still publishing that book, part 3

You thought we were done, right? Wrong!

So now I have my website up to date. http://rachaelrawlings.wixsite.com/rachael-rawlings

I have added the preorder, the lovely cover, and the blurb. I have a means to sign up for the newsletter to keep my readers updated too.

Newsletter, you say? You didn’t know I had that too!?

Many authors use a newsletter to send out chances to win books, to keep readers informed, to share favorite authors, and to ask opinions about future work. I’ve got some awesome people on my newsletter, and always enjoy hearing from my readers. So naturally, I want to give my newsletter folks the good news about my newest publication. Some have helped me with the writing and plotting along the way. Others will write reviews for me, which is awesome!

Reviews, you say?

Here’s the honest truth. Amazon loves reviews. We authors like them, but Amazon loves them. And if we get enough reviews, then Amazon will actually boost our books, showing it to new audiences, finding us new readers! Great, right? So here’s a favor I’ll ask. If you have read a book, any book, that you like, write a quick review on Amazon. It doesn’t have to be more than one line, but it will make the author super happy!!

And now that I have my newsletter updated, I can go back to writing, right?

Um, no. I still have to put some new updates on my author Facebook page, tweet a little (which I am terrible at) maybe do an Instagram, and Pinterest. I don’t do these a lot, but I want to show off my cover, so I’ll add that on my to-do list.

And then I wait a little more.

Free book, really, free!

For those who have enjoyed listening to my rambling, and those who just notice the word free, I wanted to give you a chance to walk away with a copy of my newly released print version of  The Parrot Told Me!  I will happily sign it, and gratefully send it for the lucky winners on the Goodreads giveaway.
Just visit and enter to win!!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/103660-the-parrot-told-me

Some like'em hot

Please welcome great author and all around talanted gal Amy Leigh McCorkle.  She is treating us to an excerpt from her book, a work in progress..... Land of Fire & Ash

Abagail Michaels had been drifting since being discharged from the army a year ago. Her past was what it was. A decorated veteran. Her family killed by rebels early on in the second civil war. She was a loner. The only thing that brought her solace was her guitar. She was too young to feel so damned old. She was twenty-eight years young and felt like she’d lived three lifetimes. She’d served like a good soldier girl for the eight years the war had waged. And at twenty-seven a cease fire was called and she was given her medals and a discharge paper. No money as the country was now a band of city-states.

            Having no desire to return home to the scene of her worst memories she had drifted. And now, in the hardest winter that she could remember since her first months on the frontlines she found it odd the cold weather had followed her to San Antonio, Texas. She knew the stories that surrounded the city. Filled with outlaws and cowboys it was run by two men, one a fat, and bloated former rebel general known simply as Rob, she knew like the back of her hand. He ran the largest ranch in the southwest, he paid shit wages, treated his women even worse, and let his son bully whoever he chose and paid off the sheriff anytime he broke the law. Abagail had no desire to see him ever again.

            It was the second man she was intrigued by. And hoped to gain help from. But Sam Jackson was known as the Quiet Man by those who worked for him. He owned a small ranch. Paid his workers a decent wage. And while he was a womanizer, he was a soft touch to a damsel in distress. Even though he never bedded down with any one woman for too long they didn’t seem to mind so much.

 About the author:

Amy McCorkle, who also writes as Kate Lynd is the author of 13 published works. She is the bestselling author of Letters to Daniel, Bounty Hunter, Gemini’s War, GLADIATOR:The Gladiator Chronicles, and BLACKOUT: AN AURORA BLACK NOVEL. She has won several Preditors & Editors awards, the recipient of back to back Moondance International Film Festival awards, the co-writer of the 2013 Fright Night Film Festival SciFi Screenplay award for the adaptation her book Bounty Hunter, and is currently a double finalist with her scripts City of the Damned and Bella Morte with her co-screenwriter Melissa Goodman. And her documentary based on the blog and the memoir of the same name, Letters to Daniel is the premiere event at Imaginarium. She loves to hear from her readers, she can be contacted via her site, http://letters-todaniel.blogspot.com .

http://letters-todaniel.blogspot.com

http://twitter.com/kate_lynd

https://www.facebook.com/amy.l.mccorkle.5

https://www.facebook.com/letterstodaniel?ref_type=bookmark

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-McCorkle/173811662670780?ref_type=bookmark

And now for a little romance!

 

Amazon Link:  http://amzn.com/B00J2ESR14

Author Bio: Melissa Goodman was born and raised in the Louisville, Kentucky. She currently resides in Mount Washington, Kentucky. An avid reader, she read her first romance novel at the age of ten and wrote her first novel at the age of 20. She is a proud member of the University of Kentucky's Big Blue Nation and loves all things NASCAR.

Gunpowder and Lead: Outlaw

Sera stood behind the sheet and listened. Vance’s words chilled her spine. She called herself myriad names for being so stupid as to come to Matthew’s alone. The talking stopped, and she heard footsteps, and things being dropped on the floor. She glanced around the room. There wasn’t much to the place. A desk piled high with papers, and a leather chair. A full size bed rested against one wall with a nightstand. A dresser and a rocking chair were the only other items of furniture. A room off to her left led to what looked like a kitchenette, but she couldn’t see anything else.

After waiting for what seemed an eternity Sera went to the window. There wasn’t much of a view, since it led out to the alley. Soot, garbage and blackened snow were all she saw. Vance and his men had unloaded the wagon. When the boys jumped onto their horses and the rickety contraption began to move she heaved a sigh of relief.

“Sera,” Matthew pulled back the sheet and leaned against the doorframe.

It was one of those moments that Sera dreamed about, but never believed really happened. The room grew smaller, warmer, and her heart began to beat faster. All because he walked into the room and said her name. All because he looked at her as a man did a woman. She tried to break the spell by blinking and looking back out the window.

That was when she saw it. A man was peeking from around the corner. His eyes met Sera’s briefly before he jerked back out of sight. “He left one behind.”

“I figured as much. You made quite an impression on him.”

Her focus remained transfixed on the spot where the man had been.  Matthew moved to stand behind her and rested his hands on her waist.

“Do you see him?” she asked, feeling his breath on her neck.

“He’s probably going to report back to Vance and let him know that I escorted you home.”

“He thinks you’ll take me home? He doesn’t know you very well, does he?”

“Neither do you,” he said whispering in her ear before kissing her neck.  

“Ma-Matthew…what are you doing?”

“Guess.” he teased her, nuzzling against her.

“The man…” she said struggling to stay focused, failing dismally when Matthew turned her around and pulled her closer. She could feel the entire length of him against her. His scent of soap, drink, and everything enticingly male assaulted her senses. As Sera’s eyes drifted close, she didn’t know what had come over her and frankly, she just didn’t care.