And the winner is...

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...

Follow Fest '14 - Last Day!

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. ;)

Follow Fest '14 - Day 4

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.

Follow Fest '14 - Day 3

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.

Follow Fest '14 - Day 2

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.

Follow Fest '14 - Day 1

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 visiting 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. :)

My Follow Fest Post

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?

New Release! The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

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.

Promo Friday - September

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 threatening his life are drawing the Byzantine Strangler closer and closer. The fine line between hunter and hunted has suddenly blurred. Will Track be the next piece of the mosaic puzzle?

You can find MOSAICS at Amazon.

And you can visit E.E. Giorgi's website and blog here: http://chimerasthebooks.blogspot.com/ 

Click here to enter the giveaway! 

Do you like a strong, 'kick-ass' heroine? Literally? Then get your hands on Fierce by L.G. Kelso. 

Tori’s MMA career was taking off, until she beat the wrong man. Her training partner, nursing a bruised ego, snapped—shattering her trust and confidence. 

Three years later, Tori’s keeping her fists to herself as she struggles to put herself through college. But when a group of gangbangers hassle her at work, old habits kick in and her fists fly. Max Estrada, a frequent diner customer, steps in and gets them out of hot water, but Tori is still fired… days before tuition is due. [...] The sexy Colombian draws her back into the world of MMA and revives her dreams of becoming a professional face-puncher—until Will, her old partner and current Middleweight Champion, struts back into the gym. The secret they share is an unexpected liability to his career, and he’s determined to keep her silent. 

With her life on the ropes, Tori will have to face the past for a shot at winning back her future, or carry the weight of a loss even greater than before. 

Fierce is L.G. Kelso's debut novel. Congrats, L.G.!!! :D 
L.G. has a blog tour starting on the 15th. Contact her for details.

Buy it here:
Amazon/Kindle  ~  Nook  ~  Smashwords

Kobo & itunes/ibookstore coming soon  

Don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads 

M. Pax released The Rifters, the first book of her new series, on  September 8th. Congratulations, Mary! :D

The Rifters is available at a special introductory price--FREE! 

... Nestled inside ancient volcanic peaks, the town of Settler, [Oregon] holds onto many secrets. Residents roam the streets with weirdly fashioned devices, and odd lights pulse in the night skies. People whisper of a phantom outlaw and start dying, murdered and missing their heads. On top of it all, [Daelin Long’s] sister is missing, and Daelin doesn’t know who to trust. 

[Earl Blacke] knows more than he's saying. He shares a notorious history with the phantom, on he'll see remains buried. Keeping Daelin's sister's secrets is his only chance at redemption, and the only way to keep this world safe.

Buy links: Amazon / Amazon UK / AmazonDE / AmazonAU / AmazonCA

B&N / Smashwords / Googleplay / iTunes / Kobo

Versent Books / inktera

The second book in the series, The Initiate, will be available on October 20th. It's available for pre-order for a special price at select retailers. For more information, click here.

Giveaways and events are ongoing through October 31st. Check here for details.

Author Cassie Hayes has a western historical romance on sale. You can get Gold Rush Brides: The Beginning for just 99c!

Who needs a man? Certainly not Miss Delilah Price! 

Abandoned by the man who ordered her as a mail order bride, Delilah struggles to get by in Gold Rush-era San Francisco. Jack Dalton struck it rich in the Sierra Nevada and is having a mighty fine time spending his gold at dance halls and saloons in town. Can they let go of their pasts and find hope for their future or will they let their fears tear them apart? 

You can buy Gold Rush Brides here:

Amazon  ~  iTunes  ~   B&N  ~  Kobo 

...and you can find Cassie here:
Website  ~  Facebook

Carol Kilgore's book, Secrets Of Honor, releases very soon, on September 15th!  

Sometimes, a woman has to do what a woman has to do . . . even when she knows she shouldn't.

Carol writes 'crime fiction with a kiss,' and her stories are darn good stuff. :)

You can keep an eye out for Secrets Of Honor and its buy links on Carol's website.

If all goes as planned, How I Found The Write Path, an anthology of letters compiled by PK Hrezo and Carrie Butler, should be available on Monday, too. Woohoo! 

(I contributed to this ebook, so I'm allowed a little happy-dance. :)

And last, but definitely not least, I have some great news from  Alex J. Cavanaugh...

On the heels of the wonderful turnout for Sunflowers for Tina on Monday, Samantha Redstreake Geary made this announcement:

“As a lasting tribute to Tina, I, along with 25 amazing authors, are publishing audiomachine‘s TREE OF LIFE: Branching Out collaborative story in ebook format on Amazon, launching Sept. 12th! Stunning book cover designed by gifted graphic artist and composer, Ryo Ishido. All proceeds of the TREE OF LIFE ebook will benefit the Downey Education Fund set up for Tina’s two boys.

Tina contributed to this anthology - and it's available Today! 

Thanks for visiting. :)

Remember: the next Promo Friday is scheduled for Oct. 10th. 

Deadline for submitting content is Wednesday, Oct. 8th.  

Note: Short blurbs or taglines are preferred. 
If you send me a long blurb, I might shorten it.

(Promo Friday is a monthly service I provide to my followers.) 

Sunflowers for Tina

On Saturday August 23rd, we lost Tina Downey, a talented lady and a good friend in the writing community. Today we're joining together across the blogosphere to remember her and show our support.

I didn't know Tina as well as some. I'd seen her around, here and there, but had only begun interacting with her on a regular basis a few months ago, when we joined the same small writers' group. I've come to realize that was my loss.

Tina had a way of brightening us up when we'd had a bad day or were feeling down about our writing. She had a sense of humor that permeated her posts and comments, even when she was battling heath struggles that would have put most bloggers on hiatus. She was like a rainbow on a cloudy day.

Tina loved sunflowers. For this tribute, we were asked to plant or display a sunflower in her memory.

The header of Tina's blog sports a pink flamingo.

 I love wind chimes, so when I saw this...

...I knew I had to have it. Every time the breeze 

grazes the chimes, I'll think of her.

I'll miss your friendship, Tina.

If you're moved to do something, you can help brighten the future of Tina's two sons. The family has set up the Downey Education Fund. To donate via secure link to PayPal, please click here.