Welcome to my book stop on the #RRBC blog party tour here in sunny (and sometimes foggy!) Santa Cruz, CA.

I will be giving away prizes of a $20 Amazon Gift Card to two lucky winners. All you have to do to be entered in the contest is leave a comment at the end of this blog. And besides, I’d love to hear from you!

I write for kids and teens and currently have four books published, all award winners! Please take a look below at book blurbs, links to trailers, and other information.

Thanks again for stopping by! And please check out these other amazing RRBC authors’ blog party stops.

In 1775 New Spain, on a journey  from Mexico to California, 15-year-old Fernanda Marquina, half Spanish and half Pima Indian, will discover not only romance, but truths that will change the way she sees her ancestry, her family, and herself.

Read REVIEWS.  View the TRAILER.  Read an EXCERPT.

Fernanda is interviewed on the History Imagined blog! 

AWARDS: Gold Medal and Seal of Approval from Literary Classics; RONE (Reward of Novel Excellence) Honorable Mention in the Young Adult category; Books and Author 2015 Book of the Year for Teens/Historical/Romance category.

Purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and at Bookshop Santa Cruz,  Crossroads Books in Watsonville, CA, Books Inc. in San Francisco, and IndieBound.

What if you were 8, or 11, or 14, and you could race cars at 150 mph, bungee jump, fly, eat all the ice cream and candy you wanted, or become powerful avatars such as Robobug, Kulshedra the dragon, and Altai, the gryphon avatar?

All this and more is possible in the ultimate virtual reality game The Cryptogram Connection created by 14-year-old computer whiz Cody Reynolds and his two classmates, Nicole Nash and Kerry McCorkle. To advance to different levels in the game, players must solve cryptograms, or secret codes. (Readers also get to solve the cryptograms.)

The game becomes every kids’ virtual dream, and Cody, Nicole, and Kerry, besides becoming national celebrities, make more money than they ever imagined. But The Cryptogram Connection turns into “cryptogram chaos” when an evil presence inhabits Zazar, the laser avatar and the most powerful, and takes control of the game. It’s up to the three partners to enter the game and fight Zazar to save the gamers from virtual—and real—disaster.

Read the REVIEWS.   Watch the TRAILER.   Read an EXCERPT.

AWARDS: Gold Medal and Seal of Approval from Literary Classics.

Purchase from: Amazon , Barnes&Noble, IndieBound, Kobo, and Bookshop Santa Cruz

Book One in The Ghost Whisperer Series

A lonely girl, a desperate ghost boy, a saw-playing street musician, a psychic, and an oddball library page: friendships are formed that will change the lives of all—here and in the hereafter.

12-year-old Pepper’s new friend, Corey, is a ghost, but she doesn’t know it. After leaving her best friend behind in New York City, she and her family move to Santa Cruz, CA, into a run-down Victorian. Pepper discovers Corey hiding out in the backyard shed. He’s waiting to make contact with his grandfather, Boppie, before he crosses over. He tells Pepper he needs to find Boppie before Social Services sends him to a foster home. Pepper agrees to help.

Others help her on her quest: new classmate Ally Cressman, who dresses in an odd-ball, non-mall style; Sawtooth Sam, the mysterious saw-playing street musician; harmonica player Walker Blue; and Madame Mchumba, who performs her psychic readings at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park. Time travel, earthquakes, haunted house rides, poltergeist activity, and crystal ball readings propel her toward the shocking end of her search, and an understanding of what it means to be a true friend.

See REVIEWS here. View the TRAILER here.  Read an EXCERPT here.

AWARDS: Silver Medal and Seal of Approval from Literary Classics.

Purchase from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, IndieBound, at Crossroads Books in Watsonville, CA, and Bookshop Santa Cruz.

Book Two in The Ghost Whisperer Series

In the rainy forest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, in the small town of Brookdale, in the long-uninhabited Pebble Brook Lodge…exist four ghosts who stand in the way of Pepper’s search for the truth.

In this sequel to the award-winning book The Castle Blues Quake, Pepper Connelly’s chef parents take Pepper and her little sister Sage on another restaurant venture to renovate the Pebble Brook Lodge.

One of the unique features of the lodge is a creek running through the large dining room. Pepper learns that, in 1966, a thirteen-year-old girl, Karen Hullett, drowned in the creek. Her ten-year-old brother, Willie, was accused of causing her death, and his mother and townspeople still believe he was responsible. Willie, now middle-aged, lives with his mother in a cabin in the woods. Mrs. Hullett has never forgiven Willie for her beloved daughter’s death.

As Pepper secretly becomes acquainted with Willie and sees his gentle nature and his beautiful life-like carvings, she’s convinced he was not responsible for his sister’s death.

With the help of her friend Ally Cressman, Pepper sets out to prove Willie’s innocence. With Ouija board sessions, hauntings by four different ghosts, and time travel to 1939 and 1966, Pepper discovers there’s more to Karen’s death than she—or anyone in Brookdale—would have ever guessed.

Read REVIEWS. Read an EXCERPT. View the TRAILER.

AWARDS: Gold Medal and Seal of Approval from Literary Classics.

Purchase from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, IndieBound, and Bookshop Santa Cruz.

My article originally appeared on author Cynthia Leitich Smith’s blog.

If you’re an indie author or thinking of going indie rather than taking the traditional route for publication, please check out the article for lots of tips and advice on self-publishing.

Some highlights from the article:

*Editing
Keep self-published books a strong and respected force in the market by having your manuscripts edited professionally or by a trusted, experienced critique partner. See my list of editors from author recommendations.

*Cover Design
Read about the three cover design options: DIY, Pre-made covers, and Custom covers. See my list of recommended cover designers.

*ISBN
Do you need an ISBN (International Standard Book Number)?

*Formatting and Publishing
Some options to explore.

*Pricing

*Marketing and Promotion
Lots of tips on how to get the word out about your book, including how to get reviews.

Indies have discovered the advantages of self-publishing: control over content and cover design, higher royalties, and quicker time to market.

Do the research, put out a quality product, work on marketing, and you can find success and satisfaction as an indie author.

Do you have any tips and/or advice for indie authors?

I’m excited to announce the new release and cover reveal of my friend, author K.S. Jones’ new novel Black Lightning, a middle-grade sci-fi/fantasy adventure.

About the book:

Life moves on — no matter what…

Following his father’s puzzling disappearance and his mother’s death, ten-year-old Samuel Baker goes through the motions of living in a world turned upside down. He wears an Apache talisman, a long ago gift from his father, in hopes its promise of strength and guidance is true. But what he truly wants is the power to bring back his parents.

Heartless Aunt Janis is elated at the prospect of becoming Samuel’s legal guardian. She is sure an orphan boy will elicit such an outpouring of public sympathy that her husband will win his Senate bid by a landslide. But when Grandpa Tate arrives, things don’t go as expected, especially when black lightning strikes!

K.S. Jones, whose first name is Karen, has been one of my Facebook friends for a couple of years now, and I was so happy to meet her in person recently at the Literary Classics awards ceremony.

Black Lightning follows her fabulous young adult book, Shadow of the Hawk, which took home the Gold in the Young Adult Historical category. The book also placed first in the esteemed Chaucer Awards.

And it looks like Black Lightning will be another winner.

EARLY REVIEWS for Black Lightning:

“If you’ve forgotten the magic that lives in a child’s heart, this book will remind you. Black Lightning is a rare and beautiful mythic journey about one boy’s struggle with paralyzing grief and the powerful bonds that can carry a person through this world and beyond…”  ~Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, USA TODAY and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authors of People of the Thunder

Excerpt from Chapter One:

Samuel stood beside his mother’s rain-speckled casket. He had cried his tears dry, so there was no point in trying to find more.

“Chin up, young man,” Aunt Janis said as her fingers nudged Samuel’s jaw upward. “Death is just part of life, and our photographer needs a good picture of you for the newspapers.”

A camera flashed, leaving Samuel’s red and swollen eyes burning as if stung by the sun instead of grief.

So many important days had come and gone without his father, but surely he would come home today, wouldn’t he? Samuel closed his eyes. He pretended his father was beside him holding his hand. They had a right to hold hands, he told himself. Not because he was ten, but because it was his mother’s funeral. Two years had passed since his father left, never to be seen again. Vanished, was the word his mother had used. Into thin air, she’d said.

“Take that silly thing off.” Aunt Janis flicked Samuel’s wood and bead necklace.

“No,” he said and shook his head. “My dad gave it to me.” It was a pinewood tile, the size of a domino shaved nickel-thin, which hung from a leather cord around his neck. Burned onto the front side of the wood was a lightning bolt. Its flipside bore the blackened imprint of a tribal dancer. It had a turquoise nugget and a shiny black hematite bead strung together on each side. His father had given the talisman to him with a promise: It will guide you and give you strength when you need it most.

Today, dressed in a black suit and starchy white shirt, Samuel wore it in hopes the promise was true.

Black Lightning is available for pre-order in eBook and print, with audio coming soon. The actual release date is May 17th. You may purchase the book at:

Amazon link: http://viewbook.at/BlackLightning or http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lightning-K-S-Jones-ebook/dp/B01E6C041C

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-lightning-ks-jones/1123660287?ean=9781987976120

eBookMall: http://www.ebookmall.com/ebook/black-lightning/k-s-jones/9781987976113

Karen lives in the beautiful Texas Hill Country with her husband, Richard, and their three dogs, Libby Loo, Red Bleu, and Jack Black.

Connect with Karen:

http://www.ksjones.com

https://www.facebook.com/Karen.S.Jones.Author?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/KSJones2011

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/karen-s-jones/42/597/417/

https://www.goodreads.com/KSJones

Congratulations, Karen, and here’s wishing for continued success with your writing!

Are you an indie author looking for editing help with your manuscript?

The following editors were highly recommended to me by other authors.

One Last Look (Becky Hicks)

Gay Ingram Editing Services

Crossroads Editing Service (Stacy Juba)

Acedrex Publishing Editing Service (Jessica Knauss)

There For You Editing (Melissa Ringsted)

Ellie Maas Davis at Pressque, LLC

Shannon Thompson

E Printed Books (Steve Caresser)

Melissa Robitille

Imagine That Editing (Jen Ryan)

Karenne Griffin, Proofreader

Effrosyni Moschoudi

Following are three personal recommendations:

Lawrence Editing Emily Lawrence worked for one of my publishers, edited two of my books, and did a fabulous job.

Chrissie Pollack  is one of my critique partners. She has many years experience as a professional editor, and I trust her implicitly with my manuscripts. Contact her about leadtime and pricing.

Indie Books Gone Wild has a team of seven editors and book formatters.

Keep self-published books a strong and respected force in the market by having your manuscripts professionally edited! Best of luck!

Recently, I wanted to update my cover for Yakimali’s Gift, so I asked a Facebook group I belong to (ASMSG, Author Social Media Support Group) for cover designer suggestions. As expected, this awesome group of writers provided me with lots of choices. (I ended up choosing Tugboat Designs; see my beautiful cover above.)

I’ll continue to update the list as new designer referrals come in.

I wanted to share this list with other authors, so here you go!

First, John Chapman offered this blog about things to look for in a cover. http://authorbookpromotion.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/read-this-guide-before-making-or.html

And now for the list! (Please copy and paste the address into your browser.)

http://www.tugboatdesign.net/

https://www.facebook.com/AnyaKelleyeDesigns?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/fiona.jayde.96?fref=ts

http://thebookcovermachine.com/

Joseph Murphy https://www.facebook.com/joseph.murphy3?hc_location=ufi

http://www.bookcoverbydesign.co.uk

Angela Elliott https://www.facebook.com/ajemumby?fref=ufi

Erika Szabo https://www.facebook.com/erika.szabo2

Veronica Zhu verozhu@gmail.com See her work here: http://www.StevenWKohlhagen.com

Portfolio

http://www.thecovercollection.com/

http://www.mjosephmurphy.info/cover-art.html

https://www.facebook.com/covermecreative/?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/Airickas-Mystical-Creations-462373910480084/?hc_location=ufi

http://www.expertsubjects.com

http://www.selfpubbookcovers.com/

http://www.jayscoversbydesign.com/

RAJAXSLOT > Evolusi Game Online Menang Besar Di Sini!

http://www.pearltrees.com/twluedke/cover-artists/id10813003

https://www.facebook.com/BookCoverMasterClass/?hc_location=ufi

http://perryelisabethdesign.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

http://www.forthemusedesign.com/

http://www.thecovercollection.com/

https://www.canva.com/templates/book-covers/

I’m finishing the challenge with pictures from our Santa Cruz Farmers Market. Another way I express my creativity is with cooking. I love going to the farmers market. All the fresh produce inspires me to try new things and create new dishes with what’s in season at the moment. And there’s always a special energy there–from the growers, the entertainers, and the browsers and buyers–that invigorates and motivates me. Do you like to cook? Do you have a farmers market you enjoy going to?

Thank you to Silvia Villalobos for nominating me for this challenge. It’s been five fun-filled days!

This isn’t the best picture, taken with a phone. But yesterday was our wedding anniversary: 22 years of bliss 🙂 25 if you count the years when we first started dating. We tried a new Italian restaurant that turned out to be delicious. It was a rare warm evening in Santa Cruz, so we sat out on the patio.

My husband Charlie and I met at work. He’s an electronics engineer, and I was working as a mechanical drafter/designer and later as a project manager. We were good friends before we started dating, and I consider him my best friend and truly, my soulmate.

I feel very lucky that we found each other and have had such a wonderful marriage. It’s hard to believe that much time has passed!

Here’s a picture from our wedding.

Happy day!

So there you go, another glimpse into my life!

Any celebrations happening in your life?