Secret Magicks Giveaway for PNR, FR, and UF

Paranormal romance, fantasy romance and urban fantasy lovers, how would you like to

take home a Kindle, Amazon gift card, or ebook prize pack where you get to choose the

list of books you want from Amazon? Enter now for your chance to win!

Plus, check out the Secret Magicks Book Fair for a scavenger hunt game with a

personal, leather-bound spell book up for grabs, and a huge shelf’s worth of page-

turning vampire, angel, shifter, witch, fae, and other reads for 2.99 or less, some FREE!

Secret Magicks Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Giveaway

October 11-31

Kindle Fire 7 • Amazon Gift Cards • Ebook Packs • Leather-Bound Spell Book

https://bookwrapt.com/secret-magicks/

https://bookwrapt.com/secret-magicks-book-fair/

(This giveaway is sponsored by the authors listed below)

Alex Gordon • Amanda Uhl • Angelica R. Jackson • Bernadette Rowley • C.D. Gorri • Carrie Pulkinen • Christa Paige • Christina McKnight • D. Lieber • Dawn Marie Hamilton • Denise D. Young • E.B. Black • Eichin Chang-Lim • Elizabeth Rose • Erica Monroe • Greg Alldredge • J.L. Myers • J.C. Andrijeski • Judith Sterling • Karen Michelle Nutt • Karina Kantas • Katherine Gilbert • Kerry Blaisdell • L.E. Harrison • Lisa Voisin • Megan Starks • Mimi Barbour • N.D. Jones • Rebecca Hefner • Sedona Venez • Sharon Ashwood • Stephanie West • Zoe Dawson

Write On, Dude, Write On

Write On Con, an online kidlit writer's conference, started today! Well, the forum got a head start, but the advice posts and live events are now going full swing! Here's what the organizers advertised, and boy does it live up to it:

"Attendees don’t need to take time off work, travel, or spend a truckload of money. They can enjoy the conference from the convenience of their own homes, for free—and the schedule is designed around working hours. (Transcripts are also available of the entire conference, should anyone have to miss part of it.) And everything for the conference takes place within this website, which means everyone with basic Internet access will be able to participate in all aspects of the conference—no additional software or technology required.

During the conference, keynote addresses, agent panels, and lectures are presented as blogs, vlogs, moderated chats, webinars, podcasts, and livestreaming. There is also a critique forum, where participants can post query letters and writing samples to receive helpful feedback and comments from their peers and industry professionals. And, as if that weren’t exciting enough, there are also daily contests, giving random winners everything from books to personalized critiques from agents."

See you around the forum and comments!

UPDATE: My query for Crow's Rest has so far not gotten any Agent Ninja love in the forums, but it did get a partial request from agent Peter Knapp in his MG/YA Pitch live critique!

Top 5 Kindle Tips

We got our Kindle 3G last fall, and recently some friends and family members have gotten Kindles too. They asked me for some tips on navigating the features, and I decided to post them here:

1. Your Kindle has a Web Browser

The number of people that didn't realize their Kindle has a Web Browser feature surprised me. Under Menu>Experimental>Web Browser, the Kindle does indeed include a rudimentary web browser. I say rudimentary because it's clunky and slow (especially if you're used to a good smartphone, tablet, or netbook), but it is considered experimental so I wasn't expecting a lot.

However, on several car trips it's come in very handy when I needed an address, a map, to search for a store or restaurant, things like that where a smart phone comes in handy. But, alas, I don't have a smartphone, and was glad to at least have access to the internet through my Kindle. My Yahoo! Mail seems to have compatibility issues, so I don't see myself using this regularly for email unless I'm really desperate for a fix.

Also, turn off the wireless (via the Menu button) when you're not using it, and your power will last longer.

2. You Can Upload Your Own Documents to Your Kindle

What's more, you can do so for free, by USB or email. For USB, just drag and drop, and for email you'll need to send them as an attachment to your "name"@free.kindle.com address (check your account settings to find yours, but it's usually the same name as the email you use on Amazon.com). If it's a PDF file, you can also type "convert" (without the quotes) as the subject line, and it will convert your PDF to an AZW format (for better formatting on your device, and to access features like font size).

There are some occasions that the free kindle upload doesn't work, and Amazon may try to send it by 3G instead. For that contingency, it's a good idea to set a charge limit for documents so you're not caught by surprise. You can set the limit through the "Manage Your Kindle Page".

3. A Kindle Can Read to You

This is also an experimental feature on the Kindle, though more people are aware of text-to-speech because there was some speculation on whether or not this feature infringes on audio rights. The experience of using the text-to-speech that comes with the Kindle does not compare to a well-done audio book, so no contest in my mind.

The Kindle's "voice" is pretty robotic, but that can mean some unintentionally funny readings. What it's truly valuable for, is using it in conjunction with uploading your documents.

When we read our own writing, whether on the page or out loud, we impose a certain rhythm on the words. Someone else doing a cold read (and what's colder than an experimental robot's voice?) may not have the same take. So words that are repeated jump out at you more, as well as places where you might need a comma, period, or new paragraph.

4. There Are Lots of Free Kindle Books Out There

When you go to the Kindle Store, there is a link on the left that will take you to Free Ebook Collections and there are some marvelous classic works listed, but what if you're in the mood for something more contemporary? Especially if you're wanting to try out a new author?

From the "Bestselling Kindle eBooks in Featured Categories" page, click on a genre and it takes you to a page displaying the Top 100 Paid and Top 100 Free in that category.

Another trick is to browse the genre you want, and then sort them using "Price: Low to High". You should get a few pages of free and nearly-free books before the prices start climbing.

5. You Don't Need to Buy a $50 Leather Case to Protect Your Kindle

Unless you want to, of course. My Kindle travels in my purse inside a low-tech sleeve: a bubble wrap pocket. Somebody shipped me a few music CDs inside one, and it fits perfectly without adding a lot of bulk. If I want another layer over that, I have an old-school zip up fabric book cover.

And then there's the Speck Dustjacket that I bought with a Target gift card, so technically it didn't cost me anything at all. I love that it has a stand (I have a bad habit of reading while I'm eating) and the "covers" have a weight/thickness to them that makes it easier to hold in my hands for longer periods.

You can also protect the most important part, the screen, with a film you apply over it, but I've heard mixed reviews on those. Since there isn't any sensitive touch-screen technology in the Kindle, it's probably not necessary.


So those are my Top 5 Kindle Tips! Hope they were helpful. Also, there is one more experimental feature that allows you to listen to MP3-formatted music, but I haven't successfully gotten any files on my Kindle yet so I don't know how good they sound. Anybody else have any tips they want to share?



Addendum: Hilarious blooper while composing this post. I had to tweet it: Mistyping fingers faster than brain. Just typed "dongjunction" instead of "conjunction". That's a whole nother Schoolhouse Rock

Need an excuse to come to Lake Tahoe?

If you've been writing for a while, you've probably heard of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers workshops and events (this is their 41st year!) at some point.

But what you may not know is that they post a schedule of events on their website (you can also sign up by email) and many of the events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. That's right, you don't have to be accepted and enrolled as a participant. So if you can find a way out there, you have a feast of valuable writing input just waiting for you.

Lest you think free might translate into poor quality presentations, I have to mention the Roseville LitFest that I went to last Saturday. It was funded by some grants and corporate sponsorships, and the speakers were not paid, so the library was able to offer this as a free event.

There were maybe 50 booths for authors and other writing-related organizations, and it was so fun to walk around and talk to everybody. Some of that fun was the fantasy of, "Someday I'll be on the other side of that table," but some was just the opportunity to make a connection with the author. They all were so enthusiastic about their projects.

There were even panels and writing workshops; for the most part, I thought it was a similar experience to the SCBWI Spring Spirit Conference that was held in Rocklin. Except I had to pay money for that one (I didn't mind, it's to support the organization and the authors that spoke, and I made some great connections).

For the LitFest, I figured that I may not learn anything very new, but at least I wouldn't go away thinking I didn't get my money's worth! We've all been to at least one of those conferences or workshops where we say, "Man, I should have used that money for postage and printer ink."

Addendum: Article in the Sacramento Press on the Roseville Lit Fest