Saturday, April 30, 2016

Super Starrella - Next Snippet for #WeWriWa

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors. Here, writers in different genres showcase their stories with 8-10 sentences. Join the fun and read our snippets.
Today, I’ll continue the teaser scene from my new release, Super Starrella. Estelle was knocked unconscious in an explosion. When she woke, she was tied down in a weird cylinder and heard strangers discussing her. Then, a woman entered and gave her a drink. Read last week’s snippet here:
http://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-solinar-veterinary-clinic-snippet.html

The second time she woke, Estelle grew angry, remembering what Dr. Netta had done. They had drugged her; she had to escape from this peculiar Clinic. This time, the transparent cylinder had vanished and she lay on what appeared to be a regular hospital bed. Her strength restored, Estelle sat up and slipped her legs over the edge of the bed.
She waited, listening for any sound from her captors; all was quiet.  
Gathering her courage, Estelle padded round the room and opened the cabinets, one by one. Her clothes hung in a tall cabinet on the back wall, next to a bright blue leotard and matching leggings. A shiver of certainty ran down her spine. As a child, Estelle had dreamed of being her favorite comic book character, Super Starrella, and flying across the sky chasing villains. If she wore the costume, her name would be Starrella.

 Super Starrella

Buy Links (99c until May 9th)

Blurb
Teen superhero, Starrella, and her flying horse tackle villains in the skies of Atalanta.
The quiet summer before her freshman year turns frighteningly weird after Estelle Wright trespasses onto an Army base. Blown into the air and knocked unconscious, she wakes with a nascent superpower. Not to mention a winged horse with a snarky attitude and a mind of her own.
Back home in Atalanta, a serial killer is targeting the students at Goldman University. Before long she must juggle college classes with sneaking out of the house after dark to battle alien monsters. Estelle’s life is in danger, but who can she trust: handsome Captain Copper from military intelligence, or hunky Toby, the tough gangster with a motorbike? Both men have secret agendas, but falling in love is not in their plans.
Young adult superheroes, quirky animal sidekicks, and a dash of romance enliven this thrilling adventure. Book 1 of the Secret Supers.


Soon, I'll switch to the next book in this series, which is coming together slowly. 
As always, your comments are welcome. Please return to www.wewriwa.com to sample the works of the other writers. 


Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Historical #Mystery & #Romance - The Curious Profession of Dr Craven by R. Harrison

Description

What is a poor anatomist to do? Twenty pounds, wasted, up in smoke when a beautiful young woman wakes up on the dissection table. Someone has made a ghastly error. Dr Richard Craven, an ethical doctor, has but one choice, to nurse the girl back to health and restore her to her family. That’s when his troubles start. She can’t remember anything, only her first name, and she isn’t even sure about that. As his household helps her to recover her strength and her memories trickle, then flood back, their mutual attraction buds into a flowing passion.
Unfortunately one of the things she’s conveniently forgotten was her arranged engagement to a vulgar, but wealthy son of a Northern industrialist. Not only that, but there is some deep dark secret about Dr Craven that her father believes makes him completely ineligible.
Resolving the resulting tangle in this sweet historical romance takes the combined efforts of the doctor’s once profligate brother, the Earl of Craven, a displaced French Royal, le Duc de Bourbon, and the visit of a mysterious French Baron to the sacred floor or Almack’s.  Dr. Craven

99c Deal

Excerpt


Dr. Craven meets his fate. He just doesn't know it yet. He's preparing to dissect another body when things come undone.

In the meantime, the boy undid the bandage that held the woman’s jaw shut tight. As he pulled it off her, her mouth opened and she gasped for air.
He ran to his father and the doctor, shouting, “I tell you, Doctor, she’s alive!”
Jonas and the doctor walked back to him, carrying a decanter of the brandy with them.
Dr. Craven said, “Can’t be, Lad. That must just have been gas escaping from the body. They do that, you know, as they decompose.”
The elder resurrection man nodded, “I’ve seen it before, many times.”
His son replied, “So have I Dad, but this wasn’t that. She gasped for breath when I undid the bandage.”
Dr. Craven said, “I’ll prove she’s dead. Put her on the table.” The resurrection men lifted the body from the floor and put it on the examining table. This cadaver was light for the two of them to lift. It having once been a delicate young female; they were gentler with it than they were usually.
The doctor gave his hands a quick rinse. Something he did more for superstition than any rational basis, and then he examined the body.
“She is warmer than I’d expect. The decomposition must be advancing rapidly. I’ll need that ice.” He paused. It, no not it, she breathed. It was a gasp, a weak one at that, but a breath.
“Brandy!” He shouted, “and be quick about it, man. She’s alive.”
The youngest resurrection man ran for the decanter and returned as fast as he could. “Here, sir.”
The doctor took some and moistened the woman’s lips with it. She gasped again and stirred. “She’s cold, bring a blanket and a warm brick.” He immediately unwrapped the winding bandages from her body and untied the bindings on her legs and arms. “Come man, rub her legs. We must get the blood flowing.”
Between the warmth, the brandy, and the commotion, the woman’s eyes suddenly opened, and she sat up. She saw this handsome dark-haired man looking at her. His concern for her was evident in his face.
“Is this Heaven?”
“No. England.”
“Close enough.” Then she lay back and closed her eyes again.

  

Saturday, April 23, 2016

The Solinar Veterinary Clinic - Snippet from Super Starrella for #WeWriWa #Superhero #Technothriller

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors. Here, writers in different genres showcase their stories with 8-10 sentences. Join the fun and read our snippets.
Today, I’ll continue the teaser scene from my new release, Super Starrella. Estelle was knocked unconscious in an explosion. When she woke, she was tied down in a weird cylinder and heard strangers discussing her. Then, a woman in a white coat entered and spoke to her. Read last week’s snippet here:
The last sentence was Can I go home?” Estelle shivered, afraid she was an unwilling participant in some outlandish experiment. 

“Not yet; we need to run more tests to ensure there are no unpleasant side effects. We have informed Mrs. Dawson that you are staying at the Solinar Veterinary Clinic.”
The name raised new questions in Estelle’s mind. Wary of her captors, she asked, “Who are you?”
“You may call me Dr. Netta,” the woman tapped the side of the table, eliciting a series of clicks. The top of the cylinder swung open and the straps loosened around Estelle’s ankles and wrists. Free to move, she rubbed her eyes and wondered if she were trapped in a nightmare.
Dr. Netta removed a bulb from a cabinet, twisted off the top and offered the bulb to Estelle, “Drink this; you will gain energy.”
Estelle squeezed the bulb and the cool liquid slid down her throat. Seconds later, her head swam, mist coiled before her eyes, and she fell down a dark hole.

If you are anxious to learn more, the eBook is available at
 Super Starrella

Blurb
Teen superhero, Starrella, and her flying horse tackle villains in the skies of Atalanta.
The quiet summer before her freshman year turns frighteningly weird after Estelle Wright trespasses onto an Army base. Blown into the air and knocked unconscious, she wakes with a nascent superpower. Not to mention a winged horse with a snarky attitude and a mind of her own.
Back home in Atalanta, a serial killer is targeting the students at Goldman University. Before long she must juggle college classes with sneaking out of the house after dark to battle alien monsters. Estelle’s life is in danger, but who can she trust: handsome Captain Copper from military intelligence, or hunky Toby, the tough gangster with a motorbike? Both men have secret agendas, but falling in love is not in their plans.
Young adult superheroes, quirky animal sidekicks, and a dash of romance enliven this thrilling adventure. Book 1 of the Secret Supers.


As always, your comments are welcome. Please return to www.wewriwa.com to sample the works of the other writers. 


Friday, April 22, 2016

Weekend eBook Deals from 8 Authors #Romance #Mystery #Fantasy #YA

8 Great FREE and 99c eBooks for Readers

Free April 22-24th
SciFi Fantasy & Sweet Romance, Super Starrella by Aurora Springer
 Super Starrella

Free April 23-25th
Historical Romance, The Curious Profession of Dr Craven by R. Harrison
 Dr Craven

Free April 23-27th
Historical Romance, Belle of Charleston by Jerri Hines
 Belle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q8M1EYK/

Murder Mystery, Just Different Devils (Book 7 Hetty Coffey series) by Jinx Schwartz
 Devils

http://amzn.to/1qBNndD

PermaFree:
Young Adult Mystery, Grade A Stupid by AJ Lape.
 Stupid
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A4CHNL8/

Fantasy, Storm Crazy, Destiny Paramortals by Livia Quinn
 Storm Crazy
http://amzn.to/1Synmau

99c:
Sweet romance with a paranormal twist, The Ebb by Effrosyni Moschoudi
 The Ebb
http://amzn.to/1qQIueg

SciFi Fantasy, Born to Magic, Volume 1, Tales of Nevaeh by David Wind.
 Born to Magic


Saturday, April 16, 2016

Can I go home? Snippet from Super Starrella for #WeWriWa Superhero #Mystery

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors. Here, writers in different genres showcase their stories with 8-10 sentences. Join the fun and read our snippets.
Today, I’ll continue the scene from my new release, Super Starrella. Estelle was knocked unconscious in an explosion. When she woke, she was tied down in a weird cylinder and heard strangers discussing her.
I’ve skipped a couple of lines, and punctuated to fit:

Soft footsteps crossed the floor and a woman with sharp green eyes hovered into Estelle’s restricted view. The woman wore white overalls, and the severe oval of her face was framed in short brown hair. Leaning over Estelle, she asked, “How do you feel, Miss Wright?”
“I’m okay,” Estelle’s voice was hoarse and her throat felt dry. She whispered, “What happened to me?”
“There was an accident. We kept you overnight for observation and we’ve seen no evidence of physical damage.” The woman waved a stubby stick over Estelle’s body. The tip of the stick lit blue and Estelle imagined it was a magic wand.  
“Can I go home?” Estelle shivered, afraid she was an unwilling participant in some outlandish experiment. 

 Starrella

Blurb
Teen superhero, Starrella, and her flying horse tackle villains in the skies of Atalanta.
The quiet summer before her freshman year turns frighteningly weird after Estelle Wright trespasses onto an Army base. Blown into the air and knocked unconscious, she wakes with a nascent superpower. Not to mention a winged horse with a snarky attitude and a mind of her own.
Back home in Atalanta, a serial killer is targeting the students at Goldman University. Before long she must juggle college classes with sneaking out of the house after dark to battle alien monsters. Estelle’s life is in danger, but who can she trust: handsome Captain Copper from military intelligence, or hunky Toby, the tough gangster with a motorbike? Both men have secret agendas, but falling in love is not in their plans.
Young adult superheroes, quirky animal sidekicks, and a dash of romance enliven this thrilling adventure. Book 1 of the Secret Supers.

Buy Links

As always, your comments are welcome. I may be running late this week since I'm away celebrating my wedding anniversary. 
Please return to www.wewriwa.com to sample the works of the other writers.




Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Strategy for Promoting Books in a Series #IndieAuthors #Marketing

As an Indie author, I appreciate free promotion. But, how well does it work? 
I summarize a strategy for a standalone novel in this previous post: http://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2015/10/can-free-promotions-help-indie-authors.html

This month, I tested a strategy for promoting the three books in my Grand Master’s Trilogy. Using free sites only, I promoted Book 2 FREE from April 1-5th with Book 1 set at 99c.  

Grand Master’s Pawn: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TP1N5PM
Grand Master’s Game: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0104OFJJ8
Grand Master’s Mate: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018EHAA7S

Listed on the Following Sites
http://bookangel.co.uk/submit-your-book
bookscream.com
bookhearts.com  for 4/1/16
bookpraiser.com
free99books.com
Ebooklister 
bookbrag
Bookhippo (unlikely since only 1 review in UK)
Bookzio (tried)
Readersgazette
Patty Jansen’s Promo (Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror) for April 2-3 (pattyjansen.com/promo)

Ranking:
Book 2, Grand Master’s Game, hit top ranks of #2 FREE in First Contact and Space Exploration subcategories on Amazon at different times on the second day of the promotion. 
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #452 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
It reached the Amazon Best Sellers Rank of #388 Free in Kindle Store.
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  
Book 1 Grand Master’s Pawn (99c) showed the best rankings of:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,630 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Here are the results:
Sales over April 1-5th
Book 2: A total of 1796 FREE copies given away.
Book 1: 47 sold at $0.99
Book 3: 8 sold at $2.99
Profit (All ROI) = $31 plus KU reads and continued sales over the next few days

Would I do it again? Yes! This free promotion worked better than the paid one I ran in earlier this year and the books achieved temporary prominence after weeks of little action

Thoughts: 
The boost is temporary.
Discounting to 99c helps to track the results and brings in more readers. 
What strategy works for you?  

Secret Weapons
I acknowledge help with tweets and retweets from the members of the eNovelAuthorsatWork group. 
and also cross-promotion by authors in Patty Jansen's Promo




Monday, April 11, 2016

New Release in #AI - Birth of Adam by Liza O'Connor


Is it possible for a mother to have triplets, each having a different father?
YES, this is an actual possibility, not just some weird thing Liza made up.
It even has a name: Superfecundation.
This occurs when male sperm from three (or more) male contributors swim really hard and successfully penetrate three or more eggs in a short period of time. This happens often with cats and dogs. But it can also happen with humans. All you have to do is set up a situation in which a woman has sex with several different men within a four to five-day period in which she is ovulating.
Speaking for myself, most women have NO CLUE when they are ovulating, so this turns out to be hard to schedule, assuming that you actually WANT three babies from three different fathers in your womb at once. (Vote me out.)
Generally speaking, I’m pretty sure most women don’t want that…but I managed to create a good reason why this is a good thing to happen in Birth of Adam. Adam is an Artificial Intelligent being now possessing a robotic body that appears to be human. He’s in love with the woman who brought him to sentience. Yet, he knows someday she will die, so he needs her to bear him children to care for or he will lose his purpose in life.
It is important Adam has a purpose in life. Otherwise he could get into serious trouble.
Fortunately, Adam, knows exactly when Amanda ovulates, so he sets up the opportunity for her to acquire fraternal triplets which all have different fathers. Nor are these random strangers he’s picked up to be the fathers. They are friends whom Amanda loves and cares for deeply. Men who will help Adam ensure she and her children are well-loved and protected throughout their lives.


Birth of Adam
Book 2 of the Artificial Intelligence Sci-Rom Series
By
Liza O’Connor

Blurb
With a new identity, Amanda believes she has left her past behind. Then she acquires a stalker. She contacts the FBI and in doing so alerts a program she once created to her location. Now ensconced in the internet, the program is safe from harm, smarter than ever, and sentient. Presenting itself on her phone as a handsome face with a sexy British accent, “Adam” ingratiates himself into Amanda’s life. To ensure her safety and happiness, the sentient program proves there is absolutely nothing he can’t and won’t do.

Excerpt
All three of her daughters were healthy, ranging from six pounds to eight. Their varying sizes, hair colors and facial shapes left no doubt they were fraternal rather than identical triplets. Amanda was greatly relieved. In her recent nightmares, she couldn’t tell them apart and kept feeding the same baby while the other two starved.
Adam had been greatly amused by her silly worries, and now she knew why.
“Think you can sort them out?” he teased as he put the dark-haired girl onto her chest as she held the blonde and redhead in her arms.
The nurse wanted to remove two babies to the crib, but after taking a picture of Amanda and her babies to send to Bresnan, Adam handed the dark-haired girl to Bastion and picked up the blonde and gave her to Simon and Pinchot. He then focused his attention on her and the red-haired beauty in her arms.
She caressed each baby’s head. Bresnan was dark-haired, as was Bastion. Simon and Pinchot had light-brown hair. How on earth had she managed to have a red-haired baby?

BUY LINKS
For the Artificial Intelligence Series

Book 1
Public Secrets
Free with Kindle Unlimited

Book 2
Birth of Adam
Free with Kindle Unlimited


About Liza
Liza O’Connor was raised badly by feral cats, left the South/Midwest and wandered off to find nicer people on the east coast. There she worked for the meanest man on Wall Street, while her psychotic husband tried to kill her three times. (So much for finding nicer people.) Then one day she declared enough, got a better job, divorced her husband, and fell in love with her new life where people behaved nicely. But all those bad behaviors have given her lots of fodder for her books. Please buy these books, because otherwise, she’ll become grumpy and write troubled novels instead. They will likely traumatize you.
You have been warned.
Mostly humorous books by Liza:
A Long Road to Love Series: (Humorous Contemporary Odd Romance)
Worst Week Ever — Laugh out loud week of disasters of Epic proportions.
Oh Stupid Heart — The heart wants what it wants, even if it’s impossible.
Coming to Reason — There is a breaking point when even a saint comes to reason.
Climbing out of Hell — The reconstruction of a terrible man into a great one.
The Hardest Love Is to love oneself. Sam’s story.

The White Oak-Mafia Series: (Spunky, strong women who have given up on love, but find it anyway)
A Fortune to Die For — Megan wins the Mega Times Lottery and discovers it comes with a curse. Soon even the Mafia wants to kill her.
Unexpected Love — Coming Soon: What could be stranger than a British Prince falling in love with a Mafia Princess?

Requires Rescue Series: (Contemporary Romance where even the strong needs help.)
Saving Casey — Cass wakes up in the body of a troubled teen who has burned every bridge imaginable. Her only choice is to turn this life around, but that’s much harder than she ever imagined.
Saving Molly — Coming soon: Sean rescues a young woman who smiles too much, and she saves him and his child in return.

Humorous Singles:
Ghost Lover Two British brothers fall in love with the same young woman. Ancestral ghost is called in to fix the situation. And there’s a ghost cat that roams about the book as well. (Humorous Contemporary Romance)

Humorous Sci-Fi series
The Gods of Probabilities — In the Multiverses, anything can & does happen. Join the bickering Gods and the sentient beings they oversee.
Surviving Outbound — Earth is doomed, but the odds of surviving outbound isn’t much better.
Surviving Terranue — Welcome to Terranue. Prepare to be baked, pummeled, and frozen. But first you’ll have to survive the black death growing in the cliffs.
Surviving Sojourn — You know you have reason to worry when a hyper-grown one-year-old is made captain of the ship.

Sci-Fi Romance with Artificial Intelligence and Suspense 
Public SecretsCarla Simon is a best-selling novelist besieged by death threats and lawsuits because her stories keep turning out to be true.
Birth of Adam —  Carla changes her identity and enrolls in college, but the AI program finds her and ensconces its life into hers.

The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Sleuth series: (Late Victorian/Mystery/Romance)
The Troublesome Apprentice — The greatest sleuth in Victorian England hires a young man who turns out to be a young woman.
The Missing Partner — Opps! The greatest sleuth in Victorian England goes missing, leaving Vic to rescue him, a suffragette, and about 100 servants. Not to mention an eviscerating cat. Yes, let’s not mention the cat.
A Right to Love — A romantic detour for Jacko. Want to see how amply rewarded Jacko was when he & Vic save an old woman from Bedlam?
The Mesmerist The Mesmerist can control people from afar and make them murder for her. Worse yet, Xavier Thorn has fallen under her spell.
Well Kept Secrets — The problems with secrets is that they always come to light, no matter how you wish to silence them.
Pack of Trouble — Changes are a part of life, but these changes almost kill Vic.
The Darkest Days — Muddled cases make Vic very grumpy.

Disturbing Historical:
Untamed & Unabashed The youngest of the Bennet sisters, Lydia, tells her story. A faithful, yet provocative spinoff from Pride & Prejudice. (Warning: Lydia is frisky.)



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