MORE PRIZES FOR SUMMER OF LOVE GIVEAWAY

cj Sez: Check it out . . .

Special giveaways just for entering the Summer of Love Contest!

 

If you enter the Summer of Love print book giveaway by midnight April 30th, you’ll be entered into a special separate drawing for one of Jessica Lawler Kay’s glass creations! This lovely candleholder (called Raindrops) can also be used as a vase.

And don’t worry, if you’ve already entered the contest, you’ll be entered to win this prize, too!

Starting May 1, we’ll have two weeks of daily drawings that include Amazon gift cards, Kindle ebooks, and more, so check back!

Now, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I'll try to do the same.

cj

Summer of Love Contest and Literary Estates

There’s still time to enter the Summer of Love Books contest for a chance to win a summer-full of romance novels. Incentive: There will be more than one winner.  http://summeroflovebooks.com

Following is an excerpt of a recent blog at the site:

Second-Chance Romance - Apr18

It seems everywhere you look, and in every sub-genre, romances that center around a second chance at love abound. A do-over, a chance to get things right this time. Why is that, I hear you wondering.

I have an answer.                  – Becky Lower (Author of BLAME IT ON THE BRONTES)

 

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cj Sez: A note concerning writers’ literary estates crossed my desk recently (for the second year, actually) so I think it’s time to re-post something I wrote in June of 2014.

I’ve always known that I’m happiest when I learn something new every day. It’s the reason I take another college class every now and then. And it’s the reason I attend writer’s conferences. Today, I learned that I should be thinking about my “literary estate.” Hmm. I’ve never thought about that concept: As a published writer, I have a literary estate. Wow.

I also learned that I was wrong when I thought that the estate lawyer who drew up my trust and will was all I needed.

Not so, Grasshopper. Copyright protection in an estate and will requires an attorney familiar with the subject. It’s a legal specialty, as in she/he needs to be a copyright, publishing, and media lawyer.

I discovered, however, that I am moving in the right direction. I keep files … physical paper documents in physical paper file folders in addition to digital copies I keep on a flash drive in a safe deposit box. I have a folder of contracts, correspondence, and any pertinent information about my publisher, agent (if I ever get one she/he will be added), and the literary works, such as are they still in print and who has the rights (I have requested some be returned).

I keep a list of works-in-progress and completed but unpublished manuscripts. I also keep a paper copy of all my passwords so that they’re accessible to my executor/trix. All of these things are included in a six-page list that keeps getting notated and updated in pencil until I can no longer read my scratch and have to retype the thing. It’s about to get longer because as I read this, I realize there are things I haven’t put on the list.

There’s a bit more I need to do . . . like find a literary attorney who knows what to do with copyrights in estates.  (Yep, I wrote this in 2014 and have yet to do that. Got to put that at the top of my to-do list.)

Okay, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

 cj

 

PS: I have my fingers crossed that you will be one of the winners for those romance books.

Win a summer full of romance

The Summer of Love romance book giveaway is ongoing. Go to http://summeroflovebooks.com  to enter and win, and while you’re there, check out the author’s blog. A new one is posted regularly. The blogs come from authors of the books being given away.  PLUS most of these authors offer a way to get a second chance entry into the contest. Here’s an excerpt of this weeks’ blog:

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My Idea of Romance   Apr11

My husband, Jed, likes to take credit for the steamy scenes in my books. He tells people those are the only pages that are not fictitious, and then the corners of his mouth edge up into a grin.  –   Rena Koontz  (Author of THIEF OF THE HEART)

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cj Sez: By the way, Rena reveals that hubby has expertise as a federal agent and lawman, and that must make for authentic crime scenes in her novels, in addition to the authentic “steamy scenes.”  (Love, love, love authenticity.)

 

You know how, after filling a three-ring binder with rejections (as one writer I know did), we writers worry if our writing will ever be “good enough” to get published? Feelings of inadequacy can often overwhelm any confidence of competency and send us running for a big spoon and the nearest half-gallon of chocolate ice cream for comfort.  

But think about this: Bona fide professionals, those people we consider successful, do not, cannot rest on their laurels. Okay, that’s a cliché, but truly, professionals continually work to improve and perfect their skills. Every time Donald Maass, famed literary agent and author of WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL, leads a workshop on writing, I’d venture to guess he’s included something new since his last workshop. I know he keeps producing how-to books that incorporate new slants on writing. He’s a professional who keeps learning. Pro golfers take lessons to tweak their skills; powerhouse baseball hitters have trainers as do Olympic runners, swimmers, and skaters. 

 

The lesson is clear. The way for writers to improve their craft (and gain writing confidence) is to practice; i.e., they must read in their chosen genre(s), write, and network, and those tasks never cease.
 

I know I learn something new most every day, some tidbit that I can incorporate into a work-in-progress or add to my growing list of hints. I wish you the same success.

Okay, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same . . . and remember to check out the Summer of Love book giveaway.

cj
 

PS: The 'toon is one someone dropped onto my Facebook page a while back.

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

DEADLY STAR (Publisher: Crimson Romance)  

    http://bit.ly/19QDQq3   (B&N.com)
    http://amzn.to/1LRRwC9  (Amazon.com)

 

Now is the time for all good readers . . .

cj Sez:  . . for a chance to win a whole summer of romance novels enter the contest at www.SummerOfLoveBooks.com       DEADLY STAR is one of them.

There will be more than one winner, and for an extra chance to win, "like" my Facebook author page at    http://on.fb.me/1xRVDej 

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE

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In May of last year, my Lyrical Pens post said this:

In addition to the usual writerly things (critiques, writing short stories, attending a conference or two, entering contests), my writing plans for 2014 include revising a romantic suspense/mystery, completing the first book in a detective series, and thinking through (is that called outlining?) a young adult fantasy. Several months into these projects, the dust is settling around me, and I wonder how much of this ambitious schedule is wishful thinking.

I accomplished only one item of that ambitious schedule. . . revising the romantic suspense novel. I did more than one edit cycle on the story, tweaked it a zillion times, and it's now ready for submission to someone somewhere. (I'm working on a back cover blurb and will post it in the near future.) The first story in my proposed female sleuth series has resurfaced, but the young adult fantasy is still on the proverbial back burner. I sometimes wish I wrote faster because there's so many stories I want to tell.

Attending a conference or two in 2014 never happened, but I've registered for the 2015 Southern Christian Writers Conference, June 5-6 in Tuscaloosa, AL. And I'll be at Killer Nashville in October (the Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise). Between registration fee and hotel rates, the first conference is very reasonably priced for the number of workshops and speakers, plus I'll have the opportunity to sell some books. By the same measure (mostly the hotel), the second is not so reasonably priced, but there are a great number of workshops and speakers, plus there's a possibility I may be selected to participate on a panel (maybe). Lot of experiences and networking possibilities there.

The thing is, I didn't get "everything" done during 2014 that I planned to do, but I'm not going to beat myself up over perceived failures. I'm okay with them. I took time to enjoy my family, my gardens, and my friends. I think that counts as success. 

Okay, that's all for today. Be sure to enter the contest and give my Facebook author page a "like" for a second chance to win 16 romance novels. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I'll try to do the same.

cj

Summer of Love Contest is LIVE TODAY

cj Sez:   SUMMER OF LOVE GIVEAWAY CONTEST IS OPEN !

Enter for a chance to win a whole summer of romance novels at www.SummerOfLoveBooks.com
DEADLY STAR is one of them.

There will be more than one winner, and FOR AN EXTRA CHANCE TO WIN, "like" my Facebook author page, https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

Send me an eMail at            cjpetterson@gmail.com          so I can make sure you get your second chance entry . . .

Thanks for liking the page, Debbie Oxier, and please send me your eMail. 


GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE. . . .