Awesome review of Children of Angels!

Jim Melvin, author of The Death Wizard Chronicles wrote an amazing review of Children of Angels by Lynn Salibury. Check it out!

Children of Angels by Lynn Salisbury

Out of Bounds Press is proud to announce our first e-book release, Children of Angels by Lynn Salisbury!

Ann, one of the Sisterhood and Marc, one of the Brotherhood, fall in love before revealing to each other what they are. Ann and Marc know they can't be together, but their reason for existing pulls them back to each other when Marc and his Brothers raid the local town of humans – killing some of Ann's friends. With revenge on her mind Ann hunts for Marc and his Brothers.



She finds them but is faced with the most impossible of options – betray her Sisters or die.

Available at -

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Big HUGE announcement!

I am incredibly excited to announce that I have started my own e-book publishing company, Out of Bounds Press! The first books will be available for purchase in July.

My call for submissions -

• novels
• novellas
• short stories
• non-fiction (memoir, how-to, self-help)

Contact me at lewis.m@outofboundspress.com

SCOTTEVEST - Entirely Relevant

Here's something you may not know about me. I don't like carrying a purse. Typically, if the things I need to have with me won't fit in my jacket pockets, I do without them. As a matter of fact, there have been times I've tucked my cell phone into my bra (and, yes, it does tickle).

Of course, this means when buying outerwear, I'm on the lookout for pockets. If a jacket or coat doesn't have inner and/or outer pockets, I leave it on the rack. This is also problematic because I'm female. Apparently the fashion world doesn't appreciate pockets the way I do.

So, when I found out about Scottevest Travel Clothing, via Peter Shankman's blog, I had to know more. According to Scott Jordan, CEO and founder, "About ten years ago, I created SCOTTEVEST®/SeV to solve a very common problem: I needed a way to carry and organize all my gadgets and gear without a "man-purse."

I'm not a man, but I get where Scott is coming from. As a writer, I generally don't leave home without my cell phone, netbook, digital camera, a paper notebook and at least a mechanical pencil. Yes, I could carry all of this in a tote, but that doesn't leave my hands free if I have a kid with me. And like most women, I'm likely to misplace the bag - at least once.

This line of clothing is designed to allow you to carry your necessities on you. Lots and lots of pockets!

I don't own any of the Scottevest product line, yet. The one item I'm lusting after is the XAE - 10th Anniversary Edition Leather Jacket. It costs $450.00, but hey, aren't there leather purses that cost twice that much, with way fewer pockets?

Tips, Tricks, Rituals - What's your methodology for writing?

If you've ever had to complete a writing assignment, you know there is nothing more daunting than a blank piece of paper or computer screen. But, if you've chosen writing as your profession, write you must. I've asked a few friends for tips and tricks they use to get the words out of their heads and into the world. They graciously provided some fantastic answers.

Mysti Guymon-Reutlinger (Thanksgiving365) says "I'm a stickler for routine. My best writing comes when there's no one awake or around me. I will wake at 4 am to get in three hours of solid writing time." Finding quiet time can be tough. In Mysti's case, with two adorable little boys to take care of, getting up early is a great way to make that time. When ideas come at inopportune moments, Mysti will "leave a notebook and pen on the counter to scribble my thoughts as they come!"

Adam Slade (EditingHat) and Annie Kelleher both use music when they write. Annie says "if I have a particular song that evokes the mood of the scene or the character's viewpoint, I put the song on." I'm sure there are songs that send you right back to your first kiss, so you know what Annie is talking about. Adam says "I used to need silence to write to, but if you can train yourself to write to music (I started with instrumentals... and worked up), it can help when you're somewhere noisy." I listen to instrumental music when I write, silence is absolutely deafening for me, sometimes.

A change of venue seems to help when the brain gets bogged down. Meghan Brunner says "if I get stuck I get up and make a mug of tea. Usually in the time it takes to brew, my brain has loosened a little." Walking away and taking a break works for Adam, as well, "If I get stuck, I take a long shower. Generally does the trick."

And speaking of tea, it seems that hydration is important. Jenn Greenleaf says "I feel off if I don't have my coffee next to me." I know without my cup of coffee, I'm lost, too. Whether coffee, tea, water or soda, every writer I know has some kind of glass or mug at their desk.

Taking your work seriously and respecting yourself are paramount. Laurie Jodoin Dalzell says "I used to write whenever I had time around everyone else's schedules and didn't make so much progress. In a fit of frustration one day, I realized that a writer, well, writes. Ever since, the first two hours of my day are mine for writing. Mug of tea, glass of orange juice, and my laptop. Every morning." And Karen Fisher Alaniz says "I get dressed to the make-up and shoes. There is no writer sitting in her pajamas pounding out brilliant prose in my house. I have to dress as if I am going to a job. I treat my writing like a job and I've learned that when I do this, when I take it THAT seriously, others (agents, editors etc) do too. Simple yet life-changing for me."

The tips most common to everyone I talked to are:

• Just WRITE!
• Make yourself comfortable.
• Quiet, writer at work! (which really seems to translate to whatever gets you in, and keeps you in, the writing zone)
• If you get stuck, MOVE! Step away, exercise, take a shower, anything to let the wheels turn in the back of your mind.
• Catch 'em! The ideas slip away all too quickly if you don't write a quick note or record them on your cell phone.
• Drink! A hydrated brain is a creative brain.

What do you do to keep the words flowing?

Be Brave, Be Innovative, Be... FIERCE!

If you're a published author (or soon to be), you know that marketing is terribly important to the success of your book. You're fortunate to live in a time when everyone - well, almost - is at your fingertips. Use all of the virtual tools at your disposal, talk to people, ask for help, be an evangelist for your work! Read this guest post by Elle Newmark, author of The Unholy Book of Mischief at Don't Hang Up, and you'll see what I mean.

Happy Anniversary Penguin! (and a book giveaway)

Back in 1935, Allen Lane had the brilliant idea of making quality paperback books available, and more importantly, affordable. Skeptics thought he was crazy, but they were proven wrong.

"The Bodley Head found itself, at the beginning of the week, sold out of 'Penguins,' 150,000 having been sold out in four days. Mr. Allen Lane has asked us to say that he will supply the waiting orders as soon as his printers and binders allow him to do so."

— The Bookseller, August 8, 1935
 
Today is Penguin's 75th anniversary, and I was invited to give away one of their books.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

"On a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy. Yet when his daughter is born, he sees immediately that she has Down's syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. But Caroline, the nurse, cannot leave the infant. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by David Henry's fateful decision that long-ago winter night."

The Memory Keeper's Daughter is an exquisite study of human nature. It's lyrically written from the heart. If it had been a song I'd heard for the first time while driving, I would have had to pull over to fully experience it.

I'm giving away one copy of The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Please leave a comment (by midnight, August 5th, 2010)  if you'd like to be entered in the drawing.

Residents of the US and Canada only please.