Here's an update on what's going on in my world of writing...
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I'm still working on Dead to Bites. What I originally thought would be a novella looks like it's turning into a short novel. Apparently I don't have the ability to start a story and write it without it being long- even when I start out with the idea of making it short.

I am up to 20 short chapters. I like the story it's developing in an interesting way. I also love the fact that as I post parts of it up on Wattpad, reads are reacting to it. :0)

It's a fun storyline to work on, and one that I will probably be revisiting after I finish this one.
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Bella Vita will be published this year. The date just keeps jumping around. I work on edits as my editor drops pieces to me. I've posted the prologue and first chapter on Wattpad. Those readers WANT it now. I don't know if I'll post the entire thing up on there. I'd like to believe that some of those people will actually buy the book when it comes out.

So this is being worked to get out this year. It is just a slow moving vehicle. It hasn't been forgotten. I promise! I know that many of you want to know what happens to Emma...

Yes I'm still working on Bella Tristezza, it's just more on the back burner right now as I try and get everything else taken care of with the other books I'm working on.
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What is a Rue-Rue? Is just about ready to be released in both eBook and paperback. The final files require some tweeking, like changing the original copyright year from 2011 to 2012 and little things like that. :0) But other than that it is just about there.

It was fun to revisit this one as I made sure that the proof was good to go. I like the idea that this is what happens whenever a new child is brought into a household... I suppose it could be applied in the world of animals as well.
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Brody Saves Rue, the second Brody and the Skypirates book, will be released this year as well. I'm hoping in the next few months. I am working on the illustrations right now. I'm up to page 23 out of 33.

I've also changed the release on Brody and the Skypirates. For the next 3 months it is exclusive to Amazon in eBook form. We'll see if it does anything for my sales!
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This is my little pet project too... I'm so afraid of zombies, writing about this is my way of conquering that fear. LOL. The name is actually The Zombie Files, but I made a quick mock cover and used the original title from my folder for it.

If I can bring myself to actually write it the rest of the way, I'll release this book as well this year. Unfortunately, there are zombies and scary crap in it *gulp* and I have write it!
Damn, just writing all of this down I'm tired. LOL. Well, I've got things to do and I just wanted to give the world a little update!
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So I get distracted while I write. Maybe it's the four month old, or the four year old, but I get distracted. Sometimes it takes me a few days before I get a chance to sit back down and write out the great scene I had come up with. It's interesting.
The problem is that I don't the crazy mom thing well. My kids come first. I miss being able to just write. But my house is the house of nuttiness. LOL. So if you want me to upload to Wattpad or get the next book in the Bella Series out, realize that I'm blessed with small monsters. I try to respond to emails and messages- if I've missed yours, I'm sorry. I just thought I'd do a quick blog, I know I should blog more. Maybe in the future.
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Happy first Friday the 13th of the year! That is right! Clearly this year promises to be an awesome one since the first month gets this honor. I know some of you are thinking, who cares? or rather this is supposed to be a lucky day... Psst to that! It's not an unlucky day, just like I suppose it isn't a lucky day but it merely reflects our own beliefs. If you believe it will be an awesome day... it will be. The power of belief and all that jazz!
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If you feel that this day is terrible and should just be skipped over... well I hope no black cats cross your path. They might cause inexplicable chaos to happen in your life. For me this little guy only brings a big smile to my face and makes me want to get another kitty- of course the kitty pee that was in a VERY NOT CATBOX spot this morning, also makes me not want another one! LOL
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You may want to avoid ladders too. But I think that this is just logic for anyone... if you see a ladder, you probably shouldn't walk under it... I mean all sorts of crapola could fall on your head, killing you instantly. Or at the very least taking off your ear on the way down! So you should definitely avoid them... Or if you need to use one make sure it isn't an old busted one. It could really hurt if one of the steps broke and you fell or worse hit a certain part of your body. OUCH!
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You should also avoid witches, especially ones selling big red apples. I mean, they might want to sacrifice you to some crazed witch god or goddess. And if they have apples you know that you're done for anyways. I'm just saying, after all, witches are more likely to be crazy on the 13th landing on a Friday!
I'm just kidding... Friday the 13th is my FAVORITE day that comes randomly walking along. I have ALWAYS owned a black cat, so I don't really think they are unlucky. They have just been pegged with a bad rap- much like pit bulls. Ladders can be very useful tools, so if you need to use one today- have at it! As for witches... having been a practicing Pagan since I was twelve, I can only assume that some might find this day to be good for certain spells (oops, I guess I'm out of a broom closet or something). Anyways, enjoy the day and don't let silly superstitions stop you from conquering it and making it yours!

It is after all... just another day! So get out there and enjoy it!
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The ball has dropped, and you hopped. You happily bounced from blog to blog reading people's memories, sharing some of your own and happily entering to win various prizes.

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Will you be the one that is immortalized as a character in Bella Tristezza, the third installment of the Bella Series?

Or will you win a digital copy of Bella Notte, the first book in the series?

Or better yet, did you win the Kindle Fire or Amazon gift card?
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_

Let's start with my stuff first!


The winners of the 3 digital copies of Bella Notte (picked by random.org) are:

1. Lori Z.
2. Bre A.
3. Shadow


The winner of the namesake in Bella Tristezza (also picked by random.org) is...

SHADOW (You are one lucky bug!)
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The winner of the Amazon Gift card:
from VK Syke's site - June


And the winner of the Kindle Fire!:
from Malia Mallory's site - Lilaz!
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Congratulations to all the winners and a BIG thank you to those that entered as well as Carrie Anne for hosting it the entire thing!
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_I don't know how many times I spent New Year's Eve with my Mom staying up waiting on the ball to drop.

We would sit on the couch, occasionally getting up to pop a popper or refill our glass of child wine (sparkling cider). She spent so much time trying to make sure that the experience was amazing. She never wanted me to be bored with life. We'd watch old time movies or how New Year's was celebrated around the world.

One year, she filled our hallway with balloons full of paper punch outs- you know from when you are making a 3-hole punch. I held my nephew in my arms, he must have been 4 or 5 at the time and he tightly clutched a sewing needle between his little kid fingers. The balloons dangled from the ceiling, awaiting their moment of ultimate destruction. I walked him around the tightly enclosed space. POP! POP! POP! The balloons exploded in a musical rain of paper and balloon parts. The downstairs neighbor came up and pounded on the door with his meaty fist.  Apparently we had woken him up. But it didn't matter, no, we were busy enjoying the passing of the old into the new.
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Especially as we watched the clock tick closer to midnight.

So many memories of years drifting into the history of my life, but none of them would be what they were if it wasn't for my mom and her always trying to make the moment memorable. I can only hope to be as cool a mom as she was to my kids...

Maybe this year we'll create our own holiday to honor the silly antics of our parents as we were growing up!
Now for the interesting part...

You've read my memory or at least skimmed it...I want you to leave a comment with the best silly antic your parent/spouse/sibling/friend ever did that when you look back, it makes you smile. At the end of the day I will giveaway  3 digital copies of Bella Notte (or you could opt for a digital of Brody and the Skypirates, but it's best shown in color) and ONE special person will get their name featured as a character (not necessarily a large role) in my third book in the Bella Series, Bella Tristezza! Have your namesake immortalized!

Follow the blog to remember to find out if you're one of the winners!

Please take a moment to 'like' me on facebook

_Follow me on Twitter
_Everyone that makes a comment on ANY blog also gets entered into the grand prize drawing which is for the 1st prize of a Kindle Fire and 2nd prize of an $80 gift card for Amazon! Get commenting!

Make sure to check out the main hop page to see all of the prizes and contests going on! You'll want to enter for the GRAND PRIZE too it's AWESOME!
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2011 & My sales 01/02/2012
 
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Many self-published writers seem to take great pleasure in posting their sales and numbers. This may be the only time I end up doing it... it was a HUGE pain to figure out the dang numbers.

But I figured that since the year has ended, I should in fact have a complete total of how I did in the two months I was selling.
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So of the three things that I have up for sale:

Bella Notte (complete novel), Brody and the Skypirates (illustrated children's book) and A Bella Notte Christmas Story (short story)

Here are my sale numbers:

Total of books sold for 2011 (November 21- December 31st): 344

Total books sold in November: 48
Total books sold in December: 296

(Nice increase, I think)


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Numbers for Brody and the Skypirates:
November: 7 (this includes the two paperbacks that sold of it)
December: 7

Perhaps this books needs to be marketed to an actual publisher or something that knows how to push an illustrated children's book because I clearly don't. LOL...
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Numbers for Bella Notte:
November: 37
December: 240 (includes 4 paperback sales)

Sales are clearly picking up. Will this hold into the new year? I've no clue. I increased the price from 99 cents to 2.99 since the Christmas Story is 99 cents, and the picture book is 1.99. Bella Notte has a whole hecka lot more words than either of those works. Will this lead to less sales, probably... but it is worth more than I was selling it for before.
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Numbers for A Bella Notte Christmas Story:
November: 4
December: 53

Sales are lower on this one because I've had it listed as free on ARe, and in Smashwords. I've also adjusted the price of this one to 99 cents now on ARe and Smashwords. What will this do? Who knows. LOL... I am constantly screwing with prices it feels like and trying to find the right one.
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What does all of this mean?

To be truthful, I'm not sure. I know that sales are better than the first month, but that could be attributed to the fact Bella Notte and Brody weren't live until the 21st-ish. But I don't think that is all. I'm hoping that this year will bring many more sales and that this time next year, sans the Zombie Apocalypse, I will have lots to report and many successes- the same I wish for all of my writer friends and anyone starting a new adventure this year! Try to take some risks! I know that I am when I release the novella I am working on.

Catch ya all on the flip side... remember to check out the blog on the 4th for the New Years hop! I hope we all aren't zombies later too! Or that the world hasn't blown up or anything odd... it would really kill my sales! ;0) Happy New Year everyone!

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Today I have the honor of having guest blogger and author Jolyn Palliata on.

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_Did you ever get a song stuck in your head? Or part of one? How did you get it out? Did you
avoid the song at all costs in the blind hope it would stop hammering you into submission? Or
did you listen to the song over, and over, and over, until you were so obsessed that all you could
think about was that delicious, devilish little laugh….er, what was I saying? (Right. Song stuck
in my head. Ahh...I mean, your head.) Now, I know this has happened to every person reading
this post, so I’m hoping you’ll relate to my little story here.

Let me give you some background. In October, I released Connected (Twists of Fate #1), and
here’s a brief description of the story: A rock group’s rhythm guitarist, Rhys Alexander, dies and
finds himself bound inside the body of a woman he’s never met. Can she help him move on to
the other side, or will he end up finding the love of his life…after his has already ended?

For a time, I had this for free on Wattpad (where I posted as I wrote it). And several readers
asked me how in the world I came up with the concept. The short answer was ‘By taking the
longest route possible.’ The more involved answer is this…

It all started with a song—Imagine that, huh?—which began with a synthesized-sounding guitar
and a sinful, maniacal laugh that made my gut quiver. (Yes, I do realize this may be an issue I
need to fully address later.) It was Disturbed’s “Inside The Fire”. Add a little Framing Hanley
(with that oh-so-sexy voice), and Tavion, lead singer of the band Persevere, was born. And what
kind of woman would knock a strapping rock star to his knees? Why, a best-selling author, of
course.

So here I had two people who worked in the entertainment industry, but were worlds apart. What
could possibly bring them together? The answer seemed so simple, really: Fate. Then my next
though was “What if Fate was a living, sometimes-breathing, entity? What an interesting point-
of-view that would be!” And it spiraled from there. I dug deep into the protag, Devan (the name
of the girl in Disturbed’s song), and put pieces of me and my personality into the mix. Naturally,
then I had to mock myself and my works along the way. (i.e., Suddenly Impending Reprisals
became Devan’s masterpiece, and guess what…it made it all the way to the NYT Bestsellers list!
Way to go, Devan!!)

Now, the question was ‘What inspired me to write Connected’, and so far, I’m telling you how I
started writing Twisted (Book 2). Yeah, well, I’m getting there. (Remember how I said it was the
longest route possible?)

So there I was, writing Twisted and having a hell of a time. And then the unthinkable happened
(insert suspenseful music here)…I got writer’s block. I’m talking a stint of writer’s block that
could only have originated from the deepest, most vile and sulfuric, bowels of Hell. And, man,
was it stubborn! Over a year went by before I picked it up again, and even then it wasn’t because
I came up with a grand master plan, or that my head was swimming with ideas. No. It was
simply because I missed my characters. So I started to reread/revise/edit the 30K words I had
written, hoping it would shake something loose. Enter: two new inspirations.

The first was the Demonica series by Larissa Ione. In the series, paired up mates can sense each
other’s emotions and I got to wondering “What would that be like?”

The next piece of inspiration came from Avenged Sevenfold (A7X). I was studying up on rock
bands for Twisted (and can A7X ever ROCK!!), and checking out the band members (*drool*)
and it inspired a new character—Rhys.

From Ione and A7X blossomed Connected (finally!) where Rhys’ spirit was stuck inside
Addison (my protag), and they could sense each other’s emotions.

But I had one problem. I absolutely REFUSED to walk away from Twisted again. Soooo…how
could I use this? Well, first of all, Rhys couldn’t be a lead singer since that’s what Tavion is. And
secondly, I wanted this to be a fast-hitting novella used to compliment Twisted’s story. What I
needed was a supporting member of the band... Hello, Rhys, my luscious rhythm guitarist!

But then I had another problem. (Because I needed more, right?) I couldn’t picture Rhys in
Tavion’s band, Persevere, which is a more mature, established group. No, he belonged with
some just-making-it-big band that wasn’t afraid to play with the formula, to take chances, and
was just enjoying the ride and what life had to offer. He belonged with the guys of Black Codex.

Then problem #3: How did Black Codex and Persevere tie in to each other? I mean, if Connected
leads into Twisted, they have to know each other somehow, right? Well, as luck would have it,
they’re all friends. (Who knew?!) Eh, okay, so actually two members from Black Codex are
brothers and they grew up with a guy from Persevere, so, by association, they became friends.
(It’s all in the details, right?) ;)

All right. Now what? I didn’t want to introduce Fate (my sassy, capricious entity) in Connected
even though he’s definitely hard at work behind the scenes. It would’ve been too distracting
from the plot, and I had plenty to maneuver already! (Hello…dead rock star stuck in some chicks
head!!) So what I did was plot Connected so it all occurs during the same timeframe as the first
half of Twisted. Perfect! Then when people read Twisted, they’ll get all the behind-the-scenes-
extras that were going on in Connected that either 1) I didn’t have time for, or 2) I couldn’t
smoothly transition in.

At the end of my long-ass journey, not only did I have Connected, but I shook myself loose on
Twisted…aaand came up with storylines for the other eight band members. (I’ll spare you the
details on those. LOL) Thusly, the Twists of Fate series was born.

So, let me ask you again: Did you ever get a song stuck in your head…?

For more information on the Twists of Fate series: http://jolynpalliata.wordpress.com/romance/
twists-of-fate-series/

Twists of Fate series Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Twists-of-Fate-Series/
190217514383637

To purchase Connected (Twists of Fate #1): http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?

_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&ie=UTF8&field-
author=Jolyn%20Palliata
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_deannaboocock!

Thank you everyone that entered the contest! Hope your holidays were wonderful and you have a super great New Year! Check back on the Fourth of January for another blog hop and more chances to win!
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Do you smell chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Is Jack Frost nipping at your nose?

Well, then you should probably move closer to that fire, but not too close since it's open!

From December 15th to the 25th, come and check out some good reads and fab prizes. Click the image or click here to take you to the main page. An awesome prize will be given away from the main site from all the winners from the separate blogs, so make sure you enter my contest!

In the true spirit of Christmas, here's what you need to do to enter my contest. Read "A Bella Notte Christmas Story" (it's only like 2270 words or something) and then contact me via the contact form under "Forum & Such". All you need to do is answer this question correctly and you'll be entered into the contest.

"What does Dominic get Emma for Christmas?"

The winner's name will be featured in the third installment of the Bella series, and they will be entered into the grand prize drawing for the entire blog hop, which is... *DRUM ROLL PLEASE*..... A KINDLE FIRE!
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Come on, you know you want it... so get cracking! Enter my contest! :0) Be immortalized in a story and get a chance to win this awesome little device!

Happy Holidays, Everyone!




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Enjoy a little Star Wars holiday spirit!
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