Thursday, January 31, 2013

Finding New Shows, Years Later

Is is just me, or do you also find yourself discovering  a new series, only to discover it's been on for years?  Falling Skies is my latest discovery, and I have to ask how in the world did I miss this one?  I mean aliens invading earth and I miss it, come on!  I found this one thanks to Amazon Prime, and I have to say it's incredible.  Imagine alien invasion, the human race fighting to survive, tons of action and enough drama to even keep a romantic watching, then you have Falling Skies.

I did the same thing with the Walking Dead and Lost.  I mean sure I'd heard about both those shows (unlike Falling Skies) but never really thought I'd enjoy them.  All it took was watching the season premiere for both of them, and I was hooked!  I have to admit it's kind of nice not to have to sit through the commercials when you watch them on Amazon or Netflix.

Now this one might be a shocker, but when Vampire Diaries came out, I really didn't like it.  The first season I watched two shows then stuck up my nose.  This year I went back and watched from the beginning and now don't miss a Thursday night.  I know this is going to break Eric's heart, but I like Vampire Diaries more  than True Blood!  The writing behind this series is what really pulled me in.  Ball, so sorry, but the way he portrayed Sookie, Eric, and Bill just made me want to hurl and the story-lines became so cheesy that I forced myself to watch just to look at Alexander Skarsgard.  Vampire Diaries has the great plot line, yes you can stone me now.  True Blood gets a last chance with me this year because they have a new director.  I don't know if he plans on fixing the mess Ball made of this show, but I'll chance it.

Another big shocker is I've fallen away from American Idol.  I thought that show was incredible when it first began, but without Simon, meh, it's just not as much fun for me.  Sure I still think it's great that unknown talent gets picked up, but bring back the drama.  Oddly enough I couldn't make myself get interested in Simon's other show the Voice, and I tried.

Who knows maybe I'm going through an almost midlife crisis?  Lately my entertainment needs have changed.  So what's caught your eye so far?  Maybe you can fill me in so I don't have to wait and find it on Netflix a few years from now!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Story of Rachel - K.D. Mclean

The Story of Rachel


Rachel Collins is praying. And not for world peace. Thirty six years old and single, her prayer is self-centered. "Kill me now, Lord," she pleads during her latest attempt to meet Mr. Right via the internet. 

She’s not hoping for a billionaire or even a millionaire, just a guy who can strike a spark to her tinder! Is she asking too much? She's a great gal! Just ask her parents! She might be a bit naive about some things, but capable enough- she's a correspondent for a major magazine, after all. So there! 

On assignment she meets Michael, 42 years old, also a writer. The attraction is immediate and intense. Rachel, who sees vanilla as only a baking ingredient, enchants him. Michael can whip up some pretty hot delights himself, outside of the kitchen. He introduces a curious Rachel to powerful experiences of sensuality. Her Ladylike sense of propriety engages in a running battle with her now sparked Tinderbox desires. 

Michael is an excellent cook and knows how to turn up the heat. Sampling the flavors offered, Rachel experiences humorous hiccups. On a date, Michael ramps up the risqué, resulting in a memorable skirt swirling salsa dance. Rachel's "What the hell, I ain't getting any younger" attitude spurs Michael to take her to the exclusive, adults only club Pandora's. Here, Rachel witnesses even more variations of earthly delights, and begins a lifelong friendship with another guest. 

Michael is a realist, convinced that within 90 days, his affair with Rachel will be but another painful memory of loss. He is neither willing nor able to yell 'Geronimo' and fall for her. He can't, and that's that. 

Maybe he should just get a damn dog. 

This modern, urban, grown up love story is a recipe –three cups romance and one cup of slapdash humor. Blend in spices of eroticism, and beat until smooth.

Tears of Crimson Review


Finally someone wrote a book for women above the college age and this is one hot read!  This book kept me reading until the last page, and didn't disappoint at all.  The characters are extremely well developed and this isn't the sugar-coated plot that seems to be finding it's way into the majority of romance books today.  It has depth and personality and will be one of those books that I read again.  McLean, knows how to tell a story and pulled me in emotionally from the beginning.  Five stars for the Story of Rachel and I'm looking forward to more great reads in the future from this author.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Angela's Salvation - Pure Inspiration

When inspiration hits, I've always believed you have to follow wherever it leads, and that's exactly what happened with Angela's Salvation.  With an already back logged work list for the year, I definitely wasn't looking to add another project to my task list, but this one refused to sit back quietly and wait for me to finish other works.

Angela's Salvation follows former runaway, Angela Wilkerson on her path to trying to reach the elusive dream of stardom.  At seventeen she ran away from home to escape an abusive stepfather, and lived on the streets of New York until she was rescued by a woman who raised her out of the tragic past her life was embarking on.

At twenty-one now, Angela had beaten the odds for a typical runaway and had managed to get her GED and was working in a local nightclub as a waitress where she performed on open mic nights.  When Overnight Sensation, a well known televised talent competition came to town, her best friend and roommate encouraged her to audition.

Making it through the first round of competitions, Angela has the opportunity to reach that elusive dream of stardom, if she can overcome the past insecurities life has forced her to suffer with because of her abuse.  When she meets Nolan Fitzgerald, owner of the top recording label in the United States and Director of the number one talent showcase, a chance at becoming a star and believing for the first time she can feel something besides loathing for the opposite sex, both become possibilities.

Nolan has a dark secret of his own, which has helped him earn the title of snarkiest genius in the music industry.  He sees something in Angela that screams star potential and the ticket to his next greatest achievement, but he never counted on falling for the broken angel.  With his own demons to fight, taking the beautiful gift she offers could destroy the fragile hold he helps her create to make it through one of the toughest competitions of her life.

Angela's Salvation is a contemporary romance that explores the possibilities of two ravaged souls struggling to believe they are worthy to be loved.  Debuting in 2013, this is the first solo title I've attempted since 2011.




Tuesday, January 22, 2013

David M. Rountree (Author, Lecturer, Paranormal Researcher)

David M. Rountree 

(Author, Lecturer, Paranormal Researcher)

David is a professional member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Audio Engineering Society, the International Frequency Sensor Association, and is also affiliated with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He was recently invited to join the Mathematics Association of America.



Thank you so much David, for taking time out of your busy schedule to sit down and talk with us today at Tears of Crimson.  You have a pretty impressive resume, and I was wondering if you could tell us how you first became interested in Paranormal Research?

You are certainly welcome! When I was 6 years old, My grandfather came to me and said goodbye in my room. It wasn't too unusual because he lived about five houses down from my parents house. What was odd is that he didn't seem to be suffering from the paralysis he had from a stroke when he was in his 40’s, and he didn't have his leg brace on. In the morning I told my mom and she looked at me strange and told me he had died during the night. When I was 8, my parents moved to Florida (but I managed to find them!) and my next door neighbor was a retired professor and pattern maker. He had a library of paranormal books and I read them all. I was hooked. I decided to tailor my education in a realm that would help me to study the phenomena and possibly one day understand it.


I noticed that your main focus is on EVP Research (Electronic Voice Phenomenon), could you tell our readers why you choose to focus on this, and maybe explain a little bit more about what exactly this is?
I noted on your site that you said you were experimenting with injecting energy into a paranormal event horizon using Tesla Coil technology in order to observe and record the effects.  Could you explain more about that to the lay person, and your results?


When I began my research in 1976, the term “EVP” had not been coined yet. They were known then as Raudive Voices, named after Dr. Konstantīns Raudive (1909–1974), a Latvian researcher into the field of electronically detected voices.  In 1964, Raudive read Friedrich Jürgenson's book, Voices from Space, and was so impressed by it that he arranged to meet Jürgenson in 1965. He then worked with Jürgenson to make some EVP recordings, but their first efforts bore little fruit, although they believed that they could hear very weak, muddled voices. 

According to Raudive, however, one night, as he listened to one recording, he clearly heard a number of voices. When he played the tape over and over, he came to believe he understood all of them. He thought some of which were in German, some in Latvian, some in French. The last voice on the tape, according to Raudive, a woman's voice, said "Va dormir, Margarete" ("Go to sleep, Margaret"). His research was rather flawed though because lacking a general understanding of electronics, he employed diodes instead of microphones to detact these voices. Unfortunately, a diode will demodulate audio off of an RF carrier, so it is very possible that most of his voices were from radio broadcasts. 

But I stray… EVP was first coined by author Colin Smythe, and not by Raudive. But these voices could not be heard without the use of electronic recording equipment. This led me to believe that it was not sound, or any other form of mechanical energy, but instead that it was caused by Electromagnetic fields in the audio spectrum being picked up by the voice coil in the microphones. I was able to prove that it was not sound in 1976, but I did not have the technology to prove that it was an electromagnetic field until around 2001. But it is precisely because this was the first discovered phenomenon that was quantifiable, that I concentrated on its study for possible clues to the nature of paranormal activity.

It's very apparent from your work that you focus a great deal on science with your research.  The average Joe public, appears to have cast paranormal research into a category of fantasy.  What would you say to those people that don't see your type of research as scientific?

I tell them to go back to school. And to pay attention this time. I believe it is the duty of science to investigate the unexplained, not explain the uninvestigated. The only way to meaningfully do this is by employing the scientific method. No, not say you use the scientific method, I mean actually practice it. By making an observation, developing a hypothesis to explain it, then designing an experiment to test your hypothesis, then repeating these steps with modification is the only way to determine what is really going on. Then, others need to replicate your work and experience similar findings. This is how theories form. Theories are the precursor to Laws. Nothing in our universe that we can experience is outside of the laws of physics. By employing the scientific method, we can discover how those laws are utilized in this phenomena, and arrive at an explanation based on science, not folklore.

Could you tell our readers a little more about the equipment you use in your research?  And what results you are attempting to discover?


Much of the equipment we use is assembled from off the shelf items bundled together as an apparatus. The configurations are designed by my to capture, record and document specific conditions and changes that occur in the environment when paranormal phenomena is observed. When I discovered that EVP was created by EMF, this then led to where does the EMF come from? What is its source? This in turn led to the discovery that the EMF that creates EVP is an emerging phenomenon, meaning that it emerges into our environment from points unknown. This led to my wormhole hypothesis, and now wormhole theory. 

My wormhole theory predicts that prior to a paranormal event, a conduit forms between our universe and an adjacent universe that is based on pure energy, while ours is based on matter and energy, which are interchangeable. This conduit is held stable by the addition of exotic matter (matter with a negative mass) which it picks up making the connection from the insulating material that exists between these universes.  As the throat forms in our universe, a paranormal event horizon forms, where the paranormal events take place. To make a long story short, while the wormhole is in place, energy and information can freely travel back and forth through this conduit. This could also explain “residual haunting”. Since a wormhole, or Einstein/Rosen Bridge is a conduit through space-time, it can connect two places in space, or in time, or both. A residual haunting is merely a telescope to the past, allowing us to observe a historical event conducted by real living people at the time it historically takes place. We observe this on the holographic boundary of the wormhole. There is more on this  at http://www.spinvestigations.org/research.html


To date, what has been your most positive research result, and how has that event been instrumental in your desire to continue your efforts?

Hands down it is my discovery that EMF is an emerging phenomena that can create EVP.

What would you say to those who feel like paranormal research is a waste of time and effort?

I would tell them to stay away from the field. We need serious researchers who can perform objectively and maintain an open but skeptical point of view.

While our main focus in this interview is about you, are their other people involved with your research that you'd like to mention?

Of course, I owe my success to the fact that I have stood on the shoulders of giants. ;-) My Assistant Director, and research associate John Keegan, who has a background in Chemistry has been a great help both in the thought experiment phase and the physical experiment phase, as well as the analysis and think tanking. John is not only an aA-1 investigator, he is a fantastic scientist as well. And a critic. It’s a good mix. Additionally, There is my fiance’ Tracy Ray, who has assisted in this research, and been a guinea pig for our research into the medium mechanic, and the correlation between Fibromyalgia and mediums. Her insight has been priceless and her willingness to be a test subject superb. There are also the countless other organizations who replicate our work, such as Revenant Research. It takes a team to make discoveries.

I notice that you have devoted a section on your site to Quantum Physics. Could you explain a little more about what this entails to our readers?


Quantum mechanics (QM – also known as quantum physics, or quantum theory) is a branch of theoretical physics that explains the behavior of physical phenomena at microscopic scales, where the action is on the order of the Planck constant. Quantum mechanics departs from classical mechanics primarily at the quantum realm of atomic and subatomic length scales. Quantum mechanics provides a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. But why this is important to our research is the fact that we are observing Quantum effects at a macro level in paranormal phenomena. 

QM encompasses three of the four fundamental forces of the universe. The Lesser Nuclear Force, the greater Nuclear Force and Electromagnetic Force. General physics only encompasses the fourth force, Gravity. Because there is no GUT or Grand Unifying Theory, Gravity remains unconnected to the other three forces, hence the search for the grand Theory of Everything to unite them. It may be that by studying paranormal phenomena we find the missing connection to gravity from the other three. So its important to understand what you observe, and by understanding QM we can understand observations deemed “paranormal”.


We'd love to keep up with your work, where can our readers find out more about what you do?


The best place of course is my website, http://www.spinvestigations.org  but we also have a presence on FB at https://www.facebook.com/spirit.lab  and we have a group think tank at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/110209042351887/
As well as personal profiles http://www.facebook.com/david.m.rountree
(which is full, no friend slots left) and http://www.facebook.com/david.m.rountree
And just Google me, and listen to my archived interviews.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today David.  Please feel free to come back any time and share new findings with us here at Tears of Crimson!

Thank you for taking the time to read what I am doing!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Paranormal Research

Paranormal Research has always fascinated me, even if I'll admit I'm pretty much a chicken about doing any on my own.  Some of you that have read this blog for a while might recall that I grew up in a haunted house, and have had my own personal experiences with the supernatural.  The house that my grandmother owned, haunted three generations of our family, so we had no doubt that there was more to the world than what you can only see and touch.

To this day, I still have a hard time being alone even though I no longer am visited by such supernatural entities.  I discovered that if you choose, you can train you mind to not tune into your surroundings.  For me it was a conscious choice because of the nightmares that plagued me when I was able to hear and speak with these beings.

There are those of us that can handle dealing with the paranormal on a full time basis, and then people like me that decide they'd rather not know what's sharing space with them.  Even writing this article, I feel like I'm stepping over a boundary that keeps the paranormal from my life.  My hat is definitely off to people that do this on a daily basis and still have their sanity.  I'd love to hear from you about how you deal with the daily bombarding from the spirit world!

In recent years it has become acceptable to use the gifts of being a researcher, but when I was growing up it was still pretty much frowned upon.  There are online schools that teach parapsychology, and a few lucky people have created great shows from their ability to speak with the dead.  Personally there is very little that I don't believe in even if I haven't seen it with my own eyes.  Having an open mind was never a choice for me growing up, and in my adult years I've found it's much better to accept that anything can be possible.

I'm opening Tears of Crimson to any paranormal researcher that would like to come share their stories.  You can email us here. Any type of research from Spirits, Aliens, or Legends will be accepted.  Take a few minutes and come talk to our readers about what you discovered.  Also, if there are any subject you'd like to have researched, please feel free to email us and we will try to get those questions to the right source.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Self Publishing to Success Part II

Knowing how to categorize your books is a very important element in your success as an author.  If there is one thing that has pushed the Tears of Crimson Books up the rankings, it's learning that skill.  Since Amazon is where we sell best, that's what we're going to focus on when it comes to categorization.  Learning this now will save you tons of time later on.

Head on over to Amazon, and take a look at the categories available.  Since I'm most familiar with romance, that's what I'm going to use as an example.  If you're writing in another genre, you can use your topic, just remember there are several different classifications that any book can fall under.

I always start with Bestsellers, because that's the place I want all my books to end up at.  So if I go to the bestseller list, and then click on romance, I discover that to even make it to the #100 spot on this list, my book has to be listed at #392 overall.  Eventually that's where I hope to be, but there has to be a method on making it to at least the top #100 romance bestseller spot.  Using other categories is how I'll attempt to do that.  So since Romance is where I want to be that's one of the categories I will list my book in.  Since you can do two, this is where the work comes in.

You'll notice under the romance category, there are several different categories you can use as a secondary choice: African American, Anthologies, Christian, Contemporary, Fantasy & Futuristic, Historical Romance,
Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, Series, Short Stories, Time Travel, Vampires, and Westerns.   The most popular of these is Contemporary Romance, and you'll notice that to reach the top #100, you'd still need to be at #594 paid in the Kindle library.  While that number is a little more accessible, it's still hard to reach, so if you're writing contemporary romance, you still need an edge over all the competition out there.  For me, I thought long and hard about the 10 Nights series, and decided it was also a Drama.

What the Drama category allowed me to do was get visibility in a top #100 category that I wasn't going to get under Contemporary Romance.  Since I don't know what type of book you've written, I can't tell you exactly which category your book may fall under, and you'll have to research that on your own.  The top #100 book in Drama is #24,642 overall in the paid Kindle library.  Do you see the huge difference in numbers there?  So instead of having to be number #562 in paid books, I've now opened up an avenue that will allow me to have a bestseller in Drama when I reach number #24,642 instead.

This becomes important because Amazon's own system will work for you when you reach that top #100 in any category.  With the first 10 Nights book, it was the #1 American Drama which gave it huge visibility and gave a September earning of over $17,000.  What being in that top ranking does is increases your books chances of being seen on the right side of the page as a "Hot New Release" which is going to give you the visibility you need for readers to find you.

The best advice I can give to you about finding categories that work for your book, is to research the top #100 bestselling list of the categories your book might be considered as, and check the number #100 spot.  It will tell you exactly how high you have to be ranked to be in that bestselling category.  Whichever category has the highest ranking at the #100 spot, and your book can still fall under, that's the choice you should go with.  As an example here's the top #100 spot in Drama today: Romeo and Juliet  #24,042 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Arts & Entertainment > Theater > Stagecraft
#9 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > World Literature > British > Shakespeare
#9 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Drama > British & Irish

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Managing Time as an Author

Time management as an author, can mean the difference between success and failure.  One of the biggest interference's as an author is the one thing that you use to help promote your work, social media.  I can only speak from personal experience, but it's very easy for me to get caught up talking to friends on Facebook and Twitter, when I know I should be writing, and this was causing countless hours of time to be pulled away from my work.

The best suggestion I can give when it comes to writing and time management, is to start your time on the computer by writing, and not dealing with social media until your allotted time for writing is complete.  Make a goal about how many hours (or minutes) you want to spend on writing daily, and stick to it.  Until that goal has been met don't open up the social media outlets that draw you in.  If you're anything like me, this is not an easy task to accomplish. So many interesting things are going on with my friends, and I felt like I was missing out on everything for the first week I decided to do this.  Granted, I might be a little bit of an addict.

Before my third book, I admit I didn't take my writing as seriously as I should have.  These days I have a set schedule though.  With two series ongoing, I don't have time to not take this seriously anymore.  It's much easier to develop these habits from the beginning instead of backtracking.  If you don't want to set aside a certain amount of time, at least consider setting a word count that you need to fulfill each day.  Whichever way works for you, it's going to change how much writing you're getting done.

Prior to the 10 Nights books, I never understood that you have to keep writing and not promote as much.  What no one seemed to make clear when they said keep writing, was that sooner or later if you write enough, you will find the audience for your books.  That could mean writing six or more books, or you might get lucky with the first.  No matter what anyone else tells you, luck is a very big part of success as a writer.  My advice is to write, and write even more.  The more material you have out there, the better chance of success you have.

To make the point, I started writing the Tears of Crimson series, thinking that this was all I wanted to write about, vampire romance.  To prove the point, the vampire romance proved to be a hard sale, while the new series sold with very little promotion at all.  So even though I think the Tears of Crimson Series is some of my best work, the market was more interested in BDSM Romance and that's what has sold.  I also firmly believe that there is a time and place for all book, depending on what the current interest is for readers.  With the Fifty Shades phenomenon, the 10 Nights series just happened to be the right books at the right time.

Since no one can predict what trend will happen next, it's more important than ever to continue writing.  I also believe in expanding in your writing.  As a romance author, I may not travel outside that comfort zone, but there are plenty of different avenues I can take within the romance genre.  Whatever genre you enjoy, I'm sure you can find different categories inside that topic.  No matter what you write about, managing your time while doing it is imperative.

Creating a schedule on your own terms can get you in the mode of writing daily.  Even if you are juggling a full time job, you can set aside at least an hour a day to focus on your craft.  If writing is something you truly want to do, you will find a way to manage it.  I started this by asking myself what I was willing to give up to pursue my writing career.  For me it was giving up a few hours of social media fun.  What it all boils down to is how much do you want this?  If it's your dream to be an author, then you will find a way to make it work for you.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Call of Duty - An addicting game


Let me start off by saying I'm not a gamer, but when it comes to Call of Duty Black Ops II I'm irrevocably hooked.  It's the only video game I play, and it all started with the first Call of Duty.  The thought of actually being in a war is not something I'd even want to consider, but there's just something about this game that makes it addicting, even for a peace-loving mom like myself.

Before this game I couldn't have told you what an PDW gun was, I was doing pretty good knowing the difference between a shotgun and a rifle.  Considering I was raised around hunters, and even married one, it's somewhat amazing that it took a game to teach me about them. As a romance writer, and a lover of all things happily ever after, you may wonder why I decided to blog today about this game.  The truth is it's become my second addiction, writing being the first of course.

Since I'm not really a gamer, I can't tell you if the graphics are any better than other fighting games, but I can say playing this one makes your blood pump and I find myself getting angry when my kill streaks aren't as good as they should be.  I've met a lot of other females that play this game as well, which I have to admit shocked me.  I just assumed that these types of games would be played by guys who wanted to be war heroes.  My oldest son, who has been in competitions for games definitely doesn't fit the bill of wanting to be a war hero either, and he isn't big on hunting either.  So obviously this game appeals to people from all walks of life.

If you have an XBox Live account and want to play, you can find me under TearsofCrimsonV.  Just be forewarned that I get pretty angry when people camp out and I have a mic!  Seriously though, this game has brought hours of entertainment and given me and my adult son something we enjoy together.  There is also a Zombie aspect of the game, although I don't play that one much.  The Zombie game play somewhat freaks me out and to be honest I can't seem to get the skill level to play it.

For fans of Tears of Crimson, don't worry I won't be writing any war books anytime soon.  There's very little romance in my opinion about running around shooting people.  It's a great stress relief though, and when I need to back away from writing, you'll usually find me playing in Domination. Domination is one of my favorite parts of the game.  The objective is to capture three points and keep them away from enemies.  The only issue I have with the game at all is that there are no female soldiers.  It would be nice to customize your own character for the game.

This game is definitely for an adult crowd, and I wouldn't suggest letting your younger children play live because of the adult language and calling cards some of the players are using.  I've noticed that more than a few players use some language when they are into the game play that I definitely wouldn't want my little people picking up on.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Self-Publishing Your Way to Success


Basics for self-publishing your way to success.  These are a few things, that in my opinion, you must have.   A website, facebook page, twitter account, and a feed 140 account.  Without those things, again in my opinion, you're just wasting your time.  I also recommend accounts on Goodreads, Pinterest, and Triberr.  I'll go into detail about each of these, because they are that important.

When we talk about a website, what we're really discussing is your online portfolio.  I personally use Blogger, because I'm more familiar with it, but what you use is up to you.  Blogger offers a free account, but I suggest strongly you visit Go Daddy, or whatever net company you like, and set up a dot com.  I mention Go Daddy because with Blogger it's easiest to integrate.

Your blog or website should be easy to navigate, give a professional biography, and showcase your book(s) on the front page.  This is where you will send every contact and hopefully encourage them to sign up for your monthly newsletter.  We'll get into the newsletter soon and why it's so important. 

The website doesn't need to be fancy, but it does need to look professional.  Every person you send to this site will get an impression of you and your work from it.  I'm not artistic in the least, but I've managed to create my own blog, which means I know you can do it just as easily.  If you have the extra money to toss around, by all means pay a professional if you feel you must.

For your website, outside of showcasing your book and bio, make sure you have a place where anyone who visits can sign up to receive your emails.  For an email program that lets you add up to 2,000 contacts, you can use http://www.tinyletter.com for free.  If you are just starting out this is a great program to use.  Once you visit the site you'll find that they offer a subscribe link and code to add to your website.

A facebook page is the second most important thing you can do for your books.  Even if you already have a personal facebook account (if not you're going to have to create one for this to work) having a separate page for your work is crucial! Setting up a page is relatively easy. http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php start here and create your page under artist, band or public figure.  As with your website, create a professional page that showcase your book(s).

The next hurdle is your Twitter account, and the reason it is so important is it becomes your 24/7 advertising agent that works to promote you even when you're not there!  As with everything you do as an author, this page needs to be professional.  I won't spend time showing you how to make a professional twitter page, because there is tons of information out on the web on how to do this easily.  Just type in Twitter landing page in your search browser for hundreds of ideas.

Feed 140 is going to go hand in hand with your Twitter account to automate your tweets and start working as your personal campaign advisor.  I suggest writing out fifty tweets at 80 characters that promote your book.  You'll find once you reach the site there is a button called a playlist, this is where you want to add your tweets.  While you're there you'll have the opportunity to make those tweets to replay as often as you like.  This has been a very successful component of my promotions.

Just a few ideas to get you started.  If you have questions, feel free to email us at Tears of Crimson by using the email button.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Finally Friday Friends

We've made it through another week!  Whatever your plans are for the weekend, I hope they rock your world!  We're winding down from the after Holiday insanity around Tears of Crimson and really working to make 2013 a great year.  We wanted to give a heads up that our schedule is open again for all entertainment venues to stop in and talk about your work.

If you'd like to be spotlighted on Tears of Crimson, just send us an email and tell us about your event.  We love sharing your news with all our friends!

The kick off for Beyond 10 Nights was a great success, making it to the bestseller list in less than a week.  Thank you all so much for your help in spreading the word there.  A huge amount of work went into that promotion thanks to Tammy Middleton, and we are enternally greatful for all her help and wanted to give another special shout out to her.

We're working on the third book in the series, but can't give a definite date for release since the third Tears of Crimson book is also in the works.  We promise to release that information here as soon as we have it.

Enough about work!  It's time to enjoy one incredible weekend!  It's FINALLY Friday!  For our Twitter friends,  you might have noticed that we've had to stop doing our follow fridays.  Unfortunately with the suspension of the account last year, we've had to be a little more careful on how many thank you's we send out and since we want to keep in touch with our friends, we had to sacrifice #FF.  Don't think we are thinking about you though!  We love and appreciate all our friends!

Remember that if we can ever do anything for you, our doors are open.  The Tears of Crimson Mansion is all about our friends, so consider our home, your home!  We'll be looking for more ideas from you on what you want to see here, so please keep the emails coming!  Have a great weekend folks!  Lots of love from everyone here at Tears of Crimson!

Friday, January 4, 2013

Evangaline Anderson - A Favorite Author

It's not very often these days that I find a series that is so great that I can't stop discussing it, but that's just what happened with Evangaline Anderson's series Brides of the Kindred!  This is one of the best world developed, and sexy series I've ever found in Science Fiction Romance and I just wanted to share it with all my friends of Crimson.  Let me continue to say that before I read this book, I didn't even think I liked Sci-Fi Romance.  Anderson has definitely changed my opinion on that.

There are seven books in this series, thus far, and I've read each of them.  Let me just warn you now to read one means you have to order the next.  The first book, claimed is available on Amazon now for 99 cents with the other six pricing in at $2.99.

This is definitely a read for adults, and is so spicy hot that there may be scenes that disturb readers who don't enjoy erotica.  Just a heads up!  What makes this series great, on top of the great world building, is the emotions of the characters and the ability to feel like you've just walked into a new world.  You'll fall in love with these characters, trust me.

Blurb:


Brides of the Kindred Book One—Claimed 

Olivia Waterhouse has just graduated from nursing school and has her whole life ahead of her—until she gets drafted. Problem is, she isn’t being forced into the Army, she’s been chosen as a Kindred bride. 

The Kindred are huge alien warriors—a race of genetic traders whose population is ninety-five percent male. After saving Earth from the threat of invasion they demand a reward—the right to find brides among the population. The chances of being chosen are about the same as those of winning the lottery—guess it’s just Liv’s lucky day. 

Baird is a Beast Kindred who recently escaped imprisonment and torture at the hands of the malevolent Scourge. Through the torment and pain only one thing kept him sane—the thought of finding and claiming his bride—Olivia. His need to possess her is a burning intensity that threatens to consume them both.

Angry at having her future and her family taken away from her, Liv vows to fight back the only way she can—by resisting. She has one month on the Kindred Mothership with Baird—their claiming period. If she can keep from having bonding sex with him during that time, she can go home and get on with her life on Earth. 

But Baird isn’t going to make it easy for her. Every week he is allowed to touch Liv more and more intimately and according to the contract she signed, she has to let him. She’s determined to resist him but his touch sets her on fire. And just as she thinks she knows what she wants, a twist of fate and an attack by the faceless Scourge AllFather changes everything…

More about the Brides of the Kindred series
A race of Genetic Traders from beyond the stars
Three very different types of men
All looking for one thing…their brides

Beast Kindred—Savage in battle these dark, brooding warriors from Rageron bring their passion and intensity to the bedroom. They possess a very special endowment that ensures every sexual experience is a tantric one.

Blood Kindred—Cold as ice to their enemies, these tall, blond warriors from Tranq Prime warm up when they find the right woman. But be careful…they bite.

Twin Kindred—Muscular and rugged, these warriors from Twin Moons always come in pairs and cannot be separated. They experience physical pain when parted from each other…or the one woman they both choose to love.

And then there is the enemy…

The Scourge—A genetic trade gone wrong, these menacing outsiders have twisted desires and sexual needs fierce enough to frighten away even the most adventurous. Their need to dominate and possess their women completely has led to a strange prophesy that they must fulfill…or die trying.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Tears of Crimson Updates

As most of you know it's been a little insane around the Tears of Crimson Mansion for the last month, but hopefully (fingers crossed) things are getting back to normal.  We're in the middle of the Forbidden Desires tour (January 1-10) with the debut of the second book in the series, Beyond 10 Nights.  And I know I missed another tour because of personal family issues that always have to come first for me.

Currently, we are working on book three for the Forbidden Desires series, book three of the Tears of Crimson Vampire series, and a new book that's a new subject for us Sci-Fi Romance.  So as you can see we are definitley keeping on our toes around Tears of Crimson!


We didn't get a chance to wish all the Friends of Crimson a Happy New Year, so Happy New Year!  We hope that 2013 is our best year ever and  look forward to sharing some incredible new things with all you wonderful folks!  Our calendar had to be cleared after November 24,2012 for all guest posts, but this is open again after the last blog date tour of January 10, 2013.  One of the things we love doing most is sharing new books and entertainment venues with our friends here.  We do ask that if you submitted books or entertainment venues that didn't get a response, that you resend them now.


We hope you'll take the time to stop in and like Beyond 10 Nights on Amazon,  each time you click like it helps us get the word out to more readers.  100 likes gives us more visibility on Amazon, and you have no idea how much that helps with their categorization.

Thank you again for helping us spread the word about what we're doing here at Tears of Crimson.  It's incredible people like you that allow us to keep doing what we love!
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