Over eighty fabulous authors, panels and workshops for both authors and readers . . . two amazing parties and a huge signing . . . where in the world can you find all of this awesomeness n one event?
Indie BookFest, of course!
This premier author-reader event, in its fifth year in central Florida, takes place September 28th through October 1st at the Westin Lake Mary.
Indie BookFest is the only non-organization- affiliated author event to offer a dedicated Industry Day, with representatives from a variety of service companies presenting workshops, participating in panels and meeting with authors. This year, industry reps include those from Written Word Media, Draft2Digital, Robin Reads, Bublish and more.
But IBF isn’t simply an author education conference. We also offer an entire evening and day of Reader Appreciation panels and presentations—PLUS FanFare, an evening where the authors entertain the readers.
And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a three-hour signing that is free and open to the public, on Saturday from three to six.
Tickets to Indie BookFest 2017 are available now. There are several options for readers and for attending authors:
–INDUSTRY DAY Ticket: This option provides admittance to and participation in all the
panels and workshops offered on Friday, September 29 th . Topics will apply to both new and established authors, as well as to others in the publishing field. This ticket allows attending authors and those interested in exploring the possibility of authorhood to participate in the entire weekend; it also includes FanFare, Reader Appreciation Day participation, the signing and Saturday night party. Thursday night’s Dinner with the Authors is not included.
–VIP TICKET: This option provides admittance to and participation in all aspects of Indie BookFest, including access to the entire weekend EXCEPT the Thursday night dinner (available at an additional charge), including the Green Room, all panels, workshops, parties and signings. VIP ticket holders also receive a special VIP swag bag.
–GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET: This option includes access to FanFare on Friday night, reader workshops and panels on Saturday, the three-hour signing on Saturday, and the Saturday night party, as well as access to the Swag Tables.
–YOUNG AUTHOR EVENT: The Young Author session will take place Saturday, September 30, from 9:30-11 AM. Attendees must be under 18 to attend. A panel of authors will lead the workshop, which will explore all nuances of writing and publishing a book. Very Important: This is an add-on ticket to the main event. You must purchase either a general admission/VIP or Industry Day ticket to add this event.
— THURSDAY NIGHT DINNER WITH THE AUTHORS: Join authors from Indie BookFest 2017 as we kick off the event with a lovely buffet meal in a beautiful setting.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit our website and Eventbrite page.
Murder In The Children’s Section is an adventure into the minds of two fantastic MURDER novelists, Alex Kava and Erica Spindler.
I received a phone call from my hubby, which is not unusual, but this time he had some really great news. Alex Kava and Erica Spindler are here in Pensacola being interviewed at the WSRE PBS station at Pensacola State College. I jumped in the shower, grabbed a couple books from my shelf and ran right out to buy their latest releases. Thus, the bad hair day. LOL I love both authors, so there was no way I was going to miss this.
Erica Spindler, Alex Kava and Me by Sherry Fundin
Both authors were friendly and in no hurry. They were willing to answer all our questions and sign, not just their new releases, but the additional books we brought in for autographs. Of course, we all wanted photos with them. ^_^ They complimented each other very well.
Erica Spindler and Me by Sherry Fundin
Erica Spindler talked about her writing regimen. She gets up early and goes to her local coffee shop to write for a couple of hours. She finds it less distracting, even with all the activity going on around her. Could it be because of the bats that have moved into her home? She waits til the pressure is on and a deadline looms, then takes off, just her and her dog. She spends the time writing and walking. She prefers writing over research. Erica used to write romance, then felt a need to add suspense. Now she can’t imagine writing a book without a murder in it. She feels she has found what she was meant to do in life – writing suspense novels. She talked about how green Pensacola is compared to the New Orleans area, due to the loss of the trees since Hurricane Katrina. She wasn’t sure if she had written thirty or thirty one books and has one in the works.
Alex Kava and Me by Sherry Fundin
Alex Kava’s favorite part of writing is the research. She does marathon writing sessions with her dogs at her side. In Stranded, she made Creed like herself, surrounded by the dogs that they love. She divides her time between Nebraska and Pensacola. She loves to write about places and settings she is familiar with. Alex talked at length about the FBI’s Highway Serial Killings Initiative and Cadaver dogs. She also talked about the research she did into the trucker culture and how her and Erica would be stopping at rest areas while on tour, looking for a Lot Lizard, a truck stop prostitute. She talked about how the Black River State Forest is an excellent dumping ground for bodies a murderer wouldn’t want found. The critters and weather would eat up the body quick, not like the refrigeration of the cold north. I couldn’t help but laugh. She has written thirteen books and has one in the works.
Neither author can imagine writing a book without a murder in it. By the time they tour and promote a new release, they are already writing another novel. Both like to stand when they talk, pacers, making it easy for all of us to see them.
Be sure and check out their websites to see if they will be touring in your area!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I know Alex’s books are always quick and easy reads. The words flow smoothly off the pages making them perfect summer reads. No question in my mind about picking up my copy of her new release – Stranded. I am familiar with a lot of the settings and that makes it even more readable. I’ve stopped at many rest areas and truck stops and never really thought much about it – day or night. Now I will be keeping my eyes open. I want to see a Lot Lizard too.
The big question now is which book do I read first!
New York Times bestselling author Alex Kava returns with another action-packed thriller featuring special agent Maggie O’Dell, who is on the hunt for a “truck stop” serial killer.
Tired travelers and weary truckers have stopped at rest areas on the nation’s highways for decades to refuel, grab a bite, and maybe get some shut-eye, but one man’s rest stop is another’s hunting ground. For decades the defenseless, the weary, and the stranded have disappeared along the highways and byways, vanishing without a trace, but these seemingly unconnected incidents are no coincidence, and a madman stalks the freeways.
When FBI special agent Maggie O’Dell and her partner, Tully, discover the remains of a young woman in a highway ditch, the one clue left behind is a map that will send Maggie and Tully on a frantic hunt crisscrossing the country to stop a madman before he kills again.
As the body count rises and Maggie races against the clock to unmask the monster who’s terrorizing the nation’s highways, she turns to a former foe for help since he seems to know just what the killer’s next move will be. As she gets closer to finding the killer, it becomes eerily clear that Maggie is the ultimate target.
Turn the tables on Alex Kava and stalk her by following the links below:
Grab your copy from Amazon by clicking on the cover.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Erica’s books seem to be more about feelings and emotion, delving into the psychological aspect of the story, making them a little heavier. Her new book, Justice for Sara is a perfect example. The writing also flows smoothly and I would not have to think twice about picking up a book with her name on it.
When seventeen-year-old Katherine McCall awakened one morning to find her beloved sister, Sara, brutally murdered, her whole life changed in the blink of an eye. Kat was named the prime suspect and, on a string of circumstantial evidence, charged and tried. While the jury found her innocent, not everyone else agreed, and her only choice was to go into hiding. But she carried a dark secret with her, one that made her worry she might actually have had something to do with Sara’s death . . .
Now, years later, Kat is still haunted by her sister’s unsolved murder and continues to receive chilling anonymous letters, but she has tried to move on with her life. Until, on the tenth anniversary of Sara’s death, she receives a letter that makes the past impossible to ignore: “What about justice for Sara?” What about justice for Sara? And for herself? Kat realizes that going back to Liberty, Louisiana, might be the only way to move forward and find some peace. And there’s a killer out there who was never caught.
But the town she’s come back to is hardly different from the one she left. The secrets and suspicions still run deep. Kat has an ally in Detective Luke Tanner, son of the former Liberty police chief, but he may be her only one. With plenty of enemies, no one to trust and a killer determined to keep a dark secret buried, Kat must decide if justice is worth fighting—and dying—for.
To keep up on Erica Spindler’s latest, follow the links below:
I loved this book and wanted to share with you this Fantastic Article by Indie House Books and Patrick Jones.
It has been one year ago today that my novel, “The Wolf’s Moon”, was launched. After a year, one might expect the memory of that day to have faded – at least a little. It has not. Everything from my first cup of coffee that morning to the cup of black tea before retiring, are still vivid in my mind.
.
Rich and Dana Burnett, who were the managers of Blazer’s Pub and Grill, encouraged me to have the book signing at that establishment. I was a mainstay at Blazers’s, taking many lunches and suppers there, so it seemed more than right. Tom Burnett, the owner, and his lovely wife, Jenit, gave their blessings as well.
.
The story takes place in the small town of Maple Hills that is situated in Crawford County, Missouri. I fashioned the mythical town after the true city of Bourbon, Missouri and yes, there is a Crawford County.
.
By that Saturday morning, I found several articles in local newspapers about myself and the event. I was starting to get excited.
.
The car was packed and ready for the three mile trek from my home to Blazer’s, by eleven. The signing was to start at noon.
.
My wife, Sandy, is my Business Manager. She was ready for whatever the day brought and far more openly excited than me.
.
Rich and Dana had the tables ready inside while I put up the banners outside. Sandy and I carried in the cases of books. I knew most book signings usually yield sales of eight to ten books. I was ready for that to be the case.
.
Before we even had the books unpacked there was a line forming. It went from there.
The event was to be from twelve noon until two, and then from four in the afternoon until six. That never worked. Once it started with the first sale before noon, Sandy and I were selling books until well after eight that evening.
.
It was a cold rainy day and I expected that fact to influence book sales. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
.
My son and his wife, Gail, along with their three small sons surprised me by showing up. They drove seventy-five miles to be there. My daughter and her husband with my oldest grandson and only granddaughter arrived minutes after my son. A woman I grew up with and had not seen since graduating High School walked in to see me. She lived further away than my daughter.
.
Blazer’s had two sides: The bar side and the restaurant side. It was standing room only and barely that.
.
The population of Bourbon is around two thousand and I felt almost all turned out. Even people that did not buy a book came in to wish me well. I was signing books while I ate.
I never had writer’s cramp in my hand but I came dangerously close that day.
.
Rex, an old Gunny Marine, sat at the bar nursing a Rum and Coke, while he read my book. Sitting next to him, reading, was the Director of the Ozark Regional Library system, Mr. John Mertens. I donated one book but before leaving, for a very long drive home, he bought two more books.
.
It would be so easy to go on, giving a blow by blow of each hour, but I won’t bore you. Sandy and I went home that night with quite a few dollars, very few books left over and memories of how satisfying a lot of hard work can be.
.
Most of all, I found out how many friends we made in a little town in The Ozarks.
Matt’s mom is the original “Everybody Loves Raymond/Martha Stewart” Combo Mother-in-Law.
Every meal was to die for. But it’s hard to explain how “Debra” I feel sometimes.
However, his family put up with my editing and working on my book while I was there. His family even came to Birmingham with us.
I have to say, it was very nice of his family to come and give me and Matt their support!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then we pack everything and go down to Birmingham, Alabama for the Book Expo at the Birmingham Library.
UNFREAKINGBELIVABLE… I have NEVER seen a library so big!
The Birmingham Library had two buildings, it was beautiful and airy! Just perfect!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We stayed at the Tutwiler Hotel right across from the Library and it was GORGEOUS inside and out!
The room was comfortable and VERY luxurious!
I was blown away at how nice it was! If you ever need to stay in Birmingham…stay at the Tutwiler…it is MARVELOUS!!!
And no, I’m not getting a commercial endorsement fee…haha!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The night before the Book Expo we dined at the Applebees with my family, another author Daven Anderson of “Vampire Syndrome” and my Publisher PDMI Direct, TCMcKinney, his wife Nessa and his two children Wayne and Christian.
By the way, his kids are adorable!
My Publisher TC and Nessa presented me with WONDERFUL news!
PDMI, my publisher took my first three books and put them in a LIMITED EDITION GOLD BOX SET of my first three books, “Charmeine,” “Mactus,” and “Accendo.”
There will be ONLY 250 of them made. SQUEEEEEE!!!
The box set looks awesome and it came with a certificate of authenticity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then that wasn’t enough to make my jaw fall on the floor…wait until you hear and see this.
They put all my first three books together in one paperback novel the way I originally intended it!!!
I started to cry.
You have no idea what it’s like to see your ORIGINAL NOVEL put together the way YOU WROTE IT!!
I was so happy and looked at that thick bound book novel and thought about all the work and struggle it was to have that precious book in my hands!
They even had it put together as a “Signature Edition of CHARMEINE” which means it has my signature embossed in the novel on the front cover and in the novel itself!
OH MY GOD! How wonderful!
I’m welling in tears just writing about it
Because folks… I was just in Heaven and still am to see my “Baby” come to life the way I envisioned it to be!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am really happy in this picture, I was just recovering from crying and the shock of the GOLD EDITION novels bound together and then my ORIGINAL signature edition novel!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day was the Book Expo!
I was very excited and also nervous. My husband took this picture. I didn’t know he took it until I saw the pictures. Before the Expo started I had to say a prayer and THANK GOD for letting this day come.
I am not a righteous or overly religious person…no.
However, I do have to thank God for all I have been given and the chances I have had which most people don’t ever have.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Book Expo was great! These are some pics my husband, Matt took.
Yes folks…he is very similar in a lot of ways to Tabbruis…hubba, hubba!
The signing was fun and people in Birmingham have got to be the nicest people to be so welcoming to me and the other authors.
More pictures of signing books!
It was so much fun!
Met PDMI’s other Authors like I said before Daven Anderson of “Vampire Syndrome”!!!
Then this is a picture of all of PDMI’s Authors and Owners!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now it was time to visit my family and my mom.
We took Matt’s family back to St. Louis and then came to Evansville, Indiana where I was born and raised.
I visited family and Mom. She has Alzheimers and didn’t recognize me at all but she talked to me.
However she looked great and is being well-taken care of! She is doing awesome and keeps on being the wonderful lady she is.
I LOVED SEEING and BEING WITH HER!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Storm “NEMO” cut our visit short and we left Evansville, Indiana speeding home in my Charger to race the storm back to New Jersey!
I’m not ashamed to tell you that THANK GOD the Charger is a high performance machine because we raced her all the way home!
We made it!
But it is shovel time!!
EVERYTHING is shut down and a lot of people don’t have power or heat!
Again LONG gas lines…just like Sandy!!!
But New Jersey is tough and we didn’t get it as bad as Long Island did!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well Folks that was my wonderful trip!
It was fun and exciting!
Now, I have a book signing much more closer to home at the
County College of Morris on MARCH 4th in Randolph, New Jersey!
I am thanking God for these wonderful opportunities,
To join in, copy and paste these rules and the above banner into your Fanged Mania post and add your link to this week’s Fanged Mania post at Elisabeth Wheatley’s Blog. Fanged Mania is a Friday meme counting down to the release of Fanged Princess and displaying all things vampire and awesome. Fanged Mania posts can be a review of a vampire book, a quote from the latest Vampire Diaries episode, a showcase of a cool vampire book’s cover, or whatever you like so long as it is vampire related. Don’t forget, participants will be entered in the drawing to win a fanged-abulous prize pack!
The prize pack I mentioned includes Vampire Diaries and Breaking Dawn posters as well as a paperback copy of Erica Steven’s Captured (my review here) and the complete collection of The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter stories by Jennifer Malone Wright, in paperback, too! =D
Oh, and the contest is international. And the more Fanged Mania posts you have, the more entries you get! So what are you waiting for? Hop on the bandwagon!
.
As Tabbruis held Charmeine, he asked her if she thought the Prophecy would be revealed today.
Tabbruis had fed from the stag and was ready for a hot shower. He hopped in his Dodge Charger SRT8 and drove to the hotel.
After his shower, he looked in the mirror and saw her. She appeared in the steam, a vision to behold. He knew it wasn’t real, but he couldn’t forget her.
For some reason, he felt an urgent need to go to New York City. He always stayed at the Ritz Carlton, in the Penthouse Suite. He loved it there and Ferrell always took such good care of his needs and wants. He was alone, but he liked his luxuries and some of the things he required were above and beyond the normal.
Charleen was a school teacher and Shane, her best friend, called to tell her he had to cancel their Billy Joel concert date. Ferrell, his boss, had a super job for him that was too good to pass up. Charleen ended up going to the concert by herself.
In the orphanage, Charleen and Shane had become like brother and sister.They were drawn to each other, but never had the desire to take it further.
While Shane drove Tabbruis around, they listened to a Billy Joel CD.All Tab could think about was her. He listened to the CD and felt as if he was being called to the concert.
Charleen watched the concert, until a feeling of fear overcame her. She felt she was in great danger and knew she had to get away. Tabbruis had felt it too and was heading towards her. He came upon her, lying on the ground with a Blood Hunter standing over her.
Charleen saw Tabbruis was losing the fight. She reached out to him. Before he lost consciousness, he saw her face and a brilliant white light.
Tabbruis had one friend, Dimitri. They were both Blood Drinkers and Dimitri had helped him when he had lost everything. He had told him about himself and the others, the Blood Hunters and the Light Bearers. The Light-Bearers are the good of God, God’s Angels. Dimitri also told him about The Prophecy – a special Light- Bearer, along with her mate, a Blood Hunter, and her family, would bring justice and harmony to Earth.
Tabbruis was in a desperate situation. It was time to call Dimitri for help.
3 STARS – Would Recommend To Others
**********************************I am not surprised that the story started out slow, I feel it is just setting the foundation for the series. The first three books were meant to be one BIGBOOK. So don’t be discouraged, you really need to read on********************************
The cover is pretty and caught my eye. I love brilliant, saturated colors.
I love hot cars, so any time I can slip one, especially a super cool one, into my post, I do. ^_^ I felt if Tabbrius drove such a hot car, he had to be hot, too. ^_^
I had heard and seen so much about this series, I felt I had to read it for myself. I am not a huge romance fan, so I wasn’t sure if I would like the book. I really want more to the story than love and happiness. I like a lot of action and as I read along, the story began to pick up the pace. By the time I reached the end of the book, I was ready for more. A love story, but so much more. You can feel the love oozing out of the pages, the sexual tension builds until …………
Emily Guido’s writing will draw you deeper into Charmeine’s and Tabbruis’ lives as they discover their true purpose. Is it Fate? Is it Destiny? Have their lives already been written?
What would you do, if in the blink of an eye, everything you believed in was no more?
Do you believe in angels? If you believe in good, there must be bad.
As Emily described the fight, I could picture it. I love it , when the writing is so descriptive, I can picture the scenes. The story unrolls like a movie in my mind. When Emily says she pictures the characters and scenes in her mind, I can definitely relate, as the scenes played out in my head because of her deep and thorough descriptions.
Emily wants you to know that Charmeine is just the tip of the iceberg in the series….to really get to the lip-smacking gravy part, you really need to read Charmeine, Mactus and Accendo, which were one book. That is why, for the giveaway, if you already have Charmeine and Mactus (which were free on Amazon, which is how I got mine), Emily will replace your win with Accendo.
By the time I got to the end of Charmeine, I was ready for Mactus. Some people look at a big book and won’t even pick it up. It seems all the publishers want authors to make two books instead of one, but I can get into long books. So the series are good because it’s like a really long book and I can get so into the story, that when I’m done and the last page is read, it is such a let down, that I almost go into a depression from such a deep feeling of loss. It’s kind of silly really, it’s just a book, and the characters are not real, but I have always been emotionally involved in my reading. I love traveling into new worlds and meeting new people through the characters in books.
I picked up this book on a FREE day on Amazon and I am very glad I did. I see many hours of traveling through time with Charmeine and Tabbruis.
A Couple Of My Favorite Quotes
“Semper tuus ero……I am forever yours”
“You quiet me and stir my passion all at the same time.”
Emily Guido has her first book signing coming up February 2 at the Book Expo in the Birmingham Library in Birmingham, Alabama.
Emily will also be at the County College of Morris in Randolph, New Jersey on March 4 in the college bookstore.
How exciting for her. If you are in the area, you too, can be a part of it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Guido is a very new Young Adult, Paranormal Romance Author. She was inspired to start writing “The Light-Bearer Series” because one day she got an idea of two light and dark characters who have an epic romance. A week later, Emily had over a 100,000 words written. When she writes, she pictures the characters in her head going through vivid descriptions of each scene. She has written five novels, “Charmeine” “Mactus” “Accendo” “Seditious” and “Ransom” The sixth novel in “The Light-Bearer Series,” is entitled “Conundrum” and will be released in 2013.
Notes to Reviewers and Readers:
First, the Blood-Hunter race or Elders have been on Earth for thousands of years. Because of this, they do not use contractions like I’m, don’t or can’t. They communicate in a more refined way because of their age.
Second, there are several OLD editions out in circulation of my books. Please leave a review on the current edition. Please feel free to contact me, Emily, at guido.emily@gmail.com to check the edition you have is the recent edition.
To order any of the books, simply click on the cover.
.
GIVEAWAY
Emily Guido is generously offering 5 ebooks (PDF, MOBI, Epub and HTML) of Charmeine for the Giveaway. If you already have Charmeine and Mactus, Emily will give you Accendo instead.
International. Easy entry as always, just leave your email address and answer the question:
Who is your favorite hunk or hunkess in a book, movie………?
Giveaway will run from 1/18 – 2/1/2013.
CLOSED. WINNERS are — Lacey G – emaginette – Jenny – Kylie – Pragya.
I hope you will tweet this out and share it with your friends, family and followers.
You don’t want to miss more of my posts, so take a moment to become one of my followers. ^_^
I am going to be featuring Emily Guido’s Light-Bearer Series until the story is told, so be sure and stay tuned for more wonderful adventures of Charmeine and Tabbrius.
Stranded by Alex Kava
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 STARS – Would Recommend To Others
Emily Guido is a very new Young Adult, Paranormal Romance Author. She was inspired to start writing “The Light-Bearer Series” because one day she got an idea of two light and dark characters who have an epic romance. A week later, Emily had over a 100,000 words written. When she writes, she pictures the characters in her head going through vivid descriptions of each scene. She has written five novels, “Charmeine” “Mactus” “Accendo” “Seditious” and “Ransom” The sixth novel in “The Light-Bearer Series,” is entitled “Conundrum” and will be released in 2013.
