Tragic Desires by AM Hargrove Cover Reveal & Giveaway Plus ROW80 Update

Cover by Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations 
Photo by Scott Hoover Photography 
Cover Model Emmanuel Delcour

About Tragic Desires

My name is Gemini Sheridan. At least that’s what I thought it was for 23 years. Then one day a slight adjustment on the wheel of my mountain bike set into motion a series of catastrophic events that changed my life forever. Now I’m running from the headaches that threaten to destroy me… from the assassins that threaten to kill me… from the truth that exposes who I really am… and from the man that wants to save me. Because he now owns my heart and I fear him above all others.

My name is Drexel Wolfe and I’m a private investigator. Nothing ever stands in the way of what I want because when I see something I just take it. All of that changed the night my life collided with Gemini Sheridan’s and now everything is one hot damn mess. And the worst part of it all is that I’m trying to save her ass and I don’t know why the hell I’m even bothering. Well, that’s not exactly true. Fact is, I can’t stop thinking about her. She’s crawled into every thought I own, asleep or awake. I have serious plans for her that include making her mine. What she doesn’t know is that when I play, I play for keeps. Nothing and no one will get in my way or stop me… not even Gemini Sheridan herself.

Add it on GoodReads.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Connect with AM Hargrove
Blog: http://amhargrove.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Amhargrove1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AMHargroveAuthor
Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5338829.A_M_Hargrove
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/amhargrove1/

Not a bad way to celebrate hump-day. *swoon*

And Wednesdays are A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) check-in days.

Yesterday, I finally finished editing my website. Now, it's live! Please go check out www.tiabach.com and let me know what you think.

Edits and beta thoughts are pouring in, so my head will be swimming in Chasing Shadows. Good thing I'm enjoying this manuscript. 

Enjoy the rest of your week! And don't forget to enter the giveaway above.

And All That Just: ROW80

Do you have a word you use more often than others? 

If you are like me, you do and are completely unaware of it. 

I would be a millionaire if I was paid a nickle for every all and just I've used lately. It so saturates my speech that I even miss it in editing... read right over it. I just can't help myself. *Damn, I did it again.*

As an editor, I know I need to do a search and find for those two words and edit them away. Yet, I live in some state of denial about my problem. I have such an eye for detail in others' work, but float right past it when editing my own.

Lessons learned...

No matter how good an editor you are, you can't edit your own work with the same effectiveness.

At the end of the day, my brain knows what I wanted to say and keeps on going. Sure, I can do a rough edit so that my betas and editor don't get total crap, but I could never be my sole editor. I read out loud, comb through sentence by sentence, all the editor things I should do. Still, I am too familiar with my own work. 

Search and find your overused words.

I didn't totally realize my all and just problem until this novel. Admission: my mom went through and circled every single one -- and yes, my mom reads my manuscripts. She's a darn good writer in her own right, and she has a detailed eye. In a previous manuscript, I had a then problem. So of course, I was sensitive to overusing that word in this one. Next time, I'll be hyper-vigilant about all and just. So guess what? A new word will surface. To be safe, search your manuscript for the following (and add your own words as you discover them): all, just, very, ly, like, that, so. 

What other overused words would you add to this list?

And it's Monday. Time for my A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) update. 

Editing Chasing Shadows. 

Correcting some all and just issues to start. The whole time, All That Jazz was running through my head, slightly altered.

Find a flask

We're playing fast and loose

To Find All that Just

Oh, she's gonna shimmy

Till her garters break

To Find All that Just

A bit consumed with editing right now to focus on much else. I need to take a break this week long enough to get my website up and running, but I am doing better on social media balance. 

Wishing everyone a great week!

Writers' Conference & Competition News

TGIF!

I'm still finding my footing after two weeks of holiday craziness and family time. Hope everyone's transition to 2014 is coming along.

Today, I wanted to share some information about the wonderful Pamlico Writers Conference and Competition with all of you.

Saturday, March 8

9:00am - 6:00pm

Washington, North Carolina (waterfront)

From their website

Our theme above emphasizes the hands-on approach of the second annual 2014 conference & competition presented by the Beaufort County Arts Council and The Pamlico Writers Group.

Writers will meet in the Washington Civic Center, an historic railroad station and warehouse, located in the heart of Washington, NC on the Pamlico River.

We invite you to join us for a day filled with workshops, a keynote speaker, and a panel discussion on The Craft of Writing, a.k.a. The Labor After the Inspiration.

About the Juried Writing Competition

DEADLINE for submissions: February 23, 2014

Contest Categories:

• Fiction
• Creative Non-fiction
• Young Adult **
• Poetry
• High School (for students in grades 9-12)

Contest Fees:

• Prose categories - $10 reading fee per entry
• Poetry - 3 poems for $10 reading fee
• High School (no reading fee)

FOLLOW THESE EASY STEPS TO ENTER:

1. You MUST upload competition entry files from your personal account.
2. Check CONTEST RULES to make sure your work complies.
3. Create a Login Account.
4. Log in: My Account page is your place to register for the conference and enter the competition.
5. Choose option to enter the competition.
6. Pay your reading fee via your PayPal Account or credit card of your choice.
7. UPLOAD your entry per instructions.
8. You may UPLOAD as many entries as you like (reading fee applies to each entry) until competition closing date.

Last year, I really enjoyed the conference. In addition, I won the Young Adult competition and was published in The Washington Magazine. It's only in its second year, but it's growing. I highly recommend it if you are in the area.

Even if you can't go, please consider entering the writing competition: you don't have to be present to win and you don't have to attend the conference to enter. In addition, if you know high school students who love to write, please encourage them to enter. The winner gets a $500 cash scholarship prize.

Please share this information with anyone who is interested. Thank you.

Hope everyone has an amazing Friday!

** How cool is it that they have a YA category. Come on friends. I know you have stories to tell!

I, Zombie by Jo Michaels (5 stars) is FREE today!

Guess what's FREE today on Amazon... the eBook of I, Zombie by the amazing Jo Michaels. Don't miss your chance to grab this new release for free today, 1/9/14. Please spread the word.

You are one simple click away from a great read for free. Click here.

About I, Zombie
(from GoodReads)

It's the end of the world as we know it.

Trixie Collins is a normal teen making her way through high school. One night at a party, a boy comes on to her and won't take no for an answer. As she jerks her arm away, his fingernails cut into her skin.

When she finds her dog's mutilated body and realizes she's to blame, she starts to think maybe the zombie apocalypse they've been screaming about on the news isn't a hoax after all. Worse, she begins to think maybe she's one of the infected.

Now it's a fight for life as she joins together with her brethren to stop the humans intent on destroying them. Are zombies all bad, or is it just a huge misunderstanding?

An excerpt from my 5-star review:

This book rocks! You will fall in love with Trixie and several other characters. From page one, it's a constant thrill ride. But, more importantly, it's a story with heart and soul--a great read for action-seekers as well as those who want to connect with characters. I expected to have some cringe-worthy moments and scares, but I didn't expect to cry. And I did. Hard.

You can read the full review here.

Now, what are you waiting for? Go. Download. Enjoy.

The More I Write, The Less I Have to Say: IWSG, Indie Life & ROW80

My mind is overflowing with ideas for my series (and another YA novel idea that I unfortunately I can't get to right now). By why is it that the more the creative juices flow in my writing, the less I feel I have to say in my blog posts. Have I just used up my words?

The same was true when I was rocking the blog posts... I wasn't finding time to write. And it's not just time, it's ideas. Every time I come up with a writerly blog post, it makes me want to jump over to Word and write more story.

I'm afraid I've run out of interesting things to say here. *GASP* It's a case of blog writer's block.

When blocked for a good blog post, what do you do?

I don't want to only blog when I'm inspired and leave my readers wondering when I'll make an appearance. I used to blog daily, but I'd love to settle into a consistent Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. Any helpful suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Or, just as good, blogged about.

*****

Today, I'm posting about my creative insecurities as part of IWSG, Indie Life, and ROW80. 

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (or IWSG) is a wonderful group put together by the amazing Alex J. Cavanaugh (which now has an equally cool Facebook group). It's the perfect opportunity to share my insecurities on the #IWSG therapy couch, get encouragement and support about such insecurities, and to read how other writers are faring. 

Oh, and it's also time for Indie Life (which is normally scheduled for the second Wednesday of the month while IWSG is normally the first).

What is Indie Life?

How: Sign up on the Linky at the bottom of this page
When: Post on the second Wednesday of the month (starting 1/9/2013)
What: Write anything indie related: something that will inspire or help a fellow indie; something that celebrates a release or a milestone; something that talks about the ups and downs, joys and heartaches of Being Indie.
Grab: The banner to include in your posts!

And, finally, Wednesdays are check in days for A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80). An update on my progress can be summed up in a few sentences.

First, I have been visiting more blogs and more active on social media the last few days. Balance will come in time. I have been playing a lot of catch up on blog posts and reviews these first couple of days of ROW80 since I'm still waiting on edits and beta thoughts on Chasing Shadows (some of the first came in yesterday). I've made some notes on Book 3 and the novella, and plan to start writing later today.

Wishing everyone well in their endeavors!

Goals for ROW80 Round One

Do you know what I did in the first few days of 2014?

Hopefully curiosity pulled you through to the next sentence... I sent Chasing Shadows (Tala Prophecy, Book 2) to my editor and a few beta readers. *squeals while dancing*

This excitement leads me to announcing my goals for Round One of A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80). For those who don't know about ROW80, it's the writing challenge that knows you have a life. To that end, participants set realistic goals and continually re-examine and adjust them in response to Life's machinations.

Round One Goals

* While waiting for beta comments and edits, I am going to write Chasing Forgiveness (Tala Prophecy, Book 2.5), a novella based on a character in Chasing Shadows. Hoping to join some #ROW80 wordsprints (2pm EST) for inspiration.

* Publish website.

* Put Depression Cookies on Smashwords (I'm embarrassed that I haven't done this yet).

* Increase my social media presence. The last quarter of 2013 left me struggling to find time to visit and comment on blogs and participate on Facebook and Twitter. Some of it was a lack of time, but a huge part was burnout. I hope to find a nice social media balance in 2014.

* Reach a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. I need to have an exercise goal. Since my husband got a Fit Bit for Christmas, I am making sure he and I achieve this minimum daily. I also plan to recommit to running and some Jillian Michaels tapes.

* A goal for the year: I heard about this challenge where you write a handwritten letter a week to someone who's important to you. I'm in (thanks for sharing the idea, Beth!). 

Wishing everyone good luck with their new goals! 

Best Books of 2013 -- Ringing in a New Year

2013 was a stellar year for awesome books! I read 100 this year, and my goal is the same (if not more) for 2014.

As we begin a new year, I wanted to share all my 4.5-star and higher rated books from 2013. I'm looking forward to even more great books this year. (click the title to see the full review)

4.5 star

Foreplay, Sophie Jordan
Maggie's Turn, Deanna Lynn Sletten
Finding It, Cora Carmack
Supernova, Elizabeth Sharp
The Hourglass, Sharon Struth
Trusting You, LP Dover
Strength, Carrie Butler
Sisters in Bloom, Melissa Foster
Mystic ~ Melody, Jo Michaels
The Curse Giver, Dora Machado
For Everly, Raine Thomas
The Enchanted, Elaine Cantrell
Sisters in Love, Melissa Foster
Chocolate Fondue, Martha Reynolds
Lion's Head Deception, Chuck Waldron
Marked for Vengeance, SJ Pierce
After Tuesday (These Days #1), Renee Ericson
The Hunter, Monica McCarty
The Beloved Daughter, Alana Terry
The Faerie Prince, Rachel Morgan
The Keeper of Secrets, Julie Thomas
Cooper Moon: The Calling, Cheryl Shireman
Assured Destruction, Michael F. Stewart
The Long Way Home, Mariah Stewart
Traces of Kara, Melissa Foster
Primal, DA Serra

4.75 Stars

Winter Garden, Kristin Hannah

5 Stars

Bittersweet Chocolate, Martha Reynolds
Someone Else's Love Story, Joshilyn Jackson
Warrior Beautiful, Wendy Knight
Blood Draw, Melissa Luznicky Garrett
Mystic ~ Coralie, Jo Michaels
The Faerie War, Rachel Morgan
Courage, Carrie Butler
Borrowed Things, Doris Schneider
Yassa, Jo Michaels
The Disappearing Girl, Heather Topham Wood
The Day After Yesterday, Kelly Cozy
Manuscript Found in Accra, Paulo Coelho
Dark Genesis, Dave Ferraro
Wondertown, Mac Fellows

 

Rachel Morgan, Melissa Foster, Martha Reynolds, and Jo Michaels (all seen above) made the list more than once. Melissa Foster and Jo Michaels both made the list three times. Few things make me happier than having some go-to authors.

In the last two weeks of December, I read several books that will be officially reviewed over the next two weeks. A couple were 5-star reads. Look for appearances again by Melissa Foster and Jo Michaels (both 5-star reviews) and a new favorite... Juliana Haygert.

Here's to reading in 2014!

This post was published today on my review site, Mom in Love with Fiction, but I had to share it here as well. Wishing everyone an amazing 2014!