Tag Archives: Books

#AtoZChallenge, Books, bookstore, characters, ebooks

#AtoZChallenge – R is for Reading

April 21, 2014 Melanie 1 Comment

Reading

Whatever your genre, or preferred medium, curling up and reading a good book on a cold wintry day is fab and in my corner of the world, there have been a pile of them this season.

There are loads of genres to choose from – crime, romance, paranormal, Young Adult, New Adult, non-fiction, memoirs and literary fiction.

A great place to get your reading material is at your local independent bookstore. Mine is Leeds County Books. If I find a book whilst shopping elsewhere, I take down the details and then go here and order my copy, if it isn’t already on the shelf.

I also have a great collection of ebooks on my ipad in the Kindle app.

And I’m going to do a wee bit of shameless, self-promotion here. If you’re looking for a great read, check out A Shadow in the Past and The Consequences Collection, written by yours truly.

Authors, Book covers, ebooks, Kindle, kobo, Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle magazine, Novel covers, Novels, Publishing, readers, Reading, Writing

Anneli Purchase talks about her novel Orion’s Gift

January 27, 2014 Melanie 4 Comments

Authors are often asked what inspired them to write. For my novel “Orion’s Gift,” the answer is easy.

One winter, I was on vacation in Baja California, a state of Mexico, living in a travel trailer for three months. The sun and sea were glorious, and on days I didn’t feel like fishing, swimming, or snorkeling, I could go hiking in the desert. Life was easy and fun at this small beach where only about six other campers stayed.

One day an elderly woman arrived in a camper van with San Diego plates. She parked by the beach and never got out of her vehicle for the whole three days that she stayed there, preferring to sit in her van, smoking cigarettes and listening to audio tapes.

I wondered at her strange behaviour. Why would she drive all the way from San Diego and not get out of her van at this beautiful beach? Why was she inhaling that thick cigarette smoke when she had the cleanest air in the world right outside her door? What was she listening to? Maybe it was one of my novels on the audio tape and she just had to hear what happened next. I wish!

I had no answers and it bothered me that I couldn’t figure it out. I decided then, that hers would make a good story, if only I knew what it was. I imagined all kinds of scenarios and Orion’s Gift began to take shape.

Instead of this poor old strange woman, I created Sylvia, a young and beautiful California girl in her thirties. I gave her a reason for suddenly leaving her seemingly perfect life in Chula Vista, near San Diego. I couldn’t have her be without a romantic interest, so I created a man for her. While Sylvia and Kevin spent time star-gazing, watching the constellation of Orion, each kept a secret from the other. When the spouses they had deserted come looking for them, the young couple’s new love is tested and their lives are turned upside down

I still wonder about the woman from San Diego though. What was the real story? Probably, I’ll never know.

Orion’s Gift is available at all amazon outlets and at Smashwords.com.

Anneli Purchase has written two other books, “The Wind Weeps” and “Julia’s Violinist,” which are also available on amazon and smashwords. You can find out more about them by visiting Anneli’s webpage at http://www.anneli-purchase.com

4RV Publishing, Authors, Awards, Book covers, Books, bookstore, Children's author, ebooks, illustrators, Novel covers, Novels, Publishing, Writing

Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll is now open

January 1, 2014 Melanie Leave a comment

Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll for 2013 is now open

Once again my publisher – 4RV Publishing – is nominated in the Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll in a number of categories. Voting is easy. Click on the link beside each category listed below, select the 4RV title/author/artist etc., then scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your name and email address. And to confirm you’re not a spammer, enter the author’s name in the box beside the thumbnail of the book cover that’s there. You’ll receive a confirmation email with a link in it. Simply click on it to confirm your vote. (My debut novel, A Shadow in the Past, finished 3rd in its category in the 2012 P&E Readers’ Poll.)

4RV Publishing is nomininated in the following Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll categories:

Other novels:

A Wandering Warrior by Harry Gilleland – http://critters.org/predpoll/novel.shtml

Young Adult novels:

Taking the High Ground by Amy Alessio http://critters.org/predpoll/novelyoungadult.shtml

Children’s books:

I Like Pink by Vivian Zabel http://critters.org/predpoll/novelchildrens.shtml

Book/eBook cover art:

A Wandering Warrior Aidana WillowRaven http://critters.org/predpoll/bookart.shtml (Aidana did the gorgeous cover for A Shadow in the Past)

Author:

Vivian Zabel http://critters.org/predpoll/author.shtml

Print/electronic book Publisher:

4RV Publishing http://critters.org/predpoll/ebookpublisher.shtml

Artist:

Ginger Nielson http://critters.org/predpoll/artist.shtml

Print/eBook editor:

Carla Ralston http://critters.org/predpoll/bookeditor.shtml Carla was my editor for A Shadow in the Past and we had a great editor/author relationship.

Bookstore

4RV Publishing http://critters.org/predpoll/bookstore.shtml

It would be great to see 4RV finish first in each category but in order for that to happen, they need your votes. Only one vote per category, too. The Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll closes January 14, so don’t delay.

Appearances, Book covers, book swag, Books, craft fair, Mallorytown, Publicity, Publishing, short stories

A Country Christmas Craft Fair – recap

December 2, 2013 Melanie 2 Comments

The Christmas Craft Fair – recap

Normally, since my husband is a Mallorytown native, he comes with me but this weekend I flew solo. Except for having to make numerous trips to and from the car to bring my loot inside myself, it wasn’t bad. Okay, so I didn’t have ‘eye candy’ at my table to attract the ladies. What can I say, he’s a flirt.

Still things went well. And I was no further than a Blackberry message away from my hubby all day so I could keep him apprised of my successes.

And at the end of the day my results were … drum roll, please …

3 sales of A Shadow in the Past

2 sales of The Consequences Collection

1 sale of the 2014 A Shadow in the Past calendar (images of locations in the novel)

and I was complimented on my display.

Although it was a great day for me, my mind was with the people in and around Glasgow who may have lost loved ones in a horrific helicopter crash on Friday, 29th November.

Authors, Awards, Books, novella, Novels, SHINE ON Award, Writing

The SHINE ON Award: 7 Random Things About Me

November 20, 2013 Melanie 2 Comments

Melanie Robertson-King is the proud recipient of the prestigious SHINE ON Award in the ‘books involving her Celtic connections’ category.

I’ve been nominated for the SHINE ON award! In order to accept the honour bestowed upon me by fellow Ottawa Romance Writer, Maureen Fisher, I have to share seven random bits of information about me with you – my readers.

So without further ado,

Like my nominator, I’m an only child but both my parents came from large families. My mother was one of eight children and my father was one of twenty (his father was married twice and had 10 children with each wife).
I’m a first generation Canadian. My father came to Canada as a Home Child through the Orphan Homes of Scotland.
Not much of a surprise, but I love Scotland and all things Scottish and travel to the ‘auld country’ as often as possible, most recently this past August. I’m rather partial to a certain 18 year old Glenlivet single malt whisky and love haggis.
I’ve never lived any further away from Brockville than 15 miles. Before I started school, I lived in a winterized cottage on the shore of the St. Lawrence River.
I have a background in Computer Programming and work in payroll for an Eastern Ontario trucking company.
I’ve been a story-teller since I was a kid. My cousins and I would gather in the woodshed at my grandmother’s in the dark and scare each other silly with ghost stories.
I can live without chocolate. Yup, you read that right. If I have it fine and if I don’t, well that’s fine, too. Doesn’t say much for someone who writes romance.

The SHINE ON award is one that keeps on giving, so now it’s my turn to nominate the following worthy authors:

Nicky Wells – the ultimate Rock Star author who writes Romance that Rocks Your World

Janice Horton – Scottish Author who writes Contemporary fiction with humour and heart

Joanna Lambert – who writes Stories Written with Passion & Inspired by Music

And, you can read Maureen’s SHINE ON post here.

Authors, Blog Tour, Book Launch, General, Kindle, LAHE Lifestyle, Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle magazine, Novel covers, Novels, Publicity, Publishing, short story

Blowing My Own Trombone Book Launch Blog Tour by Emma Calin

July 22, 2013 Melanie 2 Comments

Hello Melanie – thanks so much for letting me visit your blog to tell everyone about my new book

“THE LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE COLLECTION”

Now, this tour of mine is called the “Blowing my own Trombone Book Launch Blog Tour”. We have had The Muppets and Cabaret and today – it’s Edelweiss from The Sound of Music – I’ll leave you to be the judges of that…

The ‘Love in a Hopeless Place Collection‘ is a set of five of my stand-alone titles amalgamated into one. A bargain way for you to get your hands on my gritty tales-with-a-twist. Initially available for e-books (Kindle, iPad, Android, iPhone, Mac, PC etc on Amazon), the paperback will follow and an audiobook is in production. The titles in the collection are all novelettes or short stories. They stand alone in their own right but are linked by a common theme: the universal quest for survival, love, passion and respect against the gritty backdrop of working class life.

Sub-Prime – a gritty short story

The Chosen – a short story with a twist

Escape To Love – a novelette, a suspense romance with a twist

Angela – a short story

Love in a Hopeless Place – a novelette, a romance.

The title of one of the books and also the complete collection, “Love in a Hopeless Place”, comes from the song by Rihanna “We Found Love (in a Hopeless Place)”, which played on the radio at a pivotal point in this individual tale, but also really expresses the flavour of the collection as a whole.

Here is a small excerpt:

‘To want is easy. To be wanted is a delicious warm bath but with someone else’s hand on the hot tap. Once you’ve jumped the fall takes no courage or talent. I did a parachute jump once for a hospice charity. If you look up where you’ve come from it’s speeding away from you and you can never go back. It’s better to look at the ground because that’s where you’re headed and it’s an obtainable certainty. I knew by inviting her I’d crossed a frontier and as yet the guards hadn’t opened fire.’

I am pleased to be able to tell you that during July and August ‘ANGELA‘ the short story from the collection is FREE – so you can even try one before you buy the set!

I would like to thank Melanie for having me on her blog as part of my ‘Blowing My Own Trombone Book Launch Blog Tour’. If you want to read more excerpts from all the other titles in the collection – or would just like to hear me blow another tune, come along to the other blogs on my tour over the next 10 days:

17th July Anneli Purchase

18th July Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle Magazine

and Real Life According to Emma

20th July Sheryl Browne

21st July Nicky Wells

22nd July Melanie Robertson-King

25th July Bonnie Trachtenberg

26th July Patricia Sands

27th Stephanie Keys

28th Linn Halton

31st July Venture Galleries Authors Collection

About Emma Calin:

Emma Calin was born in London in 1962. She currently lives part of the year in the UK and spends the rest in France. She has been writing since childhood and has won numerous local, national and international prizes for poetry and short stories.

Emma enjoys writing love stories firmly rooted in social realism. She blogs about the contrasts in life on both sides of the English Channel, which she likes to explore on her tandem whenever weather and fitness coincide. She is a Lifestyle Contributor on Loveahappyending Lifestyle.

She defines herself as woman eternally pedaling between Peckham and Pigalle, in search of passion and enduring romance.

Emma Calin Links

The Love in a Hopeless Place Collection on Amazon Worldwide

For more books by Emma Calin: http://www.viewAuthor.at/EmmaCalin

Emma Calin Blog: http://www.emmacalin.blogspot.com

Emma Calin Website: http://www.emmacalin.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emma.calin

Facebook Page for book: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaCalinBoxedSet

Twitter:@Emma Calin

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/emmacalin/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4915751.Emma_Calin

Authors, cover reveal, Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle magazine, Novel covers, Novels, Publicity, Publishing

Learning to Love by Sheryl Browne

July 21, 2013 Melanie 5 Comments

London — Safkhet Publishing

London-based independent publisher Safkhet Publishing and romance author Sheryl Browne of Droitwich, Worcestershire, England, announce the publication of the poignant romance thriller, Learning to Love, a look at love, life and relationships, on 22 July 2013.

Learning to Love—“chosen for publication in the Birmingham City University School of English Anthology”

Synopsis:

Widower, Dr David Adams, has recently moved to the village—where no one knows him, ergo there’s no fuel for neighborhood gossip—to start afresh with his ten year old son, if only he can get to a place where his son wants to speak to him. Angry and withdrawn, Jake blames his dad for the death of his mother, and David doesn’t know how to reach him.

Andrea Kelly has too many balls in the air. With three children and a “nuts” mother to care for, her fiancé can’t fathom why she wants to throw something else into the mix and change her career. Surely she already has too much on her plate? Because her plates are skew-whiff and her balls are dropping off all over the place, Andrea points out. She needs to make changes. Still her fiancé, who has a hidden agenda, is dead-set against it.

When Andrea’s house burns mysteriously to the ground and Andrea and her entourage are forced to move in with the enigmatic Dr Adams, however, the village drums soon start beating, fuel aplenty when it turns out someone does know him—the woman carrying his baby.

About the Author:

Sheryl Browne grew up in Birmingham, UK, where she studied Art & Design. She wears many hats: a partner in her own business, a mother, and a foster parent to disabled dogs. Creative in spirit, Sheryl has always had a passion for writing. She has previously been published in the US and writes Rom Com because, as she puts it, “life is just too short to be miserable.” Sheryl is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. For more information, connect with Sheryl Browne on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SherylBrowne.Author) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/SherylBrowne) or visit her blog page at http://www.sherylbrowne.com/.

Learning to Love (ISBN: 9781908208835) will be available for purchase as an eBook worldwide on Amazon, Kobo, the Apple iStore and all other major retailers. For more information, please visit http://www.safkhetpublishing.com/

Visit the other blogs taking part in the Learning to Love promo blitz:

21^st July 2013

DizzyC’s Little Book Blog – www.dizzycslittlebookblog.blogspot.com

Brook Cottage Books – www.brookcottagebooks.blogspot.com

Patricia Sands – Everyone has a story

Mandy Baggot – www.mandybaggot.com

Shani Struthers – http://shanisite.wordpress.com/

Melanie Robertson-King – http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/

Angela Williams – http://chaoticbookcorner.blogspot.co.uk

22^nd July 2013

Wendy Chartier – http://theauthorandreaderspotlight.blogspot.co.uk/

Zanna Mackenzie – http://www.zannamackenzie.blogspot.co.uk/

Donna Trinder – http://donnasroomforreading.blogspot.co.uk/

Julia Hughes – http://www.wordspi.com/

Carol E Wyer- http://facing50withhumour.com/

Brook Cottage Books – http://brookcottagebooks.blogspot.com

Silvy Silvana – http://books-are-my-life-silvy.blogspot.com/

Joan Hill – www.romanticfiction.org

Heidi – https://cosmochicklitan.wordpress.com

Nikki Mahood – http://nikkimahood.wordpress.com/

Pauline Barclay – – http://paulinembarclay.blogspot.com/

You can buy Learning to Love at:

Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Learning-to-Love-ebook/dp/B00E1LPEVO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374330622&sr=8-1&keywords=learning+to+love+by+sheryl+browne

Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Learning-to-Love-ebook/dp/B00E1LPEVO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374330812&sr=8-1&keywords=learning+to+love+by+sheryl+browne

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/338538

Books, Novels, work-in-progress, Writing, writing style

I Write Like…

June 29, 2013 Melanie 2 Comments

I Write Like…

I would have never thought it but, according to the sample I copied and pasted from my work in progress, Shadows from her Past, I write like… are you ready for it?

I write like

I write like
Dan Brown

I Write Like.
Analyze your writing!

I wonder, if I were to take a sample from my published debut novel, A Shadow in the Past, if the same result would occur? Hmm… maybe I’ll try that some time.

Who do you write like? Why not try this and see? You can find out by clicking on Analyze your writing in the box above or by clicking here.

I’d love to see whose prose your writing style emulates, so why not give it a go then leave a comment telling the results of your writing analysis.

Authors, Books, Novels, Writing

Words – how do you cope when they won’t come?

June 23, 2013 Melanie 8 Comments

Words, Wonderful Words

frustrated writer

As a writer, you want the words you choose to remain true to your voice. How do you manage when your carefully planned scene loses the impact your wanted to portray doesn’t come across because your brain can’t relate it to your fingers? You write WORDS but they’re not the ones you envisioned using and they don’t flow smoothly. Your writing is choppy and disjointed – kinda like mine is right now.

Do you:

Read over the last of what you worked on the previous day to get reacquainted with your characters and setting?
Throw your hands up in frustration and stomp around the room?
Bash your head against the wall or surface of your computer desk?
Take long cleansing breaths and go off and do something else to clear your mind – like take the dog for a walk (assuming you have a dog to walk), go for a walk by yourself?

Does listening to music help you when you’re struggling to find the right words? Or do you prefer complete silence.

Depending on where I’m working, my writer’s toolbox includes a dictionary and thesaurus. But if I’m working on my laptop and space is at premium (outside in a lawn chair comes to mind), while I still refer to both of the aforementioned books, I tend to use online versions instead. These are my favourites.

Dictionary.com
and
Thesaurus.com

I’m just back from doing Option #4 (sans dog much to his chagrin) so we’ll see if that had any impact.

Do you have any tricks that work for you when you’re struggling with your writing?

4RV Publishing, Aberdeenshire, Artist, Authors, Books, characters, Famous Five Plus, Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle magazine, Novel covers, Novels, Publishing, readers, Reading, Scotland, Writing

It’s “Tell A Story Day”

April 27, 2013 Melanie Leave a comment

Tell A Story Day!

Never heard of it before? Well, believe it or not, there is a quirky holiday for every day of the year. Hallmark had an ultimate holiday site which has now closed but they’ve kindly listed some other links where you can discover what the holiday of the day is.

To celebrate Tell A Story Day, I’ll be a guest at fellow loveahappyending lifestyle contributor and author, Anneli Purchase at her blog Anneli’s Place.

Okay, so here’s my story… in keeping with the day.

a shadow in the past cover 500x773

Blurb:

Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself thrust back into the past. There she struggles to keep her real identity from a society that finds her comments and ideas strange and her speech and actions forward, unlike Victorian women. When Sarah verbally confronts confining social practices, including arranged marriages; powerful enemies commit her to a lunatic asylum. After falling in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, Robert Robertson, she must decide whether to find her way back to her own time or to remain in the past with him.

Now isn’t that a great story? I think so, but then I’m biased.

Find me on my Facebook Author Page

and @RobertsoKing on Twitter.

A Shadow in the Past is available for purchase from 4RV Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and bricks ‘n mortar locations.

You can find out more about Loveahappyending Lifestyle here. And “like” our facebook page at this link.