Sneak Peek Sunday – my new release: Silver Blade

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Charlotte Copper

It’s official, my e-novella Silver Blade is now available!! At this time it is only available for Kindle via Amazon’s KDP at Silver Blade Buy link (The general release date is July 24th) So for this week and as part of Sneak Peek Sunday, I’m posting the first six paragraphs of Silver Blade…

Silver Blade

Dusk was settling in. A solitary headlight approached in her rearview mirror. With a whoosh, a motorcycle passed, the single red taillight ascending the next hill. A second pair of headlights came over the rise behind Angela, advancing quickly and illuminating her mirrors. Her hands tightened on the steering wheel as a massive black SUV shot out around her, its size and speed shaking the little car.

“What the…?” she exclaimed to the empty passenger seat. She witnessed the speeding monster climb the long low hill, gaining on the motorcycle. Although night was approaching fast, she could see the larger vehicle pull alongside the motorcycle, entering into the opposite lane. The two vehicles neared the top of the hill, the SUV hidden by the rise to oncoming traffic. The black mammoth swerved and sent the much smaller vehicle off the road into the grass and trees.

“Holy crap!” she cried out, removing her foot from the gas. Surely there must have been another vehicle approaching to cause the SUV to make such a drastic move. She watched the top of the hill, but no other traffic came, nor did the huge vehicle come back to check on the ill-fated bike and rider.

She returned pressure to the accelerator and followed the deserted country hill to the approximate spot where the motorcycle left the road. The pounding of her heart echoed against her temples. She closed her eyes. Deep breath. Relax.

She grabbed her purse from the passenger seat and climbed out of the car. She rooted around in the large satchel and found the rough cut of keys at the bottom. She hurried around to the back of the car and popped the trunk, then stared at its contents. A few boxes and two suitcases, one his and one hers.

Her brother, Bobby, a park ranger, had come across his share of bears and wild animals, but instead his life had been taken by a drunk driver. She was on her way back from burying him, his few items worth keeping packed away in the flimsy cardboard. She shook off the memories and yanked forward a small metal box.

Back to Sneak Peek Sunday: http://sneak-peek-sunday.blogspot.ca/

Blog Tours

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Charlotte Copper

Well, as I mentioned before, I have a release date for Silver Blade of July 24th. What I wasn’t sure of – and what has just been confirmed – is that I have an early release date with Amazon on their Kindle KDP program, and Silver Blade will be released on Wednesday April 24th.

So the question arises…do I blog tour or not blog tour? If only a select group of buyers are able to purchase my book for the first three months, is it worth it? I’m having a hard time with the whole promotion thing anyway because as an e-novella it has limit distribution and a low price, so there won’t be a lot of royalty $$ to offer prizes. (Some authors offer $25 gift certificates, and kudos to them!)

I decided, however, I would take a blog trip when one of my favorite bloggers, Melissa Snark (melissasnark.blogspot.ca) offered me the chance of appearing on her blog. So on Tuesday May 21st I’ll be on her Author Spotlight, and on Thursday May 23rd she will be reviewing my book.

Another wonderful author and blogger who has offered me the opportunity of expanding my horizons is Delilah Devlin (delilahdevlin.com), and I will be on her blog on July 25th.

I might try to squeeze another one or two in before the general release, and then a few after. I’ll post the sites and locations again as they actually occur, and I hope that you come out and visit me….not just for my own promotion, but as a way of thanking these wonderful authors who are willing to support other writers. Who knows, maybe you’ll find other authors you like through these blogs.

If there is one thing I’ve learned from writing – besides how to handle rejection letters – it is that writers are a wonderfully supportive group of people.

Snow Day? Really?!?!

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Charlotte Copper

So depending on where you live, you may or may not have heard of “Snow Days”. What these are, are days when the school buses don’t run due to inclement weather. The problem with this is that less than a quarter of The Daughter’s school is bused, and yet when the buses don’t run no one goes to school.

At the beginning I tried sending her (we live on the same road as the school, a 1.5 km walk) but she would seriously end up at school with about twenty other kids and do nothing all day.

Today is a “Snow Day”. The problem with this? The roads are stone dry!! There is a weather warning…but this is the same weather warning from yesterday that said the storm would be here last night. (Not here yet. It is waiting for my two hour drive tonight!)

I understand why the buses don’t run….who wants to be responsible for that many children on a snow, slippery day? And yes it is dry now, but it “might” be slippery later, and then how do you get all these kids home?

I know The Daughter is not going to want to go to school. When I wake her she is going to say “but mom, no one else will be there”. And she is right. The teachers still have to go in. But the bused kids won’t be there, and every other student will use the same line on their parents “but mom…”

If only I could get all the parents at her school to read this blog (wouldn’t that be nice)…but if they were reading this blog right now, I’d say “Hey, let’s send the kids to school. Remember when we had to walk…both ways, up hill, barefoot in a snowstorm?!” Let’s build a little character in them. We have to work, why shouldn’t they?

But it won’t happen. And The Daughter will say “but mom” and I’ll let her stay home, and the next kid will say “but mom”, and so on, and so on, and so on.