Don't forget to ask for a Welcome Packet if you are new to Seekerville!
If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes. Send to Seekers@Seekerville.net
Monday: Carrie Fancett Pagels was our guest blogger today! Winner of My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island: Maude’s Mooring is Sydney Anderson.
Tuesday: Tyndale publicist Shaina Turner was our guest blogger. Winner of a Tyndale book of choice is Linda Sammaritan.
Wednesday: The amusing and entertaining, Amanda Wen joined us today with, "How Your TV Addiction Can Benefit Your Writing." Winner of a Castle mug is Dana McNeely.
Thursday: Seekerville was delighted to have Tracy Crump join us. Tracy has sold to Chicken Soup for the Soul® 19 times, and shared some of her tips in her post, "Writing for Chicken Soup for the Soul® : Good News/Bad News/BEST News." Beverley Baird is the winner of Chicken Soup for the Soul® and Phyllis Wheeler is the winner of a critique.
Monday: Seekerville is closed today to celebrate Labor Day!
Tuesday: Mary Connealy is your hostess, talking about writing during challenging times. Get your name in a drawing for the FIRST EVER IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE GIVEAWAY OF.......Too Far Down.
Wednesday: Villager Annie Hemby shares her post, "What's Hiding Under Your Bed?" Stop by to talk about more than dust bunnies, and you could win her debut Love Inspired release, Healing His Widowed Heart.
Thursday: Seekerville Contest Diva Angie Dicken joins us today with her post, "From Contest Diva to Published Author." You could win a copy of her debut Love Inspired Historical release, The Outlaw’s Second Chance!
Friday: The Best of the Archives featuring a classic post from our ten years of blogging. Comments are closed on Fridays to catch up on reading and writing.
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| Cover Reveal. Leave a comment letting us know you want to win a print copy of Mountain Country Cowboy, releasing this fall! Three winners will be announced in the next Weekend Edition. |
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| Look for Myra Johnson with giveaways of Her Hill Country Cowboy on Tuesday, 9/5, at Shannon Vannatter's blog, and on Friday, 9/8, at Petticoats & Pistols! |
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| Get a leg up on Christmas reading with Julie Lessman's newly released Christmas novellas and Blake "The Rake" McClare novella, all for ONLY 99 CENTS each! Here are the BUY links: The Gift of Grace, Grace Like Rain, A Whisper of Hope, The Best Gift of All. NOTE: All of these novels are stand-alones of former anthology books. |
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| Join Julie Lessman TODAY (Saturday, August 2) on Novel Rocket blog when she gets on her soapbox with “Fifty Shades of Pray” … Christian Romance in a secular world where the harvest is great, but the workers are few. Leave a comment and you’re in the draw for your choice of Julie’s indie e-books, including her four novellas that just released! Here's the link: NOVEL ROCKET BLOG |
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Thanks for the link love!
Congratulations to the Southern Writers Short Story Winners! With a shout-out to Laura Conner Kestner.
New York Publishers Offer Help to Hurricane Harvey Victims (PW)
Introducing Buffer (Christian Editing Services)
This Self-Publishing Course is Free...And Great Too (Let's Get Digital)
Why You Should Pour Yourself a Glass of Water and Write for 15 Minutes Today (CopyBlogger)
Hindsight is 20/20: My Fourth Year in Self-Publishing (She Who Writes Monsters)
A Re-enactment of a Wealthy Woman Getting Dressed in 18th-Century England (Slate)
The 7 Writer Types You Should Avoid Becoming (Chicago Review of Books)
Three Steps to Building Your Story World (Fiction University)
Weaving Backstory into Front Story-James Scott Bell (Writer Unboxed)
Searching for Review Blogs Just Got a Lot Easier (DBW)
5 Ways to Create Strong Internal Conflict (Live. Write. Thrive.)
Have a great holiday weekend!!
Wow! I'm first...congratulations to me! lol
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all the winners, and all the bargains aren't bad either! Glynna and Myra's cowboy books look like good reads, too. Put my name in the hat for Glynna's book, please. Tina, your novella resides in my Kindle.
Praying for everyone affected by Harvey. May God bless and keep you, may his arms comfort you, and give you peace. Amen.
Blessings,
Marcia
Super congratulations to you, Marcia!!!
DeleteAnd huge congrats to all the winners from this week... and what a fun week coming! This is Back to School Week in WNY and we're so excited.... :) In a good way, of course!
What a great line-up coming this week with TWO DEBUT NOVELS.... I am so excited for both of youse!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm just excited in general these days, life has a way of doing that when you least expect it.
Tina, wonderful weekend edition.... Thank you so much!
I am in need of coffee, so I brought some to share.
Coffee is here!!!! And now off to write before farm life takes over for the weekend....
Goooooood morning, Seeeeeeekerville!!!!!!
Ruthy, I love those donkey pictures you posted! Such cuties!
DeleteCongrats to the winners! Love the new books. More wonderful stories to enjoy! Looks like some great articles to read a bit later.
ReplyDeleteContinued prayers for our storm and flood victims, for the rescue teams and for all involved in clean up and restoration. God protect them and keep them in His care.
Amen. Thanks for the prayer, Debby. I'm continually thinking of those affected.
DeleteMy Houston family is still without power, but they're grateful that while they sustained wind & water damage, the homes in their neighborhood weren't filled with 5-foot deep flood waters like many were elsewhere in their suburb.
DeleteSo heartbreaking to watch the news--but amazing stories coming out how people are helping people. Yeah, there are some real jerks roaming about--as usual--but over and over people are stepping up and making personal sacrifices to assist others in need.
YAY! Houston family called! Power back on in their neighborhood!
DeleteSuch good news about the power being turned on, Glynna! My heart has been so heavy as I watched the events unfold on television. I'm sure most of the country felt as I did--such concern and anxiety for the folks in harm's way. So many are pitching in to help, to donate time and talent and treasure, to pray. I hope this brings our country together. When one suffers, we all suffer.
DeleteCongratulations to all of the winners.
ReplyDeleteYay Laura on your Southern Writer's Magazine win! They were the first to ever publish my work. They're a great group of people.
Glynna, love your latest cover! Happy release month, Myra!
Have a safe holiday weekend everyone.
I was pleased with the cover, too, Jill! :)
DeleteThanks, Jill!
DeleteThank you, Jill! They were such nice people!
DeleteLove the covers on the books by Glynna and Myra! Please count me in for Glynna's book......already have Myra's!
ReplyDeleteHappy and safe weekend to all!
Thanks, Jackie! It's always like Christmas morning when a new cover arrives in my inbox. I hold my breath and say a prayer that I like it. And I did!
DeleteHope you enjoy it, Jackie!
DeleteLaura, congratulations on the Souther Short Story contest!! So exciting!
ReplyDeleteI hope you all have a great weekend. My son is home for a visit, so I'm thrilled to have a weekend with him!
I should add that we also have a funeral this morning. The man who passed away is a former choir member, so the choir will be singing during the service. I think it's a beautiful idea.
DeleteThe choir singing will be extra special, Missy.
DeleteWhen one of our choir members passes away, Missy, the choir pews are packed and the worship is so powerful. Praying for your friend's family in this time of grief for them.
DeleteThank you, Missy. I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend. Such a wonderful idea for the choir to sing at the service.
DeleteThank you all. The service was beautiful and moving.
DeleteCongratulations to all of the winners and thanks for sharing all of the links to other great info. Please enter my name for a chance to win Glynna's book. Continued prayers for Texas and the others affected by Harvey and praying that Hurricane Irma isn't as fierce!
ReplyDeleteHappy Labor Day!
Congratulations to all of the winners!
ReplyDeleteHappy Labor Day weekend.
Yay Glynna! Please enter me for a chance to win Mountain Country Cowboy. Next up in my TBR pile is Her Hill Country Cowboy. Do you suppose Myra and Glynna conspired on those titles?
ReplyDeleteCindy -- Mine was originally to be "Her Mountain Country Cowboy" -- then they realized they'd given something similar to Myra's and had me drop the "Her"! Can you imagine those poor Love Inspired editors year-after-year keeping track of something like 16 new titles a month?
DeleteHi Glynna:
DeleteYou wrote:
"Can you imagine those poor Love Inspired editors year-after-year keeping track of something like 16 new titles a month?"
It's called merchandising. It's not just titles -- it is also locations, themes, seasons. As a publisher you sure would not want to have 16 'hidden child' theme stories coming out all set in Montana in the snow in the same month! What would that look like on Wal-Mart's shelf? You'd be 'talking' to only one sliver of the romance reading market for that whole month!
It is also important for an editor to know how many times a year a given theme can be offered before it dilutes overall sales. (For example: I think a publisher can offer only so many 'runaway bride' theme books a year.) Getting the right mix of products to offer can mean the difference between success and failure.
Take furniture store ads for example: I've seen ads with one mix of items for sale do three times more sales than another ad with a different mix of the same number of products. Everything was the same except the items selected to put in the ad. (Same size ad, same day of week, same profit margins on the items in the ad).
The merchandiser on the high selling ad just knew how to appeal to the most prospects with the most desirable items for that time of the year or month. Some merchandisers are like superstars because they can make a big difference in sales just by the selection of the merchandise placed in the ad.
There is a lesson here for authors: you only have one title. What is best for your personal sales volume may not be best for the publisher. The best title may be taken. The best theme artwork ideas may be taken by another book. A publisher may not even need your theme and setting for the next 12 months.
Avoiding these conflicts and putting your book first is to me one of the strengths of being an indie publisher/author.
In other words: really make the title, theme, and artwork do its best to promote your book!
Vince
It's crazy how they can keep up with all the LI titles! I just have to trust that the editors know what they're doing in choosing something catchy and marketable.
DeleteYep, there's a ton of work that goes into it, Vince. Which is why authors shouldn't take it TOO personally when a book proposal doesn't "fly" with an editor or they need to tweak it a bit. Nothing inherently wrong with the proposal itself, but sometimes an editor may have just contracted for a series in the same setting, profession, etc.
DeleteMyra--how cool! TWO Seeker cowboy stories releasing in back-to-back months!!
ReplyDeleteWay cool!
DeleteGreat WE. So much to check out. Congrats to the winners!
ReplyDeleteHope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. I am looking forward to some relaxing time, trying to get over the cold I've had for a week now. Also hope to get some writing done. Sunday going to celebrate my parents 62nd wedding anniversary!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the win, Laura!
Happy Anniversary to your folks, Sandy! What a special reason to celebrate...62 years. God bless them both!!!
DeleteThank you, Sandy! Happy anniversary to your parents!
DeleteHope your parents had a wonderful anniversary. You are blessed to still have them with you. smile
DeleteThe chickens are coming home to roost!
ReplyDeleteMy kindle is today replete with pre-ordered books that have just came home! The first of September, at long last, has finally arrived. Now the question is 'which book gets read first'? Those are sure beautiful horses behind the artwork for "Her Hill Country Cowboy". Yet somehow I don't visualize cowboys as mountain men. Cow punchers belong on the plains, prairies, and high plateaus. Intriguing! Love those horses! Decisions, decisions,decisions!
BTW: Are there any farm girls out there who can tell me if 'chickens coming home to roost' is always a bad thing? I think that the phrase is like having 'your ship come in'. That is, a good thing. But I don't know.
Vince
Vince, the photo behind my book cover was actually taken at a South Carolina plantation we toured a year or so ago. So not exactly "cowboy" but I thought the horses were pretty!
DeleteHi Myra: I was hoping that they were your horses. How nice that would be. Vince
DeleteWell, not a typical Saturday at the Johnsons'. Project Guy and I are tired and sweaty after transferring our daughter's things from their previous storage unit to one that is climate controlled. They were on the waiting list but it didn't come through before they moved overseas last month. Thank goodness we were able to hire two strapping teenage boys to do the heaviest lifting!
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend, Seekerville! Congrats to our winners! Laura, big congrats on the short story win! Looking forward to next week's lineup.
ReplyDeleteMyra and Glynna, love your covers! Julie and Tina, loving all the books you're getting out there.
Labor Day weekend is special for us, as our kids will be gathering to celebrate birthdays and just hang out together. We'll be grilling meat and having fresh green beans, beets, tomatoes and corn-on-the-cob. I'll pop potato tots in the oven for those who want a little more starch. Of course there will be birthday cake and ice cream. Hoping the weather cooperates.
I'm praying for Houston and all those impacted by the flooding.
Janet
Thanks, Janet! Sounds like you have a full and fun day planned!
DeleteThanks, Janet! I wish I could join you for that Labor Day feast - sounds yummy!
DeleteJanet, happy birthday to you!! (Well, I'm typing this after midnight so it was officially yesterday.) :)
DeleteGreat WE as always, and CONGRATS to all the winners!!
ReplyDeleteContinued prayers for all those affected by Harvey (and those with loved ones in that area).
Missy, I'm sorry about the passing of your church member, and agree it's so special for the choir to sing at the funeral. Even though my Mama wasn't in our church choir, she LOVED the choir so at her funeral they all came and sang---so very sweet.
Everyone have a safe, fun Labor Day weekend! I'll get to be with some of my kiddos and my precious grandbaby, so I'll be happy!! :)
Please toss me in for the drawing of Glynna's Mountain Country Cowboy book!
Hugs (and another peach cobbler, LOL),
Patti Jo
Hi, Patti Jo! Your name's in the Stetson! Sounds like you have a fun family holiday planned.
DeleteIt's county fair weekend here, but I'm not going to make it out there this year even though the fairgrounds are just a few miles away. I always love wandering through the barns and looking at the other exhibits.
Thanks for the peach cobbler!!!
Great WE!!! Always lots of good stuff to read!
ReplyDeleteI definitely want to be in the drawing for Glynna's book! I love everything she writes! I hope I can win her book!!!!!
Thank you, Valri! Your name's in the Stetson!
Delete(I'd responded earlier, then it disappeared. Did a search on this page, but can't find that I stuck it in the wrong place, so trying again! :) )
Congrats to all the winners! And thanks for the update on the new books - congratulations Myra, Glynna and Julie!
ReplyDeleteWe live about five hours from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey but some of our friends and family were hit pretty hard. Yet they're grateful because they know it could've been worse. Praying for everyone in that region, and for those who went in to help. Some truly remarkable stories.
Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend!
Congrats, Laura, on your short story!!! So exciting!
DeleteThank you, Laura! And congratulations on your short story recognition!!
DeleteI can't even imagine what those in the hard-hit Houston area and Louisiana are going through--and will be dealing with for years to come.
Thanks, Laura!
DeleteWe lived in Houston for 13 years, so we know how flood-prone the whole area is. Still unbelievable, though, to see what Harvey has done to the city. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone there.
Thanks, Laura, and I am SO glad you aren't too near Houston, but so very sad for those experiencing the devastation of their homes and lives. The whole country is praying and pulling for them!
DeleteHugs,
Julie
Have a super holiday weekend Seekerville friends!! And huge congrats to all the winners and our fantastic authors with new releases.
ReplyDeleteTina, I always love the WE and have already read some of the links. Great info.
Praying for the survivors of Harvey. May the Lord provide everything you need and give you the strength to persevere. He's wading through those waters with you.
Thank you, Barbara! Its always fun to have a new release! :)
DeleteLook at all those HORSES and Stetsons on the covers of those books. (Okay, not Julie's)
ReplyDeleteI did them first, you know!
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Hey, I'm PROUD to be your copy kitten!! :)
DeleteOf course we know, silly girl.
DeleteLOL, Mary, but I plan to have a stetson on one of mine in the future, so does that count???
DeleteHugs,
Julie
Mary also had a mouse on the cover and 'mice' in the title. No one has done that yet! The mice love you!
DeleteSneaking in to swap howdies for Sunday... raining, so that will slow down pumpkin sales but gives me a little house time, so welcome!
ReplyDeleteJoining in prayers for all those wonderful people affected by this monster storm... And praying for the escalating problems in Eastern Asia/North Korea... I don't understand that power lust... or people going hungry so folks can build bigger bombs... I love that we can have a positive, joyous, hopeful effect on our readers and each other here.
God is good...
And I have miniature donkeys.
Peace reigns here.
Ruthy -- Are the donkeys quiet or do they loudly bray? Competition for the rooster? :)
DeleteBe sure to take lots of pics, too, of your autumn flowers and pumpkins for an upcoming blog post. You'll be one busy lady this fall! (Don't forget to put out your decorative scarecrows!)
Glynna, you remembered! :) Lacey and her mom and Christina decorated the porches yesterday (Sunday) for free photo ops for customers.... and to set the backdrop for our fall sales! And the donkeys are mostly quiet.... Alexis hasn't brayed once.... but the younger one was missing her mama the first few days and let us know it! Oh my gosh, Glynna, they are the sweetest farm investment I've ever made! :)
DeleteHi Glynna:
ReplyDeleteTwo questions about the cover of "Mountain Country Cowboy": Are the two horses white in the story? What breed of horse are they?
I just didn't expect to see white horses.
Vince
Hi, Vince! NO white horses in the book and I'm not sure what breed the cover horses are. This is a prime example of "artistic license." :)
DeleteIsn't poetic license what they call 'a horse of a different color'?
Delete"Her Hill Country Cowboy"
ReplyDeleteDeliciously Sympathetic Conflict!
A Great Opening!
I am currently reading several romances but I still couldn't resist peeking into, "Her Hill Country Cowboy," late last night. The artwork alone won me over and urged me to enter its fictionally depicted world.
I should point out that by 'deliciously sympathetic conflict', I mean that the story provides several streams of conflict between highly sympathetic characters -- each of whom is genuinely worthy of happiness. There could even be shifting alliances.
Better yet, as a romance fan, I know that the resolution of these conflicts will likely produce an HEA similar to the most delicious desert coming after a gourmet meal. (For me that would be a tall flaming baked Alaska after enjoying a perfect prime rib dinner-- end cut.)
I believe that knowing that a delicious HEA is waiting in store down the road, makes each step along that road a more rewarding reading experience.
Have a safe and happy weekend.
Vince
Aw, Vince, you have such a delightful way with words! I hope the story lives up to your expectations!
DeleteI can't believe it is another weekend already and a three day weekend at that. I love Labor Day holiday. I love honoring all the men and women who work so hard to provide all of our needs and wants. Thank you. It is an honor and privilege to be able to work at so many different jobs in this country. Yay. But days off are fun too. smile Have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the winners. And Congrats to Glynna and Myra for two wonderful sounding releases. I'm with the rest of you. Which one do I read first? And of course Julie's books are always a delight. Fifty Shades of Pray! Love it Julie.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading everyone.
Thanks, Sandra, but I think it was one of the Seekers who came up with "Fifty Shades of Pray" first -- Tina, maybe? I just stole it because I liked it so much. :)
DeleteHugs,
Julie
Congratulations to the Southern Writers Short Story Winners. Yay!
ReplyDeleteI love reading the weekend edition here at Seekerville. It always keeps me in the know. Glynna Kaye, the cover of your book is gorgeous! I want to
ReplyDeletewin a print copy of Mountain Country Cowboy.I love to read Love Inspired books.