Summer Blow-Out Sale

OUTBACK LOVE on my Kindle Fire.

Another stormy summer day here on the Florida Gulf Coast. I'm sitting in my living room looking out the front windows as the day grows darker and darker and the rain comes pouring down. Every few minutes there's another loud clap of thunder.

Well, this stormy weather got me to thinking. Maybe this is just the right time for a Summer Blow-Out Sale of my books: OUTBACK LOVE, MOON OVER MADNESS and BAYOU BLUES AND OTHER SORROWS.

All three eBooks are temporarily $0.99/ea. In addition, JETTING AWAY, my short story prequel to OUTBACK LOVE, will continue to be FREE.

Teri Heyer's eBooks at Amazon/Kindle - $0.99/ea.

Just so you know, this sale was not something I planned in advance. It's the result of day after day of steamy, sultry, HOT summer weather interspersed with lots and lots of rain. How long will this Blow-Out Sale last? Well, maybe until the weather improves? It's really hard to say. Since this is a temporary, spontaneous Blow-Out Sale, not a planned one, the price of $0.99 is only available at Amazon/Kindle.

Now why would you want to buy and read my books even at this great price? Well, because they're fun, upbeat, adventurous and heartwarming reads with plenty of love thrown in and some guaranteed happy endings?

OUTBACK LOVE is a short contemporary romance novel set in Australia and the Outback. Years back my husband and I took a five thousand mile road trip through Australia, from Melbourne north through the Outback and then east to Queensland and the beautiful and exotic Australian coast. We rented a conversion van which my husband drove (they drive on the left instead of the right in Australia). I rode shotgun and filmed much of the trip. It was an awesome three week vacation and I hope that we'll be able to repeat it sometime in the future.

The places I wrote about in OUTBACK LOVE are real locales. We went there and fell in love with each and every place mentioned in my novel. OUTBACK LOVE is not a travelogue, but you will read a little about The Great Ocean Road, Port Campbell, Barossa Valley (great wineries), Chateau Yaldara (an awesome winery), Glendambo (a stop on the road to the Outback), Coober Pedy (where they mine gorgeous opals and most of the people live underground), Ayers Rock/Uluru (which is one of the most awesome sights ever and I did climb Ayers Rock), Alice Springs (have you seen the pop movie, 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'?), Mataranka (a hot springs oasis in the middle of the Outback), Tennant Creek (a tranquil crossroads in the Outback), Darwin (a must-see city at the tip-top of Australia) and Kakadu (an exotic, beautiful, step-back-into-time kind of place where they filmed 'Crocodile Dundee'). Whew! That was a long trip, a great adventure and wonderful inspiration for my novel.

A few tidbits about OUTBACK LOVE. A river guide I met in Kakadu was the inspiration for rugged, handsome, Ian MacAlister. A young college student working for the summer in Tennant Creek was the inspiration for Priscilla Alexander. A so-homely-he-was-cute dog in the Outback was my inspiration for Elliot.

OUTBACK LOVE is an adventurous love story with a happy ending. But it took Priscilla and Ian some definite ups and downs to get there. I loved writing OUTBACK LOVE and hope you'll love reading it too.



JETTING AWAY on my Kindle Fire.

JETTING AWAY  is a short story prequel to OUTBACK LOVE. It came about following a reader's request to know more about Priscilla's background. She wanted to know why Priscilla, a high-powered business woman, would leave beautiful San Francisco and travel to Australia to find herself.

Though JETTING AWAY is a prequel, it can be read as a stand-alone short story. No, you don't have to read OUTBACK LOVE to enjoy this story. It's all about Priscilla, a young woman who decides to make changes in her life and jets away to Australia.

Best of all, JETTING AWAY is a FREE eBook on Amazon/Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Apple iTunes, Sony and Kobo. How can you resist a fun, FREE read?





MOON OVER MADNESS on my Kindle.

My paranormal, romantic comedy novella, MOON OVER MADNESS, came to me full-blown in one mad moment of inspiration. I swear the little helper-elves in my head wrote this book and all I did was write down the story as they told it to me.

Chantel Deneuve is a responsible mother of two beautiful young daughters and living a quiet life in Florida. She also happens to be a half-witch, something she'd prefer to ignore. But then one night a to-die-for, gorgeously handsome vampire, Riordan "Rio" Martainn, comes knocking on her front door.

Chantel's life is never the same after that night. An assortment of witches, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, a very angry dragon named Sabilla and Jake, a dog who only talks to to children, all join in this romantic mad adventure.  If you want to read a book that will make you smile, then MOON OVER MADNESS is just the book for you.

BAYOU BLUES ... on my Kindle Fire.

BAYOU BLUES AND OTHER SORROWS  is my book that evolved over time. It's a collection of eight short stories and eight poems that all contain little pieces of me. The central themes are love, family, hopes and dreams.

There's a little bit of everything in these stories and poems. "Harry's Garden" was inspired by a not-very-nice former neighbor when we used to live on a Florida bayou way-back-when. "A Kiss is Just a Kiss" was written after a childhood friend of mine died of AIDS. I was thinking of him as I wrote that story. "The Night of the UFO" was inspired after we (my husband and I) swore we saw a UFO over the bayou. I was drinking Margaritas that night, rather than Whiskey Sours (I happen to like both) and the story came to me full-blown. I stayed up half the night to write it. "I Love You, Joe Montana" was inspired, because, well, you know, I happen to love Joe Montana.

The stories and poems in BAYOU BLUES AND OTHER SORROWS are very dear to my heart. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed the journey in writing those stories and poems.

As I finish writing this post it's still raining outside. Overall, this has been a very wet, rainy summer here on the Florida Gulf Coast. Am I complaining? No. But I've spent a lot of indoor time instead of enjoying the great outdoors and our beautiful sugar-sand beaches. However, all this rain means you get the Summer Blow-Out Sale of my books. I do so hope you'll rush right out and add all of my books to your Kindle or other eReader. Who can resist eBooks for only $0.99/ea.? I know I can't. Of course, I'm addicted to books and I'm assuming you are too.

Summer Blow-Out Sale of Teri Heyer's eBooks at Amazon/Kindle - $0.99/ea.

A happy summer shout-out to y'all. Thanks again for stopping by my blog. And many many thanks to all my readers too.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Happy Valentine's Day on Pensacola's Graffiti Bridge.

In the words of Tina Turner, "What's love got to do, got to do with it ..." I'm sure that's a question we all ask, over and over again. Romance, lust, like, longing, love, get all mixed up together. Why do we want it? Why do we need it? Well, heck if I know, but when Valentine's Day rolls around we all get reminded of it real fast.

Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It (on YouTube with Lyrics)

Turn on the telly and we're bombarded with "Buy her this, buy her that ... perfumes, flowers, chocolates." Chocolates??? Now we're talking. I absolutely LOVE chocolate! So am I going to complain about Valentine's Day? No way! Will my "Dear Hubby" buy me chocolates? Maybe yes, maybe no. Is it wise for him to forget to buy me chocolates? Probably not. And what about flowers? Yep, I love flowers too, but particularly the live variety that I can plant in my flowers pots or garden.

It's all about hearts and love on the Graffiti Bridge.

Now I'm a realist. I've been married for ever so long. The shine has worn off all that romance. So I don't expect flowers, chocolates, diamonds or perfumes (by the way, I'm allergic to perfumes). But I do expect friendship, love and a bit of romance now and then. Hey girls, don't we all?

On the other hand, I'm a dreamer and I dream about love, romance, the whole nine yards. I love diamonds and yes, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend." I swear that's true. Do I have diamonds? "You betcha!" Do I want more? Girls, what do you think? "Heck, yeah!" Will I get some this Valentine's Day? Of course not! I'm a realist, remember? I'm practical. I want more important things, like BOOKS.

Yep, I said BOOKS. Ask me any time of day or night if there's something I want and I'll tell you, "I want books. Lots and lots of books." But here's where you ask, "Don't you already have lots and lots of books?" Well, of course, darling, but there's no such thing as too many books. I love romance novels, historical fiction, short story collections, poetry, history books and everything in between. I definitely love books!

I read romances and I write them too. So if you all get a chance, I hope you'll check out my books and add a little more romance and love into your life. My books are all about love, in one form or another. Oh, and there's some adventure, laughs, a little sorrow, and a good amount of romance in there too. So here they are: Outback Love, Jetting Away, Moon Over Madness, Bayou Blues and Other Sorrows. Won't you "give love a chance" and read my books?

Now, as I was saying, I read romances too. Lots of them. Here's an assortment you might want to try for Valentine's Day!

On my Kindles (Read or TBR):

Candy Valentine (A Sensual Short Story) by (my BFF) Ruth D. Kerce
Kiss Me (A Contemporary Romantic Comedy) by Jan Romes
The Trouble With Valentine's Day (Chinooks Hockey Team) by Rachel Gibson
Candy Store (A Contemporary Romance) by Bella Andre
Cupid's Cupcake (A Romantic Comedy) by Ivy Sinclair
Chocolate Kisses  (A Contemporary Romance) by Judith Arnold

Some other Valentine's Day Romances that caught my eye (all available as eBooks and in no particular order):

Be My Texas Valentine by Jodi Thomas, Linda Broday & Phyllis Miranda
Valentine Babies (Holiday Babies) by Mona Risk
A Romantic Comedy Duo by Talli Roland
Cupid on Deck by Nancy Serofano
Tripping on Love by Carrie Stone
A Valentine Surprise by Lisa Page
Valentine Collection (Anthology) by Jennifer Conner
It Happened on Valentine's Day (An Avon Romance Sampler) by Eloisa James, et al.
Valentines Say "I Love You" (Anthology) by Denise L. Wyant, et al.
My Vegas Valentine by R. A. Lee
A Cupid Kind of Day by L. A. Dale
Stirred with Love by Marcie Steele
The WG2E All-For-Indies Anthologies: Viva La Valentine by Talli Roland, et al.
Heart Bouquets (Romantic Short Stories) by Stephanie Craig, et al.
The Valentine's Day Ball by Julia Parks
Kiss Me (An Avon Valentine's Day Anthology) by Codi Gary, et al.
Love is in the Air (A Valentine's Day Collection) by Carolyn McCray
Valentine's Dream by Sandra Kitt, Carmen Green & Felicia Mason
Burning Hearts by K. L. Morisen
Duping Cupid by Gina Ardito
Un-Valentine's Day by Kristine Cayne
Cupid's Revenge (A Chloe Boston Mystery) by Melanie Jackson
Heart Stealers by Patricia McLinn, Judith Arnold, Julie Ortolon & Kathryn Shay
Valentines (A Trio of Regency Love Stories) by Barbara Metzger
Straight from the Heart by Janelle Taylor
One More Valentine by Anne Stuart

Valentine presents from my Dear Hubby. <smile>

I'm sure I've missed listing lots of cool/great/fun/romantic reads for Valentine's Day, so please feel free to list more in the comments below.

Once again, thanks so much for stopping by. Wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day! And just for the record, LOVE has everything to do with it.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Coffee

I must confess, I have a weakness/passion for donuts, particularly doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. For this reason, my BFF, Regina, and I meet there for coffee and donuts once a week. There is nothing better than having a girlfriend chat over coffee and donuts.


Well, when we had our last chat at Krispy Kreme I decided this was a perfect subject for my next blog post. After all, who can resist all those yummy donuts? So that's when I snapped these photos for this post.

I think my favorite part about Krispy Kreme is that they make the donuts right there. So the heavenly smell of warm donuts greats you the second you walk in the door.

I can't resist a still-warm glazed donut which melts in your mouth. Ahh, just thinking about it makes me want to have one just this very minute.







Krispy Kreme has so many yummy donuts: Jelly-filled, Lemon-filled, Pumpkin Spice, Double-Dipped Chocolate, and my all-time favorite, a Chocolate-frosted Custard-filled donut.


Given a choice, I'd have donuts with my coffee every single morning. On the other hand, if I did that, I would definitely weigh more than I do now. So I'll stick with that once a week Girls' Day Out visit to Krispy Kreme.


Krispy Kreme - Pensacola

Variety of Doughnuts at Krispy Kreme




For those who know I love to add lists of books to my posts, here's my latest yummy list. I haven't read any of these books, but they all look interesting.

Donuts and Coffee Books (in no particular order):

Powdered Peril (A Donut Shop Mystery) by Jessica Beck
Drop Dead Chocolate (A Donut Shop Mystery) by Jessica Beck
Donut Days by Lara Zielin (YA)
Dollars to Donuts by Kathleen Kole
Half a Donut and Other Short Stories by Peter Holub
Doughnuts for Amy by John Malik
Like Coffee and Doughnuts (Dino Martini Mysteries) by Elle Parker
Slimming with Doughnuts by Deborah Correnti
Doughnut Dollies: American Red Cross Girls During WWII by Helen Airy
Rolling in Dough: Lessons I Learned in a Doughnut Shop by Glenn G. Sparks (Memoir)
Glazed America: A History of the Doughnut by Paul R. Mullins
Coffee Break Romance by Susan Stovall
An Order of Coffee and Tears by Brian Spangler
Coffee with Poe: A Novel of Edgar Allan Poe's Life by Andrew Barger
The Coffee Girl by Shanna Hatfield
Coffee Clutch (Jan Birch Mystery) by Marshall Thornton
Murder by Mocha (Coffee House Mystery) by Cleo Coyle
Roast Mortem (Coffee House Mystery) by Cleo Coyle
Coffee in Common by Dee Mann
One Coffee With (Sigrid Harald) by Margaret Maron
Jetting Away by Teri Heyer

I couldn't resist adding my short story, Jetting Away, to the above list. After all, Priscilla is having one-of-those-days where lots of coffee and some yummy donuts help her get through the day and make a life changing decision. Jetting Away is a short story prequel to my romance novel, Outback Love, but can be read as a stand-alone. Best of all, it's FREE, so I hope you'll give it a try.

JETTING AWAY - Amazon/Kindle

JETTING AWAY - Barnes&Noble/Nook

JETTING AWAY - Apple/iBookstore/iTunes

Jetting Away is also available for FREE at Sony, Kobo, Diesel and Smashwords.


As always, I hope you'll add your comments below. I'm guessing that you all love donuts and coffee too.

Happy New Year!

The New Year 2012 snuck up on me. How did it get here so fast? I swear that Thanksgiving was only a couple days ago and Christmas was just yesterday. Did I get lost in time somewhere? Did I spend too much time on the computer?

Well, 2011 was a very good year for me. I fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming an author by ePubbing four books between August and November: "Outback Love," "Jetting Away," "Moon Over Madness" and "Bayou Blues and Other Sorrows." I guess that is why the year zipped by so fast.

"Jetting Away" went free on Amazon October 27th and from that date on I've been on a roller coaster ride. To date, over 20,000 people have downloaded a copy of "Jetting Away." For weeks it was on the Best Sellers Top 100 Free ebook list on Amazon and then for weeks more on the Best Sellers Contemporary Fiction Top 100 Free ebook list. What an exciting ride for a new indie author. I can't thank you all enough for getting "Jetting Away."

In addition to the excitement on "Jetting Away," "Outback Love," my contemporary romance novel, was on the Best Sellers Contemporary Romance Top 100 Paid ebook list for a number of days. Needless to say, I was on Cloud-9 for all of those days.

In the midst of that roller coaster ride, I ePubbed a collection of eight short stories and eight poems, "Bayou Blues and Other Sorrows." The date, 11/11/11, just seemed like a perfect day to bring out a new book. Unfortunately, "Bayou Blues..." is off to a slow start. However, it's now available as a free ebook to members of Amazon Prime. This is a book I've worked on for a very long time and am so pleased to finally have it out there. Writing poetry and short stories was my first love before writing novels.

November and December have been months of mostly dreaming and some writing. I've been working on several different ideas for some new novels. I managed to write partials on some of them and have hopes of finishing and ePubbing them in 2012. For now, I'll just say that I think you'll enjoy the novels I've been dreaming about and writing. If all goes well, I should have a new contemporary romance novel out before spring.

Many thanks to everyone who bought my books from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Smashwords, Apple, Sony, Diesel and Kobo. Many thanks too to those on Twitter who re-Tweeted my many Tweets, mentioned me on Twitter, and/or chose to Follow me on Twitter. Thanks too for the very nice reviews I've received on my books on Amazon and Barnes&Noble.

In the meantime, best wishes for a Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year for all.

JETTING AWAY is Now on the Amazon Top 100 Free eBooks List

JETTING AWAY went FREE on Amazon sometime last night after I had gone to sleep. So I woke up this morning to a great surprise. By the time I checked on my sales at Amazon/KDP, 328 people had already downloaded my free book. At that point I was really excited.

If you don't already have my ebook, please use the link below to download a FREE copy of JETTING AWAY on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Jetting-Away-ebook/dp/B005JGE9R0/ref=zg_bs_154606011_39

I had always intended for JETTING AWAY to eventually be offered as a free ebook since it's a short story prequel to my contemporary romance novel, OUTBACK LOVE. Of course, both books can be read as stand-alones, but I hoped my readers would decide to read both books.

I lowered the sales price of JETTING AWAY to free on Smashwords first. Barnes and Noble quickly followed suit and so did Sony. Though I contacted Amazon, they decided to keep the book at .99 cents. I tried to explain to them how important it was to make the book available as a freebie, only I kept getting the same answer back. No.

So I was ultra-excited this morning to find that Amazon finally decided to make JETTING AWAY a free ebook. I must say, it has been really fun today watching the free sales increase and the ranking go up, up, up. The last time I checked the stats, 2192 free copies of JETTING AWAY were downloaded. That was in less than 24 hours. In the morning the sales ranking was #574 out of millions of books on Amazon. By afternoon my book was ranked #89 and on the Top 100 Free list. As the afternoon progressed, the ranking went higher to #82, then #39 and the last time I looked #33. My other two books are selling too. So this is very exciting for a new indie author.

I am excited by this day and humbled too. For someone who has been wanting/dreaming of being a writer since I was of grammar school age, today has been the best of the best. I thank all who have downloaded my books. It means a lot to me that you are willing to try a new writer. I strive to be the best that I can possibly be. I'm sure I have much to learn. This will be an evolving, growing, strengthening process. I have so many stories to tell. Yes, I am humbled by you all being willing to take a chance and read my books. Thank you so very much.

For those of you who haven't yet read one of my books. Please download a FREE copy of JETTING AWAY on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Sony or Apple. Please tell your friends and family members about my books too. It's very difficult for a new indie author to enter the book market, so I need all the support I can get.

A little story about today. I've been sick since last Friday with a sinus infection due to seasonal allergies. I try to avoid doctors and can usually get well on my own. But yesterday I lost my voice. Yep, laryngitis. So when I woke up this morning to all that excitement over my books, I wanted to scream with joy, only I couldn't even squeak, let alone talk or shout. So while all this excitement over sales and rankings were happening this afternoon, I was at the doctor's office to get antibiotics so I can get well. Hopefully in a few days I'll be able to scream and shout with joy. For now, I'd like to get my voice back so I can at least talk. I can't even call my family or friends on the phone today, because no one can hear what I'm saying. I have to admit that it's rather funny than I can't talk about this. Everyone who knows me, know that I love to talk. But for today I have to be quiet and write out my joy and thanks.

I have to say a special thanks to the gang at Twitter who helped make this all possible. In particular, indie authors Ruth D. Kerce, Russell Blake and David Bain helped along the way. They would RT (re-Tweet) all my Tweets and their Followers would RT and so on. I could never has done this all without you.

Also, indie author Russell Blake fought really hard to get his ebook, ZERO SUM, to go FREE on Amazon, which happened a few days before my book. He fought the good fight for all of us indie authors for price matching on Amazon.

I also need to thank Amazon too for finally making the decision to let JETTING AWAY be a free ebook on Amazon.

 I also have to say a special thanks to my friend of many years, author Ruth D. Kerce, for pushing me every step of the way to get my books out there for others to read. Note - Ruth offered lots of advice and moral support too. So thanks to a very special friend.

Special thanks to all my family members, friends and author/friends who forwarded my emails to others who forwarded them to even more. Believe me, it takes a really big village to sell a book. I know I'm forgetting names here, but you all know who you are. As my five year old grandson would say, "We're a team."

I know things will slow down again, but I intend to enjoy every minute of this high. I also intend to get busy writing and finishing my next books. I have two new ebooks that you'll be seeing soon. BAYOU BLUES AND OTHER SORROWS  is a collection of short stories and poems that I've wanted to publish for a long time. MOON OVER MISTLETOE is a paranormal novella that should available by the end of November.

(Please forgive all the extra adverbs, adjectives, etc. in this post. I'm too excited to edit them all out.)

The Importance of a Great Book Cover

I realize now the importance of a great book cover. Until I started ePubbling my own books, I never thought all that much about covers. Sure, I was attracted to an eye-catching cover, which always made me look inside the book. Only I never thought about how that happened. I guess it was just an automatic reaction, which I never realized I was doing. Now I study covers voraciously, online and at the bookstores.

I've come to the following conclusions. I've always look at any book with a moon on the cover. Don't ask me why, I just do. I guess it's because I've been totally fascinated with the moon since I was a kid and my dad brought home a telescope. I was instantly hooked. Although, until recently, I didn't realize it made me pick up certain books. Having "moon" in the title is also enough to make me take a second glance at the book.

Well, I love horses, dogs, flowers, seashells, the beach and tranquil landscapes too. So I realized I tend to look at books that have one or more of those elements. It doesn't mean I buy every book, but it does ensure that I stop and look. I now realize that if your book cover doesn't catch the reader's eye, you probably won't sell many books unless you're a big name author. On the other hand, I've been known to buy a book, now and then, just because I fell in love with the cover.

I'm a history fanatic, so I tend to look at books with medieval covers, particularly with knights and/or castles.. I've had a lifetime fascination with the westward movement, maybe because some of my ancestors traveled the Oregon Trail. So I look at books with covered wagons or just about any image that depicts pioneers. Maybe that's why I first fell in love with Louis L'Amour's books? I own just about every one of his books and so far have read more than half of them.

As a kid, I made my mother buy me every one of Marguerite Henry's books because of the beautiful covers of Chincoteague Ponies. I had the whole Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House Books," because of the pioneer covers. I first fell in love with "The Phantom Tollbooth," "A Wrinkle in Time," "Savage Sam," "The Enormous Egg" and "Island of the Blue Dolphins," because of the wonderful covers.  I still have my childhood copies of those books. Of course, it helped that the stories were incredible too.

My husband, Ben Heyer, is designing the covers for my ebooks. We're going through a trial and error period. I'm pretty picky about what I want on a cover and he's just downright stubborn. So, at this stage of the game, my covers are all a compromise. I'm getting better at conveying what I'd like to see on the cover and Ben is getting a bit more patient with all my changes. For now, it's still a learning process.

Ben is already designing covers for some of my upcoming books. I'm excited about what he's creating and anxious to get the books finished just so the cover can be attached to the book. Now isn't that a silly reason to hurry up and finish writing a book? However, it's also a good incentive to keep writing.

In the meantime, Ben just redesigned the covers for "Jetting Away" and "Moon Over Madness." I like these covers better than the original ones.  He just made a few changes here and there, which made all the difference.

So it comes down to this. I look at a book because of the cover. I may even buy it just for the cover. But finding a great story inside is what makes me keep the book and continue to rave about it for years and years.

My goal now is great stories with great covers. Gee, that's asking for a lot. Will I succeed? I certainly hope so. I have lots of stories to tell, so Ben will have lots of book covers to design.

On Contests, eBooks, eReaders and More

My "Moon Over Madness" Contest was a bust. Apparently no one wanted a free copy of my ebook. Okay, I understand, I think. Who wants to take a chance on a new author? I can understand not wanting to pay an enormous amount of money for an unknown. But free? That surprises me.

As I've said before, I'm a voracious reader. So when I discovered the Kindle eReader, I had to have one. What an incredible invention, to be able to carry hundreds, thousands of books in one little device that fits in your purse. Believe me, I carry my Kindle everywhere I go. Gee, I might get stuck on the top of the three mile bridge going over the bay. Hey, that's happened to me before, twice. So I just pull out my trusty Kindle and start reading until the traffic starts moving again.

What I love about having a Kindle, or any eReader for that matter, is the fact I have a whole library at my fingertips. So I can switch what I'm reading to fit my mood of the moment. My Kindle currently contains 429 books, everything from classics to history to romance to mystery to paranormal, to mystery/suspense, you name it. I have another 640 books in my Kindle archive, which I can transfer back to my Kindle at any time.

So here's the thing. New indie authors, and occasionally big authors, offer a book for free. Sometimes it's via a contest and other times on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Apple, etc. I'm always looking at the freebie books. It's wonderful to discover a book I may never have noticed. So I download freebies that catch my eye and I've discovered some wonderful books. I also enter book contests whenever I can, even though I've yet to win one of those contests. Oh well, there's always a first time.

I've discovered some really wonderful indie authors by reading a freebie ebook first. I've also come across some big authors I used to read, but who sort of slipped by the wayside. So my Kindle has a goodly number of those freebie books. But it also has bunches of ebooks that cost .99 cents to $3.99. That's my impulse price range. If the book looks interesting I buy it with a click and give it a try. Wow! It's like stepping into paradise, a world of books and all there by a single click.

Okay, I admit, I'm a book addict. I can't get enough books. I have bookshelves all through my house. Shelves of old favorites to be read again and again. Shelves of history books. I absolutely love reading history. Shelves of classics. I've been reading classics since I was a kid and still love them. Shelves of art books. Yep, I love to paint (landscapes and still-lifes in oils or acrylics), so art books and art magazines are a must. I have bookshelves just for paperbacks and others for hardbacks.

Yep, I'm definitely a book addict. Even though I own more books than I could possibly read in a lifetime, I still buy more. My husband grumbles from time to time. After all, he doesn't enjoy reading, unless maybe a science or travel magazine from time to time. Though he's a voracious reader on the Internet.  Huh!? And why did I marry a non-reader? Well, that's something I'll have to write about on a later post. Anyway, he grumbles from time to time and then continues to ignore all my books.

Well, I could ramble on and on about books. Suffice to say that I'm disappointed no one wanted to enter my contest for "Moon Over Madness." It's a really fun book, so I hope there are readers out there willing to take a chance on this ebook by a new indie author. The price for "Moon Over Madness" is only .99 cents and it's currently available online at Amazon and Smashwords. My two other books, "Outback Love" and "Jetting Away," are available online at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Sony.

For those who have already taken a chance and have started reading my books, I can't thank you enough. It's nice to know my books are getting read and enjoyed by other readers. For my, as yet, small following, I have many more books in the works. So please check back to hear about my latest releases. I should have two more books out there before the end of the year. One is "Moon Over Mistletoe," a paranormal novella sequel to "Moon Over Madness." I've yet to decide what the second book will be. I have several different books in progress. It will depend on which of my characters insist that their book has to be released next.

Once again, many thanks to my readers. Thank you too for letting me take this time to rant. Oh, before I forget, my ebook, "Jetting Away," is currently a free download on Smashwords and Sony. It should soon be a freebie on Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble. "Jetting Away" is a short story prequel to "Outback Love." As I've mentioned before, they can be read as stand-alone books, though I hope you'll enjoy reading both.

What to Write?

What to write? This is a big question for all writers. Of course, we write what we personally enjoy. That's a given. But often that isn't what others want to read.

I've been studying the book market. Paranormals are big, I mean really big. Vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts and others I still know nothing about are more popular than a sweet romantic comedy or a historical romance.

How many times have I heard the words, "Write what you know." Duh! Then my writing, and the writing of so many other authors, would be sooooo boring. Personal experience is limited, so the corresponding fiction would also be limited.

Write what you love? I love dogs, horses, travel, family, friends, laughter. That sounds like romantic comedy to me. Do I write that? I guess I do. My contemporary romance novel, "Outback Love," and my short story prequel, "Jetting Away," can be considered romantic comedy. So do I keep writing in that genre?

I love romantic/mystery/suspense. In fact, I read a lot of books in that genre. So is that what I should be writing? I guess that's why I'm working on "Murder on Sunday Beach" at this time. I find it difficult to write about blood and gore, so mine is more of a cozy mystery. Will others want to read it? I certainly hope so. Abby Love has so much promise. She's trying to get by in the world. Trying too to hold her sometimes loving, sometimes crazy, often dysfunctional family together. Can she keep her sister, Chelsea, out of jail? Chelsea has been a challenge since day one, when she entered this world, and Abby feels totally responsible for her actions. It doesn't help that Deputy Chase Bodine keeps getting in the way. Of course, Abby doesn't mind looking at Chase, he's a sight to behold. No, Abby doesn't mind looking at Chase, but she sure as heck doesn't want to be confronted and dogged by him. Chase has an attitude and an agenda, both of which conflict with Abby's struggles to hold her small world together. Well, it goes without saying that I will finish writing "Murder on Sunday Beach," the first in my Abby Love Mystery Series.

Now comes another question. Will I write something that would be daring and edgy for me to write? Something so not me? Yep, I'm doing just that. Chantel in "Moon Over Madness" has come charging onto the scene. Chantel is struggling to deny her genetic inheritance. After all, she's only half a witch, from her mother's side, and half what else? Normal? Not exactly! But her college professor father certainly doesn't fit into the witches and warlocks category. So who or what is he? Chantel never wanted to know about that side of her genetics until now, when it matters. The answers are threatening the welfare of those she holds closest to her heart. Then there's the problem of her neighborhood going downhill, big time. What with the new crowd who's moved in, witches next door and vampires down the street. Yep, the neighborhood is going downhill.

As for the question, what to write? I guess I'll write everything I can think of. And the characters who pester me the most will get their book(s) out there first.

ePub of "Jetting Away"

Yea!!! The ePub of "Jetting Away" happened yesterday. It's a short story prequel to my contemporary romance novel, "Outback Love," but it can be read as a stand-alone. "Jetting Away" is available as an ebook at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com.

It's so exciting to now have two books out there. Once again, I'm on a "high" and can't wait to finish writing the next one, "Murder on Sunday Beach." Guess I'd better get busy in order to meet my self-imposed September deadline.

My dogs, Shani and Dude, think I'm spending way too much time writing my books. However, all I had to do is remind them I'm earning money to buy them dog treats. Hey, that's all it took. Now they're taking a mid-day nap and snoring away.

"Jetting Away"

I'm just finishing up writing a short story prequel to "Outback Love." This is the story of what happened in San Francisco that made Priscilla Alexander want to escape to the Australian Outback.

Things were not going well for Priscilla at work. The morning's big meeting was disastrous. At first, Priscilla locked herself up in her high-rise office. Then a co-worker, Darcy, convinced her that she needed to get out of the office for a few hours. Maybe head to the salon to have her hair and nails done?

Priscilla escapes from the office and heads to the salon, stopping en route to buy a couple of yummy donuts from San Fran Donuts. Then she stops at a magazine kiosk and buys a copy of "Travel Adventures Magazine." That's how the escape idea comes about.

A couple weeks later, Priscilla is jetting away to Australia and an unforgettable adventure into the Outback. She's already dreamed about meeting a to-die-for hunk in the Outback. But she isn't looking for any guy, hunk or non-hunk. She doesn't need a Mr. Right. She doesn't need anyone. Priscilla wants to make this escape all on her own. Or does she?

"Jetting Away" should be available on Amazon.com and Smashwords.com in the next few days. It will be offered as a "freebie" eBook download. So don't hesitate to get your free copy of "Jetting Away." You'll want to escape to Australia right along with Priscilla.