Welcome to another Weekend Edition.
It's time for vacation. Where are you headed this summer?
We Have Winners
Contact us at our email address if you are a winner. If you haven't received your prize in 6-8 weeks, per our legal page, drop us a line.
Mary Connealy talked about her "Unbalance Life," on Monday. People ask her how she finds the time to do all the marketing involved with being an author and still get her books written. Add in a husband who likes some attention, four adult daughters who she loves hanging around with, two glorious grandchildren who NEED THEIR GRANDMA!!! A home to maintain and a full time job.So how does she do it all? Here’s the answer. She doesn't. Winner of a signed copy of her June release A Bride for All Seasons is Heidi.
Tuesday we welcome one of our very own Village peeps, Jeanne Takenaka to Seekerville today with her post, "Mining for the Precious in Contest Results." Winner of a Seeker book of choice as available currently on Amazon is Susan Crawford.
We were delighted to have Love Inspired author Winnie Griggs back with us on Tuesday. Winnie talked about "Subtext. What it is and what it can do for your story." Winners of her latest release The Bride Next Door are Rebekah Richmond and Heather Manning.
Harbourlight Books Author Marilyn Leach visited Thursday to share the basics for creating a mystery. Winner of copy of Up From The Grave, or the first book of the series, Candle For A Corpse-winner's choice- is Debra Marvin.
We were excited to have loong time Seeker friend and Grand Central Publishing author, Anne Barton as our guest on Friday. Anne asks, "Where Do Good Writers Come From? Are good writers born or made? Is writing an innate or learned talent?" Winner of a $10 gift card to Amazon or B & N (winner’s choice) is Mary Hicks.
Next Week In Seekerville
Monday: Today Janet Dean talks about writing with clarity in her post entitled "My Two Cents: Worth Every Penny. " Janet will give away a signed copy of her April Love Inspired Historical The Bride Wore Spurs.
Tuesday:Abingdon Press and Heartsong Presents author Myra Johnson is your hostess on Tuesday. Join Myra for "Character Casting Call" and some hands-on practice in searching the Internet for just the right photos to represent your heroes and heroines. Myra will give away winner's choice of one of her Heartsong Presents "Horseman" novels.
Wednesday:OH, NO!!! What happens when your plot thickens … uh ... all the way to concrete?? When historical research or editors lock your story up, how do you get things stirring again? Join Julie Lessman with her experiences and solutions in her Seekervile blog entitled "WHEN THE PLOT THICKENS TO CONCRETE!" A giveaway of choice of Julie's books is included.
Friday: Want to learn how to spice up your writing with the freshness editors crave? Come learn one of the secret ingredients that has propelled Karen Witemeyer's stories to the CBA bestseller lists. Don't miss her post on "The Art of Analogies." She'll be giving away a copy of her latest book, Stealing the Preacher, to one lucky commenter (US residents only).
Seeker Sightings
Julie Lessman Sightings:
1 to 2 PM CST -- WED., June 12, 2013:
WHOO-HOO ... Come see Julie Lessman at Revell's Author Chat Cafe for a solid hour of girl (or guy) talk and a chance to win a signed copy of Love at Any Cost. Ask questions or just leave a comment and have some fun!! HERE'S THE LINK:
THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2013:Here's a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card in a Summer Reading Giveaway which Julie Lessman and a number of other authors will tell you what book they plan to read on vacation. It all happens on the Breath Perfumed Blog.
Jake can’t live this way any longer.
Burned out, exhausted, and disillusioned, Jake Hanson hits the road. He empties his bank accounts and cuts all ties with everyone he knows. Searching for meaning, he buys a deserted Victorian mansion ten miles from civilization in South Dakota and determines to live off the land.
Emily isn’t looking for a man, and she certainly isn’t looking for more responsibility. Since her parents died, she’s been running the family ranch and raising her younger sister alone. She has plenty to keep her busy. So when she finds a stranger hiding out in the house next door, why can’t she just let him be?
When their worlds collide, will their inexplicable attraction draw Jake and Emily together or will their circumstances force them apart forever?
Random News & Information
BIG, BIG NEWS WEEK!!!!
Like Google Alerts? then you will love TweetBeep~
An Introvert’s Guide to Networking (The Daily Muse)
Check out the launch of Choose Now Publishing
BEA 2013: Map of the Houses (PW)
Facebook & SEO: 5 Ways To Optimize Your Business Page (Boom Social)
Another reason to join RWA. Mastering the Pitch" with Michael Hauge - Online Video Class.
Barry Eisler on Discounting His Entire Backlist to 99 Cents (A Brain Scientist's Take on Writing)
Bookstores in America, 2013: A State-by-State Guide (PW)
The Business Rusch: The Changing Playing Field (Kristine Kathryn Rusch)
Is crossing over from CBA to the general market possible? (Chip's Blog)
Copyright Fair Use and How it Works for Online Images (Social Media Examiner)
Nook takes aim at Kindle Singles with original content for Nook Snaps (Paid Content)
Indie Earnings (Passive Voice)
How Indie Authors Can Work Together (GalleyCat)
How Best Selling Authors Use Email to Interact with Readers (GalleyCat)
Do Authors Deserve a Higher eBook Royalty Rate? (GalleyCat)
Free eBook Formatting & Marketing Guides for Writers (GalleyCat)
Finally we end our week with more good news. This time
from long time Seeker Villager, Amber Schamel.
She just announced her first eBook The Foolish Princess was published by Helping Hands Press. Congratulations Amber.
That's it! Have a great week!
Congrats to all the winners!!
ReplyDeleteLots of terrific links to peruse. Thanks Tina!!
And BIG CONGRATS to Amber!!
Letting everyone know, May the K9 Spy has some news too!! Both of her books are now available on Amazon and... She will be 13 on June 13, 2013. Stop by her Facebook page for details on lots of giveaways !! :) Time for a bark day pawty!! We're having a costume contest too. Post your best photo of your four footed FURiends for a chance to win!!
Some great links, Tina. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Amber!
The king size coffee pot is set for the weekend.
Nite, nite.
Helen
Happy Birthday, May!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat did May ask for for her birthday?
Oh I have to post a picture of Charlie.
Give us a link, K.C.
Great WE as always, Miss T!
ReplyDeleteCONGRATS to all the winners, and to Amber!!
Happy Birthday May! I'm sure my Moses will PAWse long enough for me to snap a photo to send to May's FB page (especially since they're FB FURiends *smile*).
Happy Weekend, everyone! Please enjoy the assorted goodies I've brought: Pecan Praline coffee cake, Peach muffins, Peanut Butter cookies, and Fudge Brownies (all of these go great with Helen's coffee).
Hugs from Georgia, Patti Jo
Patti Jo, you brought the calorie free goodies, right? Just nod.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Amber! I've enjoyed seeing you in Scribes and on Facebook!
ReplyDeleteGotta hit the hay. I'm going hand grabbling (some call it noodling) for catfish in the morning. Heaven knows why. I let a 16 yr old talked me into it. :)
Congrats, winners! And Happy Barkday, May! :))
My goodness all these great links will take awhile to get through. A perfectly great weekend behind us and one to come. I seriously want an excuse to buy cowboy boots so I'll at least have to get a new virtual pair for our ranch getaway!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying not to wake the grands by shouting but 'woo hoo!' for winning one of Marilyn's books and I'll take THE FIRST one in the series.
thanks so much! cool!
Yay, Amber!
ReplyDeleteNext week looks like fun and the virtual retreat sounds interesting :) Can't wait to hear all about that.
Happy Saturday, Seekerville!
Great articles links.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all of the winners.
Summer vacation? We don't have one planned this year. We've been taking winter vacations looking for a warm place to be 'snowbirds' in our retirement years.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Congrats to all the winners and a shout out to fellow Okie Susan Crawford!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to Seekerville's line up next week! Everyone have a great weekend.
Mornin' all!
ReplyDeleteI meant to say, we'll be doing a fair amount of travel, some vacay some work but hopefully all FUN! :)
Here's the link, Tina! C'monnnn Charlie! We'll have fun at May's 13th barkday pawty! Info is pinned to the top of her page (I think! ) https://www.facebook.com/MaytheK9Spy Thanks!
Sheesh. I need coffee apparently!
ReplyDeleteFor her barkday, May asked for more visits to see her fans. ;)
She wasn't feeling too well last weekend so her brother Cass went instead. (Should have seen the look as we left. Whoo.) Just as well... We got completely rained out on Sunday.
Janet, thanks for liking May's costume contest!
AND - for virtual getaway - oooh that sounds like a blast! YES YES YES!
YAY CatMom!
ReplyDeleteMay says, "C'mon over Moses - let's pawty!!! We have some terrific costume entries already... But we're sooo excited to see yours." /backflip/
Great weekend edition...again. I don't know how you do it!
ReplyDeleteI'm staycationing...like always. :-) But I'm off for the summer (though unemployed for two months and that's scary). I plan to write, write, write in between looking for a job that's closer to home.
Happy Barkday, May! You don't look a day over 3. And two books on amazon? You go girl!
I found the stats for bookstores really surprising. Did anyone else? New York was way down on the list and since it's the place with the most publishers I thought it would be waaaay up there. Interesting.
Oh -- and congrats to Amber!
Congratulations Amber!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like an exciting week at Seekerville.
Because a lady at work is having knee replacement surgery, I won't have a vacation this summer. And I'll pick up some of her hours, but that's okay. I'm so excited to learn about the virtual retreat. I can't wait to learn more.
Have a great weekend everybody!
I now am longing for catfish, Natalie.
ReplyDeleteAnother great WE, Tina! Congrats to our winners!
ReplyDeleteHappy Barkday, May! Sorry to hear you've been under the weather and hope you're ready to pawty real soon!
Hey, really looking forward to Ruthy's Dude Ranch Virtual Retreat! I've already met one of the ranch guys (seems real nice in a rustic sort of way), and I hear tell their cook is out of this world!
Congratulations, Amber!! Heading on over to take a peek!
ReplyDeleteWHOO-HOOO, MAY!! My baby's birthday is today and he's.... THREE. I can't believe it! Three years ago today I was in the birthing suite's hot tub and telling my husband to stop eating his hot breakfast in front of me or I was going to dump it in the trash.
We still laugh about that... As if I could have gotten UP BY MYSELF.
Happy Birthday to your baby, Virginia.
ReplyDeleteThanks Miss Kav, Miss Myra, and Miss Virginia. It's fun to celebrate with my FURiends in Seekerville.
ReplyDeleteMiss Myra, I'm feeling better now. Thanks. Miss Lois of Joshua's Pet Treat Bakery, my Auntie Lolo, came over today with my FAVORITE - Chicken! That's enough to make a girl feel pawsome!
Miss Tina, I'll join you with the catfish if you get some and Charlie will share. Nom nom nom...
And Miss Virginia- Congratulations to YOUR birthday person too!!
C'mon by - we've got a terrific start to the costume pawty. Take a peek and vote for your faves!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.534245019973417.1073741834.143319679065955&type=3
May, we love pawsome birthdays in Seekerville!!!! PAWTY!!! PAWTY!!!!! PAWTYYYY!!!!!!
ReplyDelete:)
AMBER!!!! I'm so proud of you! And this cover, this concept sounds absolutely enchanting!!! And I'm a fairy-tale lovin' kind of gal!!!!
Congrats to you on this wonderful accomplishment!
NATALIE... I've never had catfish. I've had bullheads... and someone said they're similar, but I dunno. I love lake perch and haddock.... Tell us what you do when you're done noodling. Who cleans the fish?
Who cooks the fish?
And what part of a catfish is edible? The thick side meat or the whole thing?
I must know more about this catfish-eating mystery!!!
First Semi-Annual Seekers' Virtual Writing Retreat, YOWZA!!!!!!
ReplyDelete:)
You know, sometimes we have to do what we have to do to join forces and get it done, so we're doing that next week... and all are welcome from anywhere, any genre, any shape, creed, shade or size... :) It's gonna be fun and Jake MacKillian... who bears a VERY STRONG RESEMBLANCE TO GEORGE STRAIT... is our Dude Ranch boss. But he's promised lots of time for writing... hobnobbing... and ranching if you've a mind!
If you need some accountability? Come on retreat.
If you love to have some personal time chatting with published authors in the evening?
Come on the retreat.
Do you like to see gentle words of Christ's redeeming love in your morning In-Box?
Come on the retreat.
Does inspirational music inspire you to let the Holy of Holies take over your story and bend it his way?
Come on the retreat.
Or is it VERY HARD to let God take over, take control, steer the ship to safe harbor???
Come on the retreat.
:)
All western wear is available on sale at the Dude Ranch store, but if you've got jammy pants... sneakers... (maternity tops for some!)... a comfy place to work... think... write....
You're ready!
Details on Thursday, but the staff of the Green Mountain Ranch in Northern Idaho is sprucing things up for a big hidey-ho!
Together we can do anything.
Yippee Ki Yi Yay!!!!
Congrats to Amber and all the contest winners.
ReplyDeleteExactly one month from today I'll be on our beach vacation at Panama City Beach. Not a worry in the world but the tide catching up to my chair.
A Duke Ranch? Never thought of that, but it sounds like fun. Maybe I could ride a virtual horse. Every manuscript I've ever written has horses in it, and I've never been on a horse. Have ridden in a buggy though if that counts.
Congratulations to all the winners!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your congrats and support of my work! I have learned so much from the Seekers, and I continue to learn with every post. I appreciate ya'll so much! You all had a big part in making The Foolish Princess' release a possibility for me!!
I'm also excited to announce that my second book should be releasing soon, probably the first part of July! So excited! Thank you so much for your support and mentoriship!
Can't wait to hear about the virtual retreat!:D
Congratulations to all of the winner! Happy Birthday May!
ReplyDeleteTina, such great stuff in the WE!
ReplyDeleteLove the line up for next week. Lots of great posts I don't want to miss.
Congrats to the winners!
Yay, Amber! The Foolish Princess looks like a great read! Perhaps a beach book...
Elaine, take me with you to PCB! That's our family's fav beach destination. Love the Gulf water!
Today is my daughter's birthday. Yesterday was hubby's.
ReplyDeleteSuch a birthday month. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOURS HELEN~~~
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, winners!
ReplyDeleteThe graphics are great, Tina. Thanks for putting so much time into the WE. Pretty nifty work : )
Wonderful links, too. I love GalleyCat.
Congrats, Amber!! WooHoo!
ReplyDeleteI love your cover. Tell us about the story : )
Happy Barkday, May. I'd sing, but that'll scare you...
I can't wait for Ruthy's Dude Ranch adventure. Um,um,um. Cowboys R Us!!!
We spend our summer vacation fishing.
ReplyDeletewe stay at this (ahem) rustic little (ahem) resort.
Okay it's a mildew-y shack, but we love it. We've been going almost every year since our oldest child was 15 months old. She's in her thirties now.
And the kids come if they can. It's a lovely restful place. Such a terrific get away. Too much food and sun and lake water, but that's part of the fun of it.
Tina, we ate a delicious mess of fried and boiled catfish Friday night, so it was good motivation. :)
ReplyDeleteRuthy, I'm not a huge fish eater, but catfish and perch are my favorite. I asked my dad what a bullhead was and he said it was a "Bullhead Blue" catfish. I asked, "Is it good eatin'?" He said, "Ah," (meaning 'well...'), "it is, but most of the weight is in the head.
We caught all Yellow cat today (also called Flathead or Appaloosa). I think the biggest pulled was about 50 lbs.
There are good pockets of meat on the head and in the jaw behind the eye, but for the most part it's the thick side meat that they cut down into strips or chunks.
Our song-leader at church took me, my sister and another visiting preacher's daughter. He, the visiting preacher, and another man, who fed us our scuba hoses, cleaned the fish. Since the working area was a little crowded, we girls left the cleaning to them and showered off all the catfish gunk. :) Our song-leader cooks the fish and also the man who held the hoses.
If you ever come to North Mississippi on the Saturday before Labor Day, holler at me and swing by New Albany. Our church has a Labor Day Bible conference, and we always have catfish on Saturday night. And the meat is all hand-grabbled. :)
Mary, the place we fished today was a "rustic little resort" too. :D A man's heaven, but a woman's "roughing it." At least it wasn't a tent.
Did anyone else have a problem downloading Amber's book?
ReplyDeleteI only got 19 pages and the rest won't come through... :( :( WAH!
Sometimes a paper book still beats all...
Great WE with lots of links. woo hoo
ReplyDeleteCongrats to AMBER. What a thrill and I love the cover of your book.
MAY happy birthday. How pawsome. I'll try and get over to your page. Cody (the black Lab) says woof woof. However he is in trouble because he put his paws on the kitchen counter yesterday and took the makings of my strawberry rhubarb cobbler. Ate a cup of butter and sugar. He is so in the dog house. Literally.
VIRGINIA and HELEN happy birthday to yours.
NATALIE -eewwww you actually grab a catfish with your hands????? I'm in awe. I saw a special on TV about noodling. Again, I'm in awe. Sure hope that experience is in one of your novels. smile
PATTI JO Thanks for the pecan goodies. Need those after thinking of fish.
Loved the clever graphic salute to Seekerville, Tina! Thanks for another terrific Weekend Edition. Looking forward to chatting on Monday!
ReplyDeleteHuge congratulations, Amber!! Soon you'll have two books!
Happy Birthday, May! For thirteen, you're full of spunk and sass!
Happy birthday to your daughter and hubby, Helen! Our granddaughter's birthday was yesterday!
Natalie, I don't eat catfish. Maybe it's the whiskers...
Patti Jo, you spoil us with all those delicious southern treats!
We're traveling to Niagara on the Lake this summer. Haven't been to the falls in years! Canada here we come!
Janet
Enjoyed the WE, Tina. Thanks for all the work you put into it each week. Congratulations to all winners, especially a big one to Amber. Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Looking forward to next week's blog. Always much useful info to be found here and such encouragement.
ReplyDeleteNatalie, I'm laughing at the description of bullheads... We only caught/ate them in the spring. Once the water warms, I guess the meat isn't as nice, but it was a nice spring fish that I'll never eat again because Dave and I stayed alive our first year eating bullheads. We put every high school penny we had into buying our first house, and even with working full time, we ate bullheads to pay the bills.
ReplyDelete:)
Janet, you're coming to our neck of the woods!!! Go you!!! The falls are gorgeous, and I love visiting up there. Sue Mason is somewhere up there, aren't you Susan????
We had a wonderful graduation today. #1 son got his MBA and we had a delightful time with them, his in-laws and great-Grandma and Aunt Jody. Very special day for us!
And a cemetery visit to make sure our "garden" hasn't fallen apart. A good day of looking back and moving forward.
I think I'm jonesin' for somethin' fried an' I ain't got me no catfish. Might have to fry an Oreo or something else equally naughty!
Fry an Oreo?????
ReplyDeleteNiagra Falls. Slowly I turn. Step by Step. Inch by Inch.
ReplyDeleteOkay who knows Crystal Beach???
Natalie.... I read that grabbling comment and had to go to Google for help. I HAD NO IDEA...
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noodling
"Although the concept of catching fish with only the use of the arm in the water is simple enough, the process of noodling is more complicated. The choice of catfish as the prey is not arbitrary, but comes from the circumstances of their habitat. Flathead catfish live in holes or under brush in rivers and lakes and thus are easier to capture due to the static nature of their dwelling. To begin, a noodler goes underwater to depths ranging from only a few feet to up to twenty feet and places his hand inside a discovered catfish hole. If all goes as planned, the catfish will swim forward and latch onto the fisherman's hand, usually as a defensive maneuver, in order to try to escape the hole. If the fish is particularly large, the noodler can hook the hand around its gills.
Most noodlers have spotters who help them bring the catfish in, either to shore or to their boat; noodling in pairs is considered important for safety, and also makes it a more social activity, with noodling partners often forming long-term partnerships.[1]
"
Yep, That's the way I saw it on the special VIRGINA. Again, I say ewwwww and NATALIE I'm still in awe.
ReplyDeleteI would have been here sooner but have been reading all those great links. Let's just say, I have more bookmarks now than I did when I came to Seekerville today.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Amber on the first ebook ... and the second one coming out so soon!
Congrats to Ruthy's #1 son. What an accomplishment.
Happy Birthday to Virginia's 3 year old (they really do grow up so quickly), Helen's daughter and husband, and last but positively not least MAY!!
Janet -- We spent the night at Niagara on the Lake last year. It had changed quite a bit since we'd been there ages ago. Absolutely stunning flowers. I have pictures ... and pictures ... and pictures :-)
And the virtual retreat sounds wonderful -- as long as I don't have to do any ranch chores, can stay upwind of the horses, and don't have to catch any fish barehanded. Really looking forward to hearing more about this. Also looking forward to the posts this week. Karen Witemeyer is one of my favorite non-Seeker authors!
Tina, don't know how you do it weekend after weekend but thanks. Love the pix!
Nancy C
Teeeeeeeeeeena, it's taken me all weekend (during grandbaby nap times, of course!!) to check out all the wonderful links, but BLESS YOU especially for the one on copyrights -- SO need that right now, so YAY!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent WE, and a great BIG super congrats to all the winners and ESPECIALLY to AMBER SCHAMEL for her new book -- it looks AWESOME!!
Hugs,
Julie
Thank you friends! I am so glad you like the cover. My publisher had it designed for me, and they did a great job. I was excited that they allowed me to pick the photo on the front. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Foolish Princess is an allegorical tale of redemption, grace and mercy.
When the king is killed in an enemy ambush, the fate of the kingdom is left to the princess. Consumed by fear and grief she flees hoping to escape the treason and responsibility, but when a charming man offers to help her, she must decide whether or not she can trust him.
Throughout the story you can see parallels to Christ and His bride.
I really hope ya'll enjoy it!
Virginia, were you able to resolve your downloading problem? If not, send me an email and I'll help you fix it. visionwriter2@gmail.com