Melissa Maygrove

My kids and my laptop are calling me. It's time to take a break. I'm on hiatus until further notice. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

*pulls name from hat* Carrie Butler!!! :D Congratulations, Carrie. You win the $15 Amazon gift card! Thanks for playing. :)

Pioneer Hearts , a Facebook group dedicated to western romance, is hosting a month-long Christmas event. Each day, a couple of us authors are posting an excerpt or custom-written scene, along with a recipe and a chance for commenters to win a prize. Not me. I'm going to be different. (C'mon. You could at least act surprised. :P) I couldn't come up with a by-the-seat-of-my-pants scene, and Christmas was not a good time for my characters, so I decided to post some real historical romance instead.

This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for Dec ember. Alex's awesome co-hosts for Dec ember are: Heather Gardner,   T. Drecker from Kidbits,   Eva E. Solar at Lilicasplace,   and Patsy Collins! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you.  Trying to balance being an author with being a working wife and mom is tou gh. T hrow in a major holiday and, in just one week, my word count total went from 2,380 to 650. December 's not l ooking much better.  

I have a Kindle and I buy loads of e-books. Like many of you, I often download books to support fellow authors, even if said book is outside my area of interest. The backlog of e-books I own is, well, it's embarrassing. Amazon sometimes informs me that a new version of an e-book is available. "Significant editorial changes have been made," the notifications usually say. The frequency of these has been increasing, but I rarely take them up on it. The reason I don't is twofold. Partly, I don't want to lose the original version of the book, and the update is apparently an either-or proposition. If they'd give me the updated copy and also let me keep the first, I'd be more inclined to accept. The other reason I decline is on principle.

Yes, you read right--two $400 Amazon giveaways. If you enter both giveaways, you have a chance to win a total of $800 in Amazon gift cards just in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday!  Enter now, and everyday until November 27th, to increase your chances of winning one or both $400 Amazon shopping sprees, compliments of The Kindle Book Review, Digital Book Today , and your favorite authors, including me. :) Here are the two links. (My book is included in the second one.)

Today I'm over at J Q Rose's blog , offering some writing tips and a prize.  I hope you'll pay us a visit. By the way, this is a series. The schedule for this month and next is... Nov. 6th - Joselyn Vaughn Nov. 13th - Me Nov. 20th - Conda Douglas Dec. 4th - Marsha R. West Dec. 11th - Kathy McIntosh Dec. 18th - Helena Fairfax Thanks for stopping by. :)

Today, I'm posting a character interview with Leena Williams, the protagonist from Quanie Miller's latest book, The New Mrs. Collins .  *smiles*  This oughta be good. 

This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for Nov ember. Alex's awesome co-hosts for Nov ember are: LG Keltner, Donna Hole,   Lisa Buie-Collard   and SL Hennessy!   Please stop by their blogs and say thank you.  I'm a member of a small writer's group that provides accountability and encouragement for each of its members to reach his or her goal. One way we motivate each other is to email weekly quotes to the group on our assigned day.  This was the one I shared last week. Maybe it will encourage you.

I have a double dose of promo goodness for you today. I get to introduce a new release and a new friend. Some of you know I was recently interviewed for The Houston Press's 100 Creatives series. Well, besides being totally flipped out and honored to even be asked, I got to meet journalist Jef With One F. Not only is Jef a super-nice guy, he's a professional who made the whole experience fun and easy.

It's pretty bad when your writer friends start emailing you to ask if you're okay. I am. I've been a lousy blogger and an even lousier visitor, but that's because I'm drafting my next book.  In fact, I wrote over 1600 words yesterday. (I want out of healthcare really, really bad . :P) I hope you'll understand and extend me a little grace. I love you and I miss you. I'll visit as soon as I can.

Looking for something for your TBR? You're kidding us, right, Melissa? Um. *glances at own TBR pile and blushes* Never mind. Need a gift for someone who likes historical romance? *smiles and nods hopefully* If so, you're in luck!  Come Back is on sale now through October 19th.  In fact, a whole herd of western romances are.   There are giveaways, too.

It's time for Promo Friday! More good news this month. :) White Lady , a psychological thriller by Jessica Bell, released on October 1st. Whoa! That cover is chilling! Congratulations, Jessica! Blurb teaser:  Sonia yearns for sharp objects and blood. But now that she’s rehabilitating herself as a “normal” mother and mathematics teacher, it’s time to stop dreaming about slicing people’s throats . ... Watch the  TRAILER Add to Goodreads Buy the eBook: Kindle US / Kindle UK / Kindle CA   Kindle AU / Kindle DE / Kindle FR

In this modern, cyber-infused world, we writers are bombarded with constant distractions that keep us from our most fundamental task... writing. (Now that I have a smart phone, I suffer this all the more. >.<) I mean, c'mon. We're expected to build, grow, and maintain a social media platform, then find the peace and quiet necessary to write thousands of expertly crafted and painstakingly polished words. It's kind of ironic when you really think about it. Connect! Now unplug! :P I recently heard about a couple of apps that are designed to help modern humans eliminate the distractions, or at least control them enough to find a balance .

I'm taking a break to write.  Sorry I missed you.

I'd like to thank all the bloggers who participated in Follow Fest. You guys made it a whopping success for a second year.  You rock! :D I know you're here to find out who won, so I won't make you wait any longer. The winner, per Random.org., is...

This is the last day of Follow Fest '14! But don't fret; there's still time to sign up. The Linky will remain open until 11:59 central time tonight. And don't worry if you didn't get around to making all the visits. I'll leave the Linky up like I did last year. You can hop it from here or the Follow Fest page. ;)

It's day 4 of Follow Fest '14! If you're returning, welcome back. If you're new, hello! This is a bloghop for the purpose of connecting with other writers. Any blogger can sign up once their Follow Fest post launches. Just copy the link, come back here, and enter.

It's day 3 of Follow Fest '14! If you're returning, welcome back. If you're new, hello! This is a bloghop for the purpose of connecting with other writers. Any blogger can sign up once their Follow Fest post launches. Just copy the link, come back here, and enter.

It's day 2 of Follow Fest '14! If you're returning, welcome back. If you're new, hello! This is a bloghop for the purpose of connecting with other writers. Any blogger can sign up once their Follow Fest post launches. Just copy the link, come back here, and enter.

Welcome to the first day of  Follow Fest '14! Once you've launched your post (instructions here .) , copy the link and come sign up on the Linky.  It will stay open all week. You can start visit ing blogs and meeting other writers anytime. If you already know someone, that's cool. Visit their blog anyway. It'll be a good opportunity to catch up with them and make sure you haven't missed any of their follow options. Still not sure? Let me sweeten the pot with a giveaway. :)

The purpose of this blogfest is to meet other writers and build our platforms. Follow Fest '14 runs thru Friday.  There's still time to sign up! :)  Fiction or nonfiction? 99.9% Fiction What genres do you write?

You've probably seen this book around. That's because it was one of the four books chosen by Amazon for 'Kindle First' in August.   The Paper Magician is now available in all formats.  Congratulations, Charlie!!! Bound to a magic she never wanted, a young apprentice falls deeper into its mysteries when she must use everything she’s learned from her master in order to save him… and his heart .

I have seven books for you today.  Now, that's more like it! The first one is right up my genetics-lover, science buff alley. And it's part of a series! :) E.E. Giorgi is celebrating a new release, MOSAICS -- A Track Presius Mystery! MOSAICS is book 2 in the Track Presius mystery series, a hard-boiled detective thriller with a genetic twist. CHIMERAS , book 1 in the series, is a 2014 Readers' Favorite Book Award finalist. Dubbed the Byzantine Strangler because of the mysterious mosaic tiles he leaves at the crime scene, a new serial killer is stalking the streets of Los Angeles. Racing to decipher the code encrypted in the tiles before the killer strikes again, Detective Track Presius faces a new challenge: the "awakened" genes that make his vision and olfactory sense so sharp are now taking a toll on his life.  When a new set of tiles appears in his own backyard, Track makes a chilling realization: those very same genes that are th...