibris and Abebooks. It is also available through additional wholesale and retail channels worldwide such as Books in Print, Global Books in Print and Baker and Taylor.

For more information about Karen and her work, please visit:

Children's Book by Karen & Robyn
Karen & Robyn Blog

A Little Smile Today...

Today I was getting some info from a reader who has just finished "Calypso's Revenge" and wanted to post a short review of it and happened to notice this (see graphic below):

At first, being busy with the task at hand, I really didn't pay much attention to it until I'd finsihed what I was doing, and, out of total curiosity, clicked on the other title listed...and, boy, I was pleasantly surprised.

Seems sixty-nine percent of the customers who looked at "Calypso" actually ended up buying my title instead of the mainstream PW/Wash Post reviewed Random House title with over nintey-some-odd reviews.

Now if that don't make you smile even just a little bit...

Meet Kathy Stemke

I would like to welcome this week author Kathy Stemke. Kathy has a passion for writing, the arts, and all things creative. She has a bachelor of science degree from Southern Connecticut State University and Covenant Life Seminary, as well as graduate coursework from New York Institute of Technology and Columbia University. Hanging her hat in the North Georgia mountains she has been a dancer, choreographer, teacher, tutor, writer and an antiques dealer for many years.

Kathy, could you please tell us a bit about you? What is your professional background and how did your varied experiences help to get you where you are now?

My background is in physical education, dance, communication arts, and early childhood education. Early in my teaching career I found that the children enjoyed learning more, learned much faster, and retained more when I added movement into the curriculum.

Another aspect of career included writing and directing musical theater, which included dance and photography. I find myself wanting to share in all these areas, but my focus right now is in giving education tips to teachers and writing children’s picture books with movement activities.

I see that you've just recently signed a contract for your first children's book, "Trouble on Earth Day." Could you give a synopsis of what they story is about? What was the goal in this book - what did you want to achieve with it?

“Trouble on Earth Day” is a story about a squirrel named Shelby, her family, and a little yellow songbird, that learn about friendship, cooperation and recycling the precious materials we’re given on earth. This book is a wonderful way to inspire children to rethink the way they use items in their own home. The activities and worksheets found in the back of the book will give parents, teachers and children hours of fun and additional learning tools.

My goal in this book was to teach children the importance of conservation and recycling. Equally important was my intention to teach them to make new friends and help others in need. Being a retired teacher, I also wanedt to supply teachers with a colorful, and innovative picture book that also has the teaching materials they need to create a unit study on conservation.

You also have two more forthcoming titles, "Moving Through all Seven Days" and "Sh, Sh, Sh, Will the Baby Sleep," would you mind giving us an idea of what these works are about?

“Moving Through All Seven Days” is a rhyming book that not only teaches the days of the week but also how to spell each day! In the back of the book there are several pages of activities for parents and teachers to use to reinforce those goals.

“Sh,Sh,Sh Will the Baby Sleep?” is a story of a super hero, Zachary, who gets his sister back to sleep after confronting many dangers. Each danger involves a consonant blend like sh, ch, th, wh, and br. The songs and activities in the back of the book will help teachers and parents reinforce these concepts.

And lastly, how can readers find out more about you and you work?

Readers can visit my blog, website, and article homepages to learn more about me and the projects I’m working on right now.

Education Tipster
Freelancer Kathy Stemke
Helium.com
Associated Content
Kathy Stemke's Website