One Year Anniversary in my Author Adventure!

On March 1, 2015, I pushed the button to self-publish The Black Swans on Amazon. It has been an exciting year for me and I am very grateful for the blessings that have come my way.

About two years ago I decided to 'retire' from my corporate life, moved to Portland, Maine, and fulfill my dream of becoming a writer. I found that it is a lot harder than I thought. I have learned something new almost every day. I have made mistakes - many mistakes - but see the sentence above about learning something every day.

I have made so many new friends, both in person and around the world on the Internet. And much to my surprise, I found that people were willing and even sometimes eager to read my book. The reviews have been mostly positive, but I appreciate every person who has taken the time to read The Black Swans and leave a review or not. I've been pleased that my book has won a 2015 IndieBRAG medallion and has been selected for as a 2015 Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards Finalist (fingers crossed when they announce the Gold and Silver winners on April 1st). 


I have a lot of fun as admin (along with my besties, Angelique Anderson and Tim Allen) administering the W.A.P.A.T (Write a Paragraph/Poem About This) Facebook Group. We have an enjoyable group of people that use pictures and writing prompts to inspire and prod the muse. There are writing and marketing tips posted daily. And it's all very relaxed and such a good time. https://www.facebook.com/groups/WAPAT/ . 


I was just recently signed by Rambunctious Ramblings Publications Inc. for a book, Icarus Rising, that was inspired by one of the pictures in the W.A.P.A.T. group. I am thrilled about that. The authors and team at RRPI are amazing and I'm so happy to be associated with them. 

I've also relished writing my posts for this blog. Whether a post is about Celtic music for Trad Tuesday, an announcement about a fellow author's new book, or a book review, I hope that it is a post that entertains and educates my blog readers. 
I've been asked to write book reviews for Fantasy World emag https://www.facebook.com/Fantasy-Worlds-emag-236364583371916/, and I'm looking forward to it.

In the meantime, I've had a few romance books and short stories come out. I promise that the next book, Applegate Farm, in the Antrim Cycle will be out soon. There are two free short stories to hold you over: The Story of Gilly Flowers and The Oak King and The Holly King.  I love you all, I look forward to exciting years to come, and thank you so much for all that you've given me!

2015 Indie B.R.A.G Medallion Honoree

I am very pleased to announce that I was just informed that The Black Swans has been selected as a 2015 B.R.A.G. Honoree in the Fantasy category.  

This is the criteria that is used for judging:

All ebooks brought to the attention of indieBRAG, LLC are subjected to a rigorous selection process. This entails an initial screening to ensure that the author's work meets certain minimum standards of quality and content. This initial screening may involve a review of sample chapters available on Amazon.com (or other on-line booksellers), or portions of the nominated ebook. IndieBRAG, LLC reserves the right to reject an ebook during this initial screening assessment for any reason in indieBRAG, LLC's sole discretion. If it passes this preliminary assessment, it is then read by members drawn from our global reader group. They judge the merits of the book based on a comprehensive list of criteria, including: Plot, Writing Style, Characters, Copy Editing, Dialogue, and Cover/Interior Layout.

One final factor our readers use to judge a book is whether or not they would recommend it to their best friend.

On average, 50% of the books submitted to us fail to pass the initial screen and another 40% are subsequently rejected by our readers. Thus, only 10% of the books we consider are awarded our B.R.A.G. Medallion and are presented on our website. Conversely, we do not make public the titles of any books that were not selected to receive a Medallion, or the names of their authors.

Link to IndieBrag

Vacation in the Oxford Hills - Norway Lake

The Oxford Hills are full of lakes and ponds, lovely clear water filled with fish and waterfowl. Residents take advantage of them for sport and recreation. The largest is Long Lake over in Harrison, but I based Antrim Lake in The Black Swans on Lake Pennesseewassee, or Norway Lake as it's often called.

There are ducks, geese, loons, and alls sorts of waterfowl to enjoy.

Many of the lakes are stocked and abound with togue, salmon, bass, cusk, pickerel, and sunnies for the little ones to catch and release. There is all sorts of boating, both motor, jet ski, and sailing. In winter, there is snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and ice skating.

And there is swimming of course. My children would be in the water at ice-out, shivering and blue. In summer, the top layers will warm up, but a deep dive on a hot day is the best cure for cooling off.

Come to the Oxford Hills with the entire family and enjoy yourself year round. Maybe you'll even see some black swans!

New Free Short Story in the Antrim Cycle

Isabella MacDonnell lives in the small town of Antrim, Maine. Will she find mystery and magic when she visits her neighbor, Gilly Flowers, one summer morning?

Amazon	http://www.amazon.com/Story-Gilly-Flowers-Short-Antrim-ebook/dp/B013X9771Y
B&N	http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-story-of-gilly-flowers-nw-moors/1122537261?ean=2940152096965
iBooks	https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-story-of-gilly-flowers/id1031048703?mt=11
Kobo	https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-story-of-gilly-flowers

The Fairy Hills of County Antrim, Ireland

The Fae, or aes sídhe, are the fairy folk that live under fairy mounds in northern Ireland. In many Irish tales, they are said to be the remnants of the Tuatha de Danann, the mythic gods of ancient Ireland. The Tuatha de Danann retreated to the fairy mounds after their defeat by the Milesians and live there still in splendor.

 I've visited a famous fairy hill called Tiveragh in Cushendall, county Antrim. The north of Ireland has many of these mounds and there are many strange stories about them. Fairy hills are often marked by a rowan or hawthorn tree that often have a small hole allowing the wee folk entrance. Humans who go down those holes may never be seen again or worse may appear several hundred years later with all their family and friends dead and gone. 

In The Black Swans Taisie, Owen, and Gilly use a fairy mound in the Other World to find their way to the court of Queen Maeb to save Conn and the other black swans.

Joseph Noel Paton abt 1849

Paranormal Romance Blog Hop Excerpt from The Black Swans

Taisie took a deep breath and dove in, breaking through the water cleanly. The further down she went, the colder the water and at a sudden shiver, she rose back to the surface and flipped onto her back, letting her arms and legs splay out and float. She lifted her right hand to her face, looking at the sparkle of the silicon from the water on her skin reflected by the sunlight. It would gradually dry and fall off her skin, but the small pieces of mica would stay on her clothes and in her hair. She wouldn’t be able to wash it off until she got home tomorrow. Well, maybe she’d hike back down tonight if Conn didn’t show up before sundown. She had the flashlight if it got dark and she could take a quick shower at the farm and then stop at his cottage.

There was a splash behind her and she flipped her feet down, turning to see the black swan that had landed on the water.  The bird arched his neck, dipping his head down to the water, half turning away from her. But Taisie let out a delighted laugh, and she splashed at the bird. Conn, for surely it was him, backpedaled in the water, as if surprised by the sudden attack, but then tilted his head, black eyes studying her. Suddenly, he flew at her, scooping water at her with his head, drenching her face and shoulders. Then he flew across the pond and turned back to eye her reaction. She sputtered and wiped the water out of her face, then ducked under the water and swam towards him. She exploded back up, splashing water in his direction. He let out a squawk, fluttering his wings, drops of water splashing everywhere.

The girl and the swan glided and dove back and forth, playing and spraying water at each other, not conscious of any oddity in the situation. Finally tiring, Taisie treaded water, taking deep breathes and blowing bubbles out while she watched Conn swim slowly towards her. She reached out and stroked his head, trailing her hand down the arc of his neck through the silky feathers. At first he looked away, as if he could not bear her scrutiny, but bit by bit Conn turned towards her. They stayed in this tableau for a moment, then Taisie took her hand back and lazily swam to the lower lip of the quarry. She climbed out and turned back to say to the swan, “I’m getting cold. I’m going to get dressed. Wait here for a moment.”

Visit the rest of the authors in the Give Us Your Best Excerpt: Paranormal Romance Blog Hop!

1.	Precious Monsters	2.	The Antrim Cycle
3.	Barefoot at Midnight	4.	Ani Gonzalez
5.	Marilyn Vix's: Stories From My Soul Blog	6.	Lisa Kessler's Blog
7.	Allison Merritt	8.	Marci Baun
9.	Paranormal Romance That Sizzles	10.	From Invisible to Indie-Author
11.	Cassandra's Journey	12.	Author Sherry Soule
13.	Wicked Red Stories	14.	Robin Wainwright
15.	Defender of the Realms	16.	Selena Kitt
17.	Rose Wynters	18.	Stormie Kent
19.	Michelle Irwin	20.	Regina Shiderly Erotica Author
21.	Lucy Felthouse	22.	Lily Harlem
23.	Victoria Blisse	24.	Lisa Medley
25.	Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles	26.	Tasha's Thinkings
27.	Michelle Howard Writes	28.	Lorraine Pearl
29.	Aimee Easterling	30.	Claudia King
31.	Kenzi Kreel	32.	C. Marie Bowen
33.	Holley Trent	34.	Talina Perkins
35.	Rebecca Writes Romance	36.	Ashley Andrews
37.	Valerie Zambito	38.	Stacy Claflin, Author
39.	Alexis Duran	40.	Edward Hoornaert
41.	Wittegen Press Blog

Literary World Trip

What a fun idea for a blog! The Black Swans is featured today!

Book/Scene Location: Naples Causeway, Naples, Maine, USA

What happens there? The Naples Causeway is between Long Lake and Brandy Pond in the western part of Maine. There is a steam paddle-wheeler boat and all sorts of other water ventures as well as restaurants, gift shops, and other recreational activities.

Link to Literary World Trip

Announcement - new distribution!

The Black Swans is now available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, and other major outlets as well as Amazon.

Link to B&N

Link to Kobo

Link to iBooks

Link to Amazon

A Big Thank You!

A big thanks to all my readers and supporters - over 50 reviews on Amazon and ranking on the same lists with Neil Gaiman, Diana Galbadon, and Mercedes Lackey among others.

To Celebrate The Black Swans is on sale this week .99

Link on Amazon

Vacation in the Oxford Hills - Fairs Edition

Spinning angora from the rabbit on her lap

In The Black Swans Taisie and Conn meet for the first time at a fair. Maine is known for its summer fairs. There is a fair every weekend in some part of the state and crowds of people head to them for fun days of rides, food, agricultural exhibits, and horse racing. The fair season culminates every year in the Oxford Hills at the Fryeburg Fair, maybe the biggest one of them all.

Trying the rockers

Over the years I've been to most of these fairs. The fair in the book is an amalgamation of these, but the fair most like that in the book is the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA)'s Common Ground Fair held on the third weekend in September. It is my very favorite fair. The food is fantastic although if you want a coffee or caffeinated drink you're out of luck - the food is all natural and delicious. There is every type of food you can imagine: Indian, turkey legs, pie, gyros, and so on. There are exhibits over the three days ranging from sheep herding to building a sustainable community to choosing the right fleece. The classes and lectures are great. There's entertainment for everyone with many artists, craftsmen, and musicians. There's a separate childrens area where they can play games and do crafts. There are no rides excepting some horse-drawn wagons, but I don't think anyone misses them at all.

Cross Pollination

Pictures all from 2014 Common Ground Fair







Maine fair schedule  - http://www.mainefairs.org/fairs.html

Bean Hole Beans are the best

Schedule for upcoming Blog Tour

April 27 Interview

Roxanne’s Realm

www.roxannerhoads.com

April 27 Guest blog

The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom

www.creativelygreen.blogspot.com

April 28 Guest blog

Fang-tastic Books

www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

April 29 Spotlight

3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, and Sissy, Too!  http://3partnersinshopping.blogspot.com

April 29 Interview

Deal Sharing Aunt

www.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com

April 30 Spotlight

Hywela Lyn

http://www.hywelalyn.blogspot.co.uk/

April 30 Spotlight

alwaysjoart

http://alwaysjoart.blogspot.com/

May 1 Character Interview

Author Karen Swart

www.authorkarenswart.blogspot.com

May 1 Spotlight

Lisa’s World of Books

www.lisasworldofbooks.net

May 4 Interview

Eclipse Reviews

www.totaleclipsereviews.blogspot.com

May 4 Review

Fanatical Paranormal Romantical

http://fanaticalparanormalromantical.com/

Another Adventure in the Oxford Hills - plan your vacation in Maine!

The Black Swans takes place in the fictional town of Antrim, Maine which is based in the western part of the state in the Oxford Hills. Taisie takes a hike up the hill behind her parents' farm. At the top is a quarry where she and Conn swim and camp out.

In the Oxford Hills there are many beautiful hiking trails, but my favorite is the family-friendly trek up Singepole Mountain. My sister and my nephew (Matt was about 7 yrs old at the time) hiked up Singepole many years ago for the first time. Since then I've hiked up multiple times as well as four-wheeled it on one memorable trip.

At the top is a quarry where we have had picnics, swam, and picked blueberries. The view of Norway/South Paris is spectacular. And yes, after swimming, you do come out all sparkly from the mica in the water. This was way before Edward Cullen and the Twilight series and has nothing to do with vampires.

Review of The Black Swans from Markus Book Reviews

I was very pleased to wake up to this nice review.

https://sumnertales.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/review-the-black-swans/

Time to plan a vacation in the Oxford Hills!

The Black Swans takes place in the imaginary town of Antrim, Maine which is placed in the not so imaginary region of the Oxford Hills in western Maine. 

Conn and Taisie have their first date at the nearby Causeway which is based on the real Causeway in Naples, Maine which lies between Long Lake and Brandy Pond (on the way to Sebago Lake). It's a great area for families with a lot of activities for everyone to do. There's boating, jet skis, the Songo River Queen, tons of restaurants, golf and sea planes.

It's a great place to visit and to learn about the area that inspired Antrim, Maine.

Among the many restaurants is Rick's which in The Black Swans has been renamed Jimmy's

Capt Jack's at the Naples Marina has food and all sorts of water sports

The Songo River Queen will take the whole family for a ride up Long Lake.

Book Sale!

The Black Swans is on sale for .99 - Get your copy now!
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Swans-Tale-Antrim-Cycle/dp/B00U6I9PUC/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1427114622&sr=8-1&keywords=the+black+swans

Conn and Taisie

When I'm writing I try to visual the people as someone else I might have met or know because they're famous in some other way. Conn and Taisie were always Michael Praed and Judi Trott from the BBC series Robin of Sherwood.