Bestsellerbound Friendship Blog Hop

I've talked about the Bestsellerbound group before. It's the nicest bunch of authors, editors, and readers you'll ever meet. I'm so glad I discovered them. I haven't met any of them in person, but they've touched my life and changed it in ways I would have never guessed. Because of my friends there, I have a new publisher and I've found new readers for my stories. I've also found people who understand when things get tough and are there to support and help. I've found people to sympathize with. I've found people who are my friends and I'm proud to call them friends. I hope I can be there for them as much as they are for me.

Thought on friendship: You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but don't try picking your friend's nose.

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BestsellerBound.com is a wonderful community of indie authors. Created by Darcia Helle in the late summer of 2010, and featuring resident authors, Maria Savva and Stacy Juba, the community has grown and now boasts over 500 members. Quite a few of the members are active on the forum. The group wanted to celebrate one thing that has kept them all going over the past two years: friendship. Many friendships have been formed on the board. In fact, one of the most common things our members say is that BestsellerBound is the friendliest group of writers they have found. We pride ourselves on that.

To celebrate not only a successful 2 years as a popular indie writer forum, but also the friendships we have made on the board, a few of the regular members have organised a blog hop. The theme for this blog hop is of course, Friendship. If you follow the tour, you can read blogs by each of the participating authors based on the theme of friendship. Some of the authors will be writing about fictional friendships in their novels, others will be writing about real friendships. We are sure it will be an interesting and varied blog hop. We are also offering a big prize! One lucky winner will win the following prizes:

Secrets by Darcia Helle (Print)
Haunted by Maria Savva (Print)
Harmony's Passing by Joel Kirkpatrick (print)
Belkin Mod Standing Cover for Kindle Fire
Nexus Point by Jaleta Clegg (ebook)
Sink or Swim by Stacy Juba (ebook)
Alaskan Healing by Lana Voynich (ebook)

The contest is very simple. There is a Rafflecopter form available on the BestsellerBound Recommends blog. All you have to do is follow the instructions there to enter! Contest runs until November 26.

All the blogs are taking place today, and the contest will run until.... (insert date)

Check out the following blogs, for some wonderful stories about friendship!

BestsellerBound Recommends
A Word Please - Darcia Helle
Maria's Goodreads Blog - Maria Savva
The Tale's The Thing - Joel Kirkpatrick
One Stop Reading - Stacy Juba
Scribblings from my mind - Lana Voynich

Book Reviews and Contests!

Who doesn't like to win free stuff? Who wouldn't want to win free books and free candy? I've got two contests coming up this week, both with some great prizes.

First up, BestsellerBound authors are hosting a giveaway. Enter to win lots of great books by some really talented indie authors. The link will go live sometime on Feb. 1 so check back for the details. http://www.quietfurybooks.com/contests.html And while you're at it, check out BestsellerBound, it's a great community of authors and readers and people interested in discussing books, writing, publishing, and all sorts of other topics. The people there are very supportive and loads of fun. I've pushed them before and I'll push them again. Of all the online groups I've joined, this community is one of the absolute best.

Second, make sure you check my blog on Thursday. I've got a fun food-centered author interview with Frances Pauli as part of her book launch blog tour for Spiders From Memory. As part of my post, I'm giving away three packages of fairy offerings and guava candy to three lucky commenters. So stop by on Thursday and make sure you comment. Frances Pauli is also collecting comments for a lucky winner on her blog tour who will win all three books.

To get you set for the book, which is the third and final book in Frances' fairy urban fantasy, I'm going to post reviews and teasers for the first two books.

A Moth in Darkness starts the series off. A Fly in Paradise continues the wild ride. Spiders from Memory is going to finish the story, or maybe not, according to the author.


The three books tell the story of Elizabeth Larson ten years after she and two friends managed to open the gates to the fairy world. This is not a happy bright little story with happy bright little Tinkerbells flitting around. These stories are dark fantasy delving into addiction and politics and all sorts of what-ifs.

The fairies are bright little creatures, true, but they invite people to join in their dance, to partake of their offerings, which to humans and elves alike is a highly addictive and hallucinogenic experience. Elizabeth Larson has been fighting her addiction for years, but it's ruined her life and her reputation.

The elves are similar to humans, but consider themselves much more refined, cultured, and just plain civilized than us brutish humans. Other fairy-tale creatures also come to vivid life in the books.

Go read the synopsis from the web pages if you want the full setup.

I thoroughly enjoyed the darkness of these stories. The characters are wonderfully imperfect. The political tangles are vast and complicated. Frances Pauli does a marvelous job of creating a world where the Seelie Court rules the fairytale races with a heavy hand, the fairies are at once innocent and devious in their temptations, and the elves are annoying, ruthless, driven, loving, and complex as humans. I can't wait to dive into book three and see how it all works out.

Go read the books. You won't be sorry.

Thursday Recipe - Rachel Paddington's Cheesecake

I met Darcia Helle just over a year ago on BestsellerBound, a great community for authors and readers. She's a great friend and a wonderful storyteller. Our tastes don't always match, but I enjoy her characters and her stories. Check out her books and BestsellerBound. And don't forget to try this simple and delicious cheesecake recipe.

Max Paddington, the main character in my novel Into The Light, likes chocolate milk shakes. As readers get to know him, they will learn this little tidbit. What readers don't learn about Max is that he loves cheesecake. In fact, his wife Rachel would tell you that he is addicted to one specific recipe. She makes this cheesecake for him on every holiday and it's the only thing he asks for on each birthday.

Here is Rachel's recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as Max did.

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 cup graham crackers, crumbled
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp butter, melted

Mix all ingredients together in small bowl. Press into bottom of springform pan. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Cake:

4 8-oz packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tbsp vanilla

Combine cream cheese, sugar and flour. Mix until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Blend in sour cream and vanilla. Pour over graham cracker crust.

Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 250 and continue baking for one hour. Cool before removing rim of pan.

Cheesecake tastes great plain or can be topped with a variety of options, including canned cherry pie filling, blueberry filling or fresh strawberries.

The best hang out I've found online

BestsellerBound is a message board, discussion forum for authors and readers, and a great community of wonderful people. I joined shortly after it opened and I haven't regretted a second of time I've spent there.

The board is celebrating it's first anniversary this week. Here are a couple of blog posts explaining what it is. Plus, the authors on BsB are giving away free books as part of the party. Visit the blog posts and leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for a free book.

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/1521185-bestsellerbound-is-1-year-old

http://mchanson714.blogspot.com/2011/09/year-anniversary-celebration.html

What are you waiting for? Go read the posts, leave a comment for the contest, then visit http://bestsellerbound.com/ to join a wonderful community of writers and readers!

Logo design

Logo design is a tricky business. But I enjoy it. I get to play with colors and shapes and shades. I like this one a lot. It's still a work in progress, so it may change. I did it for the great folks over at BestsellerBound. Check them out. Very friendly group of authors and readers.