Excerpt from "Master of Emotion" by D. Ogden Huff

Beau’s getting loads of attention lately. Whether he wants it or not. Even if it’s his worst nightmare.

Announcing the release of Master of Emotion, a YA paranormal romance by D. Ogden Huff.

When a reclusive teen with the enhanced ability to read others’ emotions finds more teens with similar powers, he must confront his fears before a budding romance and his twin brother’s life fall into the hands of the devious doctor who created them all.

Decluttering Part 2: Diluting the Action

And now to continue on words I'll slash from any MS you show me:
* words that dilute the action
There are certain words that distance the action, just making the sentence longer. Especially in action sequences, these words make things feel less imminent. Less dangerous. Less interesting--which we all know is a very bad thing.

Author Interview: Sarah M. Eden of "The Kiss of a Stranger"

After shamelessly stalking Sarah's blog, I knew getting to interview her was going to be a hoot. And of course she didn't disappoint!

Me: First, and I hope this isn't awkward, but I've felt for a very long time that we were meant to be best friends. Are you interested? (Do I sound like a stalker?)

Sarah: I prefer to be alone and friendless. You see that will one day make for a great "about the author" interview with Barbara Walters or Oprah or someone like that. {I'm holding out for "Live with Kelly"} "I have languished for many years alone with my art…." Are you seeing the possibilities here?!?

Variety Excerpt: "Falling in October" by Gina Gates

The first Variety Excerpt is truly more unique than anything I've ever come across--part-memoir, part self-help. As well as a million other things. Please welcome Gina Gates ...

When I was asked to post an excerpt from “Falling in October,” it was a challenge to choose just one passage to represent the spectrum of the entire book. The elements are diverse and fascinating. It’s a memoir, except it’s mostly about a time to come. It's about real life, but sweetly steeped in fantasy. It's quite romantic, yet it's not a romance. And it’s just as much a spiritual work as a fairy tale.

Somewhat Disappointed

Pardon my seemingly formal language. I've gone mad and decided to delve into Regency romances. (It's totally Sarah M. Eden's fault for this, although Georgette Heyer has been indoctrinating  me since a young age, so she may share the blame.) And researching for said crazy venture is in turn driving me crazy. It's a vicious cycle.
But I digress ... Unfortunately no new followers joined on Monday, but I'll still give away $5 gift card to one of the two commenters who entered!

And the winner is ...

Gina!

Congratulations! I hope to see more people hanging around for Variety. It promises to be a lot of fun! (And, Kris, I promise I put both your names in a hat and didn't just pick the first person on the list.) :)

Review: "The Kiss of a Stranger" by Sarah M. Eden

As many of you may have noticed, I'm a total sucker for a regency romance. And I basically swoon over well-written ones. I knew before I ever picked up a book by Sarah that I'd probably adore it because of this post on her blog. Ever since I've been convinced we're meant to be best friends (more on that later ...). What better recommendation can I give "The Kiss of a Stranger" than that I read it in two days?

Variety Short Story: "Foreboding" by Rachel Rossano

Introducing, Rachel Rossano:

Rachel grew up reading. Her family didn’t own a television until she was twelve years-old. Instead, they read their way through the library. She didn’t discover the science fiction section until her teen years. It was fascination at first sight. Emboldened by a love of Star Trek and Star Wars, she dove into the midst, devouring everything that grabbed her fancy.

Now, after years of writing fantasy romance novellas, she has ventured once again into the strange landscape of science fiction. This time she brought her pen. The following is a teaser for her short story, Exchange, the first of many. "Exchange" is available on Amazon, here. 

Kicking off some VARIETY!

Well, thanks to the AWESOME response when I sent the call out for variety on my blog, you {readers} are about to get entertained.

So far I have a LOT of fun projects on the slate of every kind:
-some critiques for you to chime in on
-excerpts from books with author commentaries
-guest posts
-and some short stories!

Which means we need to share all this fun! So to kick off the advent of Variety on my blog, we're going to have a contest.

The first Variety post is a short story "Foreboding" by Rachel Rossano on Tuesday. From right now until midnight tonight, share this post everywhere! The number of followers we get will be the amount of the Amazon Gift Certificate I'll give away Tuesday night. So if we gain 5 followers in that time, the gift certificate will be worth $5. If we gain 50, you'll have a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate!

To enter, comment on this post! (And don't forget: the more you share, the more you win!)

**Plus, if you want in on Variety, check out the "Guest Post" tab above or email me!**

Author Interview: Theresa Sneed of "No Angel"

Me: There are tons of books out there right now in the "angel" category, but yours is so unique! Where did you get the inspiration for "No Angel"?

Theresa: Where did I get inspiration for No Angel? Probably from my own guardian angel who will no doubt insist on all the rights in some future day! Actually, I’ve had a few life experiences that have given me a unique perspective of the spirit world—add that to a rather active imagination, and No Angel was a cinch to create!

Review: "No Angel" by Theresa Sneed

After being forced (by life, December, everything in general) to read "No Angel" in spurts that were sometimes separated by several weeks, I finally finished! Woo-hoo! This makes two "angel" themed books I've read so far during the latest craze. ("Fallen" being the other; liked this one better!) Read on for the review!

Variety!

As I sat here looking at my blog today, I wondered what it needed to be more entertaining. I'm working on getting more author interviews, and I have lots of good reviews coming up (No Angel by Theresa Sneed; The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden). But I wanted much more variety. Something to come to the blog for besides my rants on grammar and my opinions on books.
Here are some things I'd really like to include:

*Critiques! --Are any of you out there brave enough to let me critique your work in a public forum (a la Query Shark style)? You'd get (what I think is) fabulous feedback on an excerpt of your work while helping educate the public.

*Guest Shorts -- I LOVE to read short stories by other authors. And when you don't have the time for a full novel read, I want you to stop by for a snippet of fun.

*Guest posts -- On anything you want to ramble on.

*Let Your Book Shine -- A chance for authors of all walks to promote their books through an excerpt and your commentary on the book.

Are you interested in doing any of this for me? {Don't be shy, now!}
Please email me at raneesclark@yahoo.com if you are interested!

Review: "Maid to Match" by Deeann Gist

I've given up calling them "free reviews!" But you really should make it a habit to troll the Kindle "Best Sellers" list for the free books. Lots of authors offer their books for free to drum up business and books like this is why that works. What is there to say about "Maid to Match" except ... {sigh} ... I loved it.