Lay & Lie: Grammar & Writing Tips

It's Wednesday--time for another grammar tip.

Today's Topic: Lay and Lie

At least we can get one thing straight right away. If you don't tell the truth, you tell a lie (past tense: lied). 

Now things start to get more complicated, but here's a simple trick...

A person/animal will lie down, but an object needs someone to lay it down. That's pretty easy. Note: when I grew up, I was taught only humans lie down (animals lay down). That's no longer the case. Animals also lie, unless a chicken needs to lay an egg. *chuckle*

But, as is true of most things in Grammar World, there is a complication.

The past tense of lie is lay. What? Again, the deciders of all things grammar love to mock us. 

So, for a handy resource, I put it in a graphic*.

Just in case I haven't emphasized it enough, Grammar Girl is an excellent resource for your grammar questions. Everything is laid out (see how I did that) in a simple to understand and comprehensive manner.

Thanks to Susan for commenting about covering lay and lie.

Is there an editing/grammar issue that's always caused you trouble? If so, share it in the comments so I can feature it on a future post. 

* I'm just starting to play around with PicMonkey, so no graphic masterpieces yet.

Hunted by Liz Long Cover Reveal

I'm sharing an intriguing cover today. Hope you enjoy...

Hi everyone! Thanks so much to those special authors and bloggers helping me with today's cover reveal. I'm so excited to show off the new cover. It always makes the upcoming release a little more real for me, you know? Anyway, I hope you love it as much as I do. HUNTED is Book 3 of the Donovan Circus Series, with more adventure, romance, and chaos that will lead to murder. 

In case you haven't read it, you can run away to the supernatural circus and start with Gifted for just 99 cents on Amazon, B&N, and iBooks! 

You can visit this page to learn more about the 3rd book in the series and what to expect - or worry about!

 

About Hunted

Lucy Sullivan finally belongs with the gifted Donovan Circus. Members are finding their rhythm, even the new folks from the Grayson Circus who joined after the last attack. Lucy feels like a trusted leader who can win the gifted battles and prevent humans from discovering their existence. When tragedy strikes camp, a distraught Sheffield sends Lucy and her gifted team to hunt down the enemy – Alex, a Chameleon with a wicked ability for war. He’s out for blood and won’t stop until Lucy and her friends are dead. This time, it won’t be Lucy’s gift that is tested – it will be her morality. To save her circus, the price will be greater than she ever expected. This time, she will lose someone she loves. And it will change everything.

About the Author

Liz Long is a ridiculously proud graduate of Longwood University with a BA in English. Her inspiration comes from action and thriller genres and she spends entirely too much time watching superhero movies. Her fabulous day job as a social media strategist includes writing for a publishing company in Roanoke, VA.

All titles, including the Donovan Circus Series, A Reaper Made, and Witch Hearts, are available at Amazon on Kindle and paperback.

To learn more about Liz, visit her website: http://lizclong.com.

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Crazy Love by Casey L Bond: Indie News & Highlights

I'm so excited to share Crazy Love by Casey L Bond with all of you today!

Crazy Love is a new adult romance with a dystopian vibe.

BLURB: 

Shelby Case avoids town and all the people in it. She can't stand the whispers behind covered lips, the judgmental stares. People say she's crazy, that she lost her mind when she lost her husband. The Second U.S. Civil War has left widows and widowers scattered across the land. Shelby's just learned to cope. She's taught herself the fine art of self-preservation along with the skills to survive. When the figment of her imagination, the man who's haunted her days and nights for the past two years, shows up on her doorstep, Shelby wonders if all of the whispers are true.

 Book Trailer

  

BUY NOW

   
Crazy Love isn’t erotica. There’s no mention of a red room of pain anywhere within its pages, but….there’s romance, a lil hotness, a pinch of crazy and a lot of love.

Author Bio

Casey L. Bond resides in Milton, West Virginia with her husband Elton and their two beautiful daughters, Juliet and Eris. When she’s not busy being a domestic goddess and chasing her baby girls, she loves to write young adult and new adult fiction. Bond graduated from Hurricane High School in 1999. In 2003, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marshall University in the field of Criminal Justice.

Available or Soon-To-Be Released Books:
Winter Shadows 
Pariah, Book 1 in The New Covenant Series  
Paradox, Book 2, The New Covenant Series
Devil Creek
Shady Bay 
Reap, Book 1 in The Harvest Saga
Resist, Book 2 in The Harvest Saga  
Reclaim, Book 3 in The Harvest Saga
Sin (Serial Series)
Light in the Darkness (YA Anthology)
Fractured Glass (Novel Anthology)
Crazy Love  
Water Witch Dark Bishop (Serial Series)

Writing YA Characters Part II: The Writing Life

Happy Friday!

Me at HS graduation

Last week, I shared some reflections on Writing Young Adult Characters.

From that post:

Recently, my middle sister and I were talking about my choice to write young adult characters. She was wondering how I connected to being a teenager and wrote them so beautifully (thanks, sis!), because she she felt removed from that time in her life.

Upon further reflection, I realized another reason I love to write about young adult females and why I can relate to it: I'm still finding myself. As silly as it sounds, I still have one foot in childhood/naiveté and one in adult responsibility. 

As life helps me open my eyes and formulate who I want to be, I wonder how someone younger would handle the same situations. My sister is one of those people who decided who she wanted to be and never strayed. I admire her for that, but it's so not me. I love the fluidity of learning, even if it scares the crap out of me.

Also, since I continue to move every two to three years, I have the opportunity to leave behind people's opinions of me and change things. That can be both a blessing and a curse--it leaves me good at inventing, but not so good at finding the true definition of self. I've been able to play the part of many characters over my lifetime. However, since I have been able to start over, I'm still playing around with the real me.

I'm fascinated with what molds us and makes us who we are, so writing young adult paranormal opens up some amazing topics. Now, I can explore how a teenager would handle normal coming-of-age issues like body image, love, parental relationships, etc., while also dealing with the challenges of becoming a vampire, werewolf, fairy, zombie, and so on.

Please share why you love (or don't love) reading young adult characters? If you do love more adult books, why?

Goals & Renewed Focus: #IWSG

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). 

The first Wednesday of each month is 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.

I've rescheduled my normal Wednesday programming -- Grammar & Writing Tips -- to bring you my #IWSG post. Reading others' pieces and reflecting on my own writing dilemmas and insecurities has been an invaluable experience for me.

Oh, and I totally missed that we were supposed to introduce ourselves in January, so I'm doing it here.

I write young adult and women's fiction. My fourth novel, Fractured Glass (which is one story written by five authors), came out December 24, 2014, and I have a novella in my young adult paranormal series coming out next month. In addition, I'm an editor for Indie Books Gone Wild. I love everything about words, even when my teenagers are hurling them at me. All kidding aside, I have three amazing girls (14, 13 & 9) and my husband and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage next month.

Last month, I talked about the importance of Defining Me. To accelerate my progress, I signed up for a course by the amazing Janet Wallace, she of UtopYA awesomeness: StandUP. StandOUT. Rake It In. More information can be found here. We just had our first class on February 2, and it was amazing!

There's something I've realized on this journey... before I can define myself, I have to first let go of the things holding me back. I've discovered two major things get in my way:

Comparing Myself to Others

Focusing on the Negative

These should be simple to stop, right? Yet, not so much. I love seeing my fellow Indies succeed, but then the insecurity monster creeps in. Why am I not reaching that level of success? Why am I not selling as many books?

In addition, I spend more time worrying about the few negative comments about my books than focusing on all the wonderful compliments I've received. 

I have no doubt writing is part of who I am. Now, I need to put the time and energy into...

Defining My Own Success

Focusing on the Positive and Striving for More

How to do this? Oh, that's the part I'm still figuring out. Janet's course is a huge step in the right direction, but it's going to take a lot of soul searching and setting attainable, but challenging, goals. I'm pushing fear back--knowing I'll still have days where it takes over--and moving forward.

Do you set goals for the year? What do you base them on (e.g., sales, production, reader enthusiasm, etc.)?

I look forward to catching up with this awesome community (although I admit to just getting around to January's #IWSG posts in the last few days).

10 Years by Bethany Lopez Release Day, Excerpt & Giveaway

I'm so excited to share a new release by the lovely Bethany Lopez today...

We're celebrating the release of 10 Years by Bethany Lopez! Check out the excerpt below!

Title: 10 Years (Time for Love #5)

Author: Bethany Lopez

Age Group: NA

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Goodreads

Buy Links

Kindle

iBooks

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Blurb: 

Gwen and Craig met through their older siblings when they were ten years old. The shy girl who loved to take pictures, and the focused baseball playing boy were fast friends, whose relationship grew strong as they grew older.

When Gwen's innocence is stolen at a high school party, she turns to her best friend, Craig. Always her rock, Craig does what he can to defend Gwen's honor, while still abiding by her wishes.

After a night of passion leads to a morning of pain, Gwen fears that the person she loves the most, is the person that is destined to destroy her, so she pushes Craig away.

Ten years after their friendship began, Gwen and Craig are both at college excelling in their respective passions, but there's a void in both of their lives, where their bond used to be.When both finally admit their love for each other, and agree to give romance a shot, will they finally become the couple that everyone knows they're destined to be, or will Gwen's unresolved issues from her past, tear them apart forever?

EXCERPT

“I’ve loved you forever,” she gushed. “I don’t know how you never saw it. I think everyone knew except you. I didn’t date initially, because I didn’t want to date anyone but you. After that stuff with Brad, I didn’t want to date anyone at all for a while, but by our senior year? I definitely would have said yes if you’d asked.” She smiled sadly and shook her head.

“What?” I inquired, bringing my hand up to wipe away her tears.

“We wasted so much time,” she replied.

I thought about everything that had happened so far, and although I knew there was still a lot to work out, I didn’t want to lose the momentum we had going now. I couldn’t take the chance that Gwen would change her mind, or allow fear to take over again.

“Are you ready for me now?” I asked, searching her face for the answer. “I don’t want to waste anymore time. I want to see what we will be like together now. After a few years of only scattered conversations, most of them fights. I need the chance for you to know me now, and to get caught up on your life.”

“I’d like that.”

I looked at the clock on the dash and swore under my breath.

“I have to get back and head to the field. Coach is expecting me.”

“That’s okay, I have some work I need to do for my showcase.”

“Gwen,” I asked softly with a grin, mentally calculating how long it would be before I could be with her again. “Will you come over tonight after you’re done with what you have to do? I want to make you dinner.”

Her smile blinded me, it was so bright, and I felt my heart surge as she replied, “I thought you’d never ask.”

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This story is meant for readers 18 and older.

Series Reading Order
8 Weeks
21 Days
42 Hours
15 Minutes

10 Years ~ Releasing, Feb 3, 2015

***8WEEKS is $.99 for a limited time!

Click on covers for more information.

About the Author:

Award-Winning Author Bethany Lopez began self-publishing in June 2011. Since then she has published various YA and NA books. She is a lover of romance, family, and friends, and enjoys incorporating those things in what she writes. When she isn't reading or writing, she loves spending time with her husband and children, traveling whenever possible.


FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bethany-Lopez/214630865247702
GR:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5021061.Bethany_Lopez

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bethany-Lopez/e/B0056NCP1S/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BethanyLopez2

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/bethanylopez2/

Blog: http://bethanylopez.blogspot.com

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/Rcmrn

Indie-Visible Has Launched: Indie News & Highlights

There is an awesome new site for Indie authors, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it as a freelance editor via Indie Books Gone Wild. 

Indie-Visible is an invaluable resource for Indies, so please check it out here. Below are some highlights from their launch post (copied from the post) ...

Hooray for Indie-Visible 2.0 FULL LIFT-OFF! If you missed our Soft Launch Post, check it out for a nice overview of what we do here at Indie-Visible. If you’ve been following our posts, THANK YOU! We hope you are enjoying them. If you haven’t yet subscribed to BookHub or PubHub, simply click on the box below to get in all the fun.

For our Hard Launch, we are giving extra focus to the PubHub side of things, and want to give a big shout out to our AWESOME TEAM OF FREELANCERS. Authors can use this list of highly recommended professionals to “Build Their Publishing Teams” and gain assistance in all phases of the publishing process. Propel your next book to the heights of success with expert content editing, copy editing, proofreading, cover art, formatting, interior design, and marketing. PubHub has it ALL! In addition to building your team, PubHub also provides ongoing Expert Articles with tips and advice on all phases of publishing, including the business side of being an author. Our goal is provide a one-stop, interactive site for all indie authors seeking assistance, encouragement, and a team to root for them.

If you haven’t yet familiarized yourself with us, we encourage you to peruse the site, get to know The Literacy League Crew, and subscribe to our Hubs for tons of fun and informative posts. As an added BONUS, if you subscribe to either or both Hubs, you will be automatically entered to WIN one/both of our fantastic prize package giveaways:

A BookHub package to satiate any reader’s needs. This will include over a dozen amazing autographed (children’s to new adult) books, fun swag, and other special goodies!

A PubHub package that will fulfill any author’s dreams. This will include a day blitz package from Red Coat PR, web site design by Starling Magic, professional stock photo from MaeIDesign, branding fromWhit&Ware, and more!

Watch for an official Giveaway Post with all the pertinent details coming soon. In addition, we have lots of other awesome goodness rolling out in the coming weeks, including our new Bookstore, PubChat, and BookChat Features.

So, what are you waiting for? SUBSCRIBE, SHARE, AND JOIN WITH US IN BRINGING LITERARY JUSTICE TO ALL!

*****

Take a moment and check it out. 

If you have any Indie news to share, please let me know!