Fall in Love with New England Readers/Writers Conference!

Going to reader/author conferences is always fun. If you are looking for one this October give Fall in Love with New England a look!

Facebook group

website

In the great New England tradition, this conference was started as a grassroots endeavor. It's not part of any big organization or magazine, agency or publisher. We are simply romance authors who want to have fun with (and spoil) our wonderful readers!

Ashlyn Chase established the basics back in 2016, and a lot of authors have contributed countless hours and ideas to make each new conference more superb than the one before it! Let's have tons of fun and make some new friends along the way!

Mid-October is peak foliage season in New Hampshire.

The conference fee* is the same—authors—$119 and readers—$89 includes:

(more information and registrations pages coming soon)

• A goody bag with schedule and FREE books
• All workshops and author panels Friday afternoon and Saturday morning
• Plenty of interaction with your favorite romance authors
• Loads of giveaway baskets
• Friday evening Halloween costume contest with prizes
• Readers "trick or treat" Authors' rooms with a bookmark hanging on the door
• Free and early admission to the booksigning on Saturday afternoon

Rooms are $119+ per night (double queen or single king). You must book your own room at the Holiday Inn & Suites Nashua, NH. Call the hotel directly at 1-603-888-1551. When you call to make reservations, make sure you mention you are with Fall in Love with New England Readers/Writers Conference!

If you have any questions, email ash@ashlynchase.com.

Recap: Once Upon a Book, Happily Ever After Ball & Author Signing Frankenmuth, MI August 12-13, 2016

I Smell Sheep's very own Bianca Greenwood attended Once Upon a Book, Happily Ever After Ball & Author Signing in Frankenmuth, MI August 12-13, 2016 put together by author Stacey Rourke. She shares her experience!

This past weekend marked the first ever Once Upon a Book event. Held at picturesque Frankenmuth’s Bavarian Inn, the story-book themed event was a way for readers, authors, and publishers to connect over their mutual love of fiction.

The festivities began Friday evening with a storybook themed ball. Guests were asked to dress in formal or costumed attire, and they were only too happy to oblige. A brief awards ceremony followed the cocktail hour where award winners Mary Ting, Delphina Miyares, Whitney DeBoe/Alicia Michaels, and Ethan Rice received the honors. Dinner, consisting of traditional comfort foods, was followed by dancing. Throughout the evening, guests were also invited to the complimentary photo booth and OUAB selfie mirror; a 

hand-decorated mirror reminiscent of that belonging to Snow White’s evil queen. Much fun and frivolity ensued.

Angela Gibbons and author Alex Tuttle

Angela Gibbons and Nathan Weller, cover model to Mary Ting and aspiring author

OUAB Selfie Mirror

 

The night life in Frankenmuth seems to wind down early, however, that didn’t stop my group from making the sojourn over the river via covered bridge following the festivities. The covered bridge was all too appropriate given the storybook theme of the event. Added to that was the coincidental fact that I was reading event organizer Stacey Rourke’s, Crane (read Bianca's review of Crane), a re-imagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow wherein a covered bridge features prominently. But I digress.

Saturday morning came quickly. VIP access to the author signing commenced at 9 AM. Dozens of authors were in place to distribute materials, meet their fans, and make new connections. I was able to meet some I Smell Sheep familiars such as Bridget Blackwood, as well as meet some new and upcoming talents in the world of speculative fiction. A wide array of genres was represented at the event, however, paranormal romance, fantasy, and science fiction were dominant.

Author Bridget Blackwood

Angela Gibbons, again. She bought about 6 books and is a super reader averaging about 200 books a year!

Below is my swag haul. I even won a hand written page by author Amy Richie.

Co-writing team N.D. Taylor and A. Payne

 

Overall, the event was well-organized. Stacy Rourke and her organizational team did a great job planning an fun-filled event. Attendees were well informed in the time leading up to the event, and judging by the light, fun atmosphere a pleasant time was had by all. OUAB was a family-friendly affair with activities organized for children during the ball and the signing, which wrapped up at 3 PM.

Be sure to check out next year's event

http://www.onceuponabookauthorsigning.com/

Reading Until Dawn Con Denver, CO, October 8th-11th, 2015

While at Coastal Magic Con 2015 we met a delightful woman named Casey. She is organizing a convention of her own called Reading Until Dawn Con (isn't that clever?) Here is some information about it—taken from the website.

https://readinguntildawncon.wordpress.com/

Reading Until Dawn Con will be held in Denver, CO, October 8th-11th, 2015.

The emcee of Reading Until Dawn Con is

Darynda Jones!

 Regular registration will be $85 till September 25th, 2015

http://readinguntildawnconllc.eventzilla.net/web/event?eventid=2139054001

The story behind Reading Until Dawn Con isn’t all that uncommon. I was complaining to a friend about not being able to travel the country and stalk meet all of my favorite authors. Then I had the crazy, insane, brilliant idea of bringing all the authors to me. The only way to do that was with a con. After months of debating, talking to authors to see if anyone would actually be interested, and continually thinking, “Am I actually going to do this?” Reading Until Dawn Con was born.

My dream for RUDC is to have a small conference where authors and readers can hang out together. Anyone can go to any author/reader/writer conference and listen to their favorite author talk about writing. But how many can say that they hung out with their favorite author? Not many. RUDC will be all about hanging out, playing games, and having fun.-Casey

Casey

Sometimes, the smallest things have the biggest impacts on our lives. For me, it was the scene The Mummy (1999), where Evie(drunkenly) told Rick that she was proud to be a librarian. Little nine year old me, who was already obsessed with books, decided that I wanted to become a librarian. And I did.

I worked at a library (first volunteering, then getting hired) for about five years, until I moved to a different state. In addition to that, I have been reviewing books for Literary Escapism since August, 2010. I have had two separate internships with Entangled Publishing, LLC, which led to my jobs as the personal assistant to the Publicity Director of five lines at Entangled Publishing, LLC, and also an assistant to the Head of Marketing, also at Entangled Publishing, LLC. I co-edited and contributed a short story to the self-published anthology, The Struggle. (All proceeds from the anthology go to helping struggling authors.) Over the course of the past two years, I’ve conducted seven live interviews with New York Times bestselling authors. I even planned an author book signing for Tiffany Reisz and Andrew Shaffer at Southland Books and Cafe, (my favorite job since I left the library).

It was only logical that the next step would be creating my own author/reader conference. (Well, that’s what I keep telling myself. *grin*) It’s my dream to gather a few (hundred) of my closest friends and favorite authors so that we can do what comes naturally – talk books, eat delicious food, and have a good time.

Coast Magic Convention Schedule! Check it out...

http://coastalmagicconvention.com/

Take a look at all the fun authors you can meet and panels to attend. CM is coming up quick. The deadline to grab a hotel room at the discounted rate goes away Monday!!! You have till Jan 14 to register through EventBrite, but there my be an option after that. Check the website for details.

Registration through EventBrite will be closing on January 14th

 group rate with the Hilton is only valid until January 5th

 Be sure to mention our group rate code, CMBT, if you call.

To see the full schedule:

2015 CMC Schedule - Final1

note:  there might be slight changes to this schedule before the convention

Thursday, Feb 5, 2015

5pm - 10pm
Check-in / Welcome Bag Pickup (resumes 9:00am Friday and Saturday)

6pm - 12am
Game Room (board games, card games, etc.) - open to all attendees

Friday, Feb 6, 2015 

9am - 10am
All Creatures Great And Small - Vamps & Werewolves seem to top the list of UF/PNR creatures, but they are not the ONLY paranormals to steal our hearts! A chat about dragons, fae, witches, and more. - Alivia Anders, Vaughn R Demont, Jeffe Kennedy, Stephanie Julian, Rane Sjodin, Tigris Eden, Elisabeth Naughton

Non "Others" - The importance of the humans in our favorite UF/PNR stories. - Chudney Thomas, Deborah Cooke, Jess Haines, Kiernan Kelly, Jordan K Rose, Kelly Meding.

My Hero - Is your perfect hero an “alpha”? Are they “flawed”? What makes readers swoon for the leading man? - Kait Ballenger, KC Burn, Kristen Painter, Tere Michaels, Lia Davis, J A Souders

10:15am - 11:15am

Forever & Ever - Keeping a series fresh and interesting when there's no real end in sight. - Paige Tyler, Christina Farley, Angie Fox, Eric R Asher, Julie Kenner, Coreene Callahan. 

Out Of The Genre Box - Paranormal authors who also write contemporary/historical/suspense/etc. Why they do it, and what's in it for their paranormal fans? - Tigris Eden, Hildie McQueen, Seressia Glass, Donna Grant, Damon Suede, Tina Wainscott

Bite Me! - Readers' continued fascination with Vamps & Weres in UF/PNR. What's hot & what's next. - Terry Spear, Amanda Carlson, Stephanie Julian, Molly Harper, Jan DeLima, Jess Haines.

11:30am - 12:30pm
Meet & Greet - J A Souders, Tawdra Kandle, Lucienne Diver
Meet & Greet - Lisa Kessler, Lee Roland, Poppy Dennison, Kiernan Kelly
Meet & Greet - Lia Davis, Deborah Cooke, Coreene Callahan, Aria Kane, Tina Wainscott

2:15pm - 3:15pm
M Squared - Gay UF & PNR at it's best. Where to start, what's hot, and what's coming soon. - Kiernan Kelly, K C Burn, Tere Michaels, Poppy Dennison.

Urban Fantasy Rulemakers (and Rulebreakers) - Creating, and sticking to, the rules of a paranormal society. - Jenna Black, Elliott James, Amanda Carlson, Lee Roland, Kelly Meding, Nancy Holzner Elliott James

Life With An Author - Family members of Featured Authors dish about life with a loved one on deadline. - TBD

3:30pm - 4:30pm

Meet & Greet - Carrie Ann Ryan, Larissa Ione, Christopher Rice, Lexi Blake
Meet & Greet - Jaye Wells, Kelly Meding, Nancy Holzner, Paige Tyler, K C Burn
Mad Hatter Tea Party (M&G) - Hildie McQueen, Jordan K Rose, Kristen Painter, Chudney Thomas, Terry Spear

4:45pm - 5:45pm
1001 Dark Nights - Series Q&A - Larissa Ione, Carrie Ann Ryan, Donna Grant, Elizabeth Naughton, Lexi Blake, Christopher Rice, Julie Kenner

7:00pm - 10:00pm
TBD

9:00pm - 11:00pm
Cinema Craptastique - Movie Title TBD - Damon Suede, Molly Harper, Vaughn R Demont, Angie Fox, Kiernan Kelly, Jess Haines, Jeffe Kennedy - and more!!

Saturday, Feb 7, 2015 

9:00am - 10:00am
Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The End Of The World - Comedy in UF/PNR - Vaughn R Demont, Jaye Wells, Molly Harper, Angie Fox, Julie Kenner, Lee Roland

Novellas & Short Stories - Making the most of a two hour read. - Deborah Cooke, Aria Kane, Amanda Carlson, Seressia Glass, Kait Ballenger, Kristen Painter, Carrie Ann Ryan

The Perfect Villain - Bad guys we love to hate. - Coreene Callahan, Jan DeLima, Larissa Ione, Kiernan Kelly, Tina Wainscott, Jordan K Rose

10:15am - 11:15am
Wrapping It Up - Ending a series in a way that makes authors AND readers happy. Moving on to something new, and taking your fanbase. - Deborah Cooke, Lisa Kessler, Donna Grant, Christina Farley, Hildie McQueen, Carrie Ann Ryan, Maureen McGowan

The Scooby Gang - The importance of “side” or “support” characters in our favorite stories. - Kristen Painter, Stephanie Julian, Tawdra Kandle, Coreene Callahan, Paige Tyler, Jaye Wells

Been There / Done That - Stories that bust stereotypes in gay urban fantasy and paranormal romance. - Vaughn R Demont, Damon Suede, Tere Michaels, Poppy Dennison, K C Burn.

11:30am - 12:30pm
Meet & Greet - Elizabeth Naughton, Julie Kenner, Donna Grant
Meet & Greet - Angie Fox, Molly Harper, Damon Suede, Rane Sjodin
Meet & Greet - Jan DeLima, Elliott James, Jeffe Kennedy, Stephanie Julian

12:30pm - 2:00pm
Lunch with an Author

2:15pm - 3:15pm
Paranormal Mystery - Who Dunnit? An intro to the cozy(ish) subgenre. - Lexi Blake, Angie Fox, Jaye Wells, Rane Sjodin, Poppy Dennison

PC in UF/PNR - How authors incorporate or avoid political and social issues in their stories. - Kelly Meding, Nancy Holzner, Terry Spear, J A Souders, Jenna Black, Maureen McGowan, Elisabeth Naughton

Man Up! - Panel of male UF/PNR authors discuss how they approach storytelling. Is there any difference from their female counterparts? - Eric R Asher, Vaughn R Demont, Elliott James, Christopher Rice

3:30pm - 4:30pm
Flash Fiction - Authors create a fast-paced, on-the-spot story using prompts from the audience. - Damon Suede, Lucienne Diver, Kiernan Kelly, Nancy Holzner, Lisa Kessler, Alivia Anders, Jeffe Kennedy

5:00pm - 7:30pm
Public Book Sale / Signing

9:00pm - 1:00am
Mixer

Sunday, Feb 8, 2015 

9:00am - 10:00am
Charity raffle basket winners announced. Winners can pick up baskets until 12:00pm. Alternate winners will be selected between 12:00pm and 2:00pm.

10:00am - 11:00am
Mythology, Fairy Tales, & Legends - The stories that inspire our stories. Which of the old tales are most used, and best used. How to make them work in today's UF/PNR. - Lia Davis, Aria Kane, Seressia Glass, Larissa Ione, Tigris Eden, Jeffe Kennedy, Lee Roland

Kick-Ass Heroines - Our favorite leading ladies . How important is it to have a heroine who is both soft and strong? - Paige Tyler, Jess Haines, Christina Farley, Tawdra Kandle, Lucienne Diver, Jan DeLima, Julie Kenner

How REAL Is Your FANTASY? - How far can you push the boundries of a “believable” paranormal story. What's the research process like, and how much does the FBI know? - Eric R Asher, Nancy Holzner, J A Souders, Maureen McGowan, Terry Spear, Chudney Thomas, Rane Sjodin

11:15am - 12:15pm
Meet & Greet - Alivia Anders, Christina Farley, Maureen McGowan, Jenna Black

Create The Perfect Cover! - Author Activity - Ever wonder what goes into the making a great cover? From title to graphics, you will create a masterpiece for the authors. In this interactive event, readers will work alongside authors to create the perfect cover for their books. - Hildie McQueen, Jordan K Rose, Chudney Thomas

Meet & Greet - Eric R Asher, Jess Haines, Tere Michaels, Kait Ballenger

12:30pm - 1:30pm
Soundtracks / Playlists - The groove behind some of our favorite characters and stories. - Tigris Eden, Aria Kane, Alivia Anders, Tawdra Kandle, Lia Davis

Authors In The Audience - Full panel of authors with questions for YOU!!! - Hildie McQueen, Lee Roland, Tina Wainscott, Jenna Black, Eric R Asher, Larissa Ione

Little Thing Called Love - Balancing a great (hot) romance within the worldbuilding of paranormal romance. - Christopher Rice, Lucienne Diver, Chudney Thomas, Terry Spear, Lexi Blake, Lisa Kessler

1:30pm - 2:00pm
Farewell - Informal chat about what worked at this year's con, and what we can improve on for Coastal Magic 2016. Authors and readers welcome!

And the best part...you get to meet Sharon and Katie! We will be gearing up for The Year of the Sheep. Get your Year of the Sheep World Domination Picture with us and declare your love of I Smell Sheep*

*no blood sacrifices will be accepted, but man-candy or candy in general will be...I like chocolate and Bit-O-Honey...just saying.

Gallery of Horrors Bundle from Storybundle.com + giveaway

Have you heard about the website Story Bundle?

A bundle is available for a very limited time only, via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, and .mobi) for all books, but after the three weeks are over, the bundle is gone forever!-storybundle.com

Authors: be sure to check out the website and see how your book can be part of a bundle

There are only 13 days left to purchase the Gallery of  Horrors bundle!

Horror comes in many forms.

There's a misconception about horror, that it has to be bloody, it has to be filled with entrails and viscera, it has to have demons or knives. It has to involve vampires. It has to have a monster.

But horror has many faces. It can be a mother, in the heat of summer, alone in an empty parking lot, realizing she's locked her keys and purse in the car… with her twelve-month old infant strapped in the back seat. It can be a stalker in an alley or a withering disease. Horror comes in many shapes and sizes, some of them more mundane than others, some perhaps messier. But in the end, all horror stories have one thing in common. The monster is the truth.

That truth may be that we all die one day. Those we love, those we care about, will all at some point, cease to breathe, cease to walk and laugh, cease to tell their stories, and simply become inert.

In this collection you'll find a variety of ways in which the truth is told. People trapped in their own bodies, infected and mindless, forced to obey their hunger; men seeking the cosmic truth to find they wish they'd never discovered it; the Antichrist with his own congregation of followers, with claws and wings and livers for eyes; a parasitic fungus which feeds on information, memories, and bodies; a corporation makes a devil's bargain with people too desperate for work to say no; a failing author finds himself possessed to write a horror bestseller at a steep price; a crime investigation turns into something far more terrifying; a man finds himself haunted by a child born in the catacombs of a sanitarium; this guy keeps appearing and I can't stop killing him.

All these stories speak of the unspoken truths, of the dark places in our minds we pretend we don't see. They speak of entropy in its purest form, of the all-devouring maw to which we all return one day.

So step right in, take a seat. Face the truth with us. – Martin Kee
The initial titles in the bundle (minimum $3 to purchase) are:
Bloom by Martin Kee
Hell's Muse by Jack Wallen
Limbus, Inc. by Jonathan Maberry, Joseph Nassise, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, Brett J. Talley and Anne C. Petty
That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley
Tunnel Vision by Tanya Eby
Crime Seen by Michaelbrent Collings

If you pay more than the bonus price of just $12, you'll get another three books:
Irregular Creatures by Chuck Wendig
I, Zombie by Hugh Howey
The Red Church byScott Nicholson

Also check out the Paranormal Romance Bundle ending in 5 days!

GIVEAWAY

one winner will get the Gallery of Horror Bundle

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Why I Love Newsletters and you should too!

Readers ask me all the time "how do you know all this stuff?" "Where in the world do you find all these great deals!" "How can I be a part of the awesome that is you?" (okay, that last one was a lie, but this is my post). The short answer is newsletters.

*After a comment below I wanted to clarify there is a difference between subscribing to a newsletter and subscribing to an author's blog site. If you subscribe to the blog site you will get all their posts in your email. Just like you do for I Smell Sheep (right?right?). Newsletters are separate from the blog.

I subscribe to every author and publisher newsletter that interests me or our readers. Why? Instant and exclusive information. Many authors reward newsletter subscribers with heads up on sales, special sneak peeks, first look at covers, signings, exclusive giveaways, and the really cool ones share WTF-ery. Publishers post sales and you have a chance to learn about debut authors.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112691/

Bloggers, this is a valuable resource of information to pass onto readers. They will be amazed at all the inside info you have access to and think you must know everyone who is anyone in the industry. Well, not so much anymore cause I just let that cat out of the bag. Now that all you readers know my secret, that doesn't mean you should stop following me and the I Smell Sheep social media for information, because I not only follow author's newsletters I have sheep spies that get bring me their trash (This is a total lie. Please don't stop following  me!)

"OMG, if I subscribe to all these newsletters my mailbox will explode!"

Don't worry. Authors usually send out newsletters once a month or when they have something important to pass onto readers.

If you are an author you should have a newsletter. This is a foot in the door of fans and readers. They don't have time to surf every author website they might be interested in, but they all check their email daily. If you can get each newsletter subscriber to share your promotional information on their social media...that can add up to a lot of exposure and not the put you ass in jail type! Remember to not abuse this power. Send them once a month and/or when you have important info to pass on

*Hint, hint readers. If an author is going to reward you with newsletter awesome, help a writer out and share any info they ask you to pass on. It is just one big sharing circle of book loving! (again, not the put your ass in jail type)

"How do I get readers to sign up?"
Exclusive content for subscribers only. This could be giveaways, sneak peeks, deleted scenes, recipes. Be creative so readers look forward to what they are going to find with each newsletter. One author gives folk lore about the full moon that month. I have learned some cool stuff. Maybe swag only available for newsletter subscribers like a pen or an *Extra Super Special Bookmark (E.S.S.B.). It wouldn't be unreasonable to ask for a SASE to receive the E.S.S.B. because swag and postage are expensive! Make sure the reader provides their email when they ask so you can confirm they are a newsletter subscriber before you send them the E.S.S.B. You must be stingy with the special swag and give it ONLY to subscribers, otherwise it is no longer E.S.S.B, it is just a B. Another idea is exclusive trading cards.

*you can make E.S.S.B.s by customizing some basic ones. Add beads on a tassel, glitter (always use glitter when you can) and of course sign them!

image link

Have I convinced you to join newsletters or start one?