1-Year-Anniversary – Where The Poppies Grow – By Stephanie Ayers

Title: Where the Poppies Grow

Author: International Bestselling Author Stephanie Ayers

Genre: Paranormal, Thriller, and Suspense

Blurb: Every Spring she stands in the poppy field waiting on her groom. No one knows her name or where she comes from. She never ages and never fails to appear, weeping for her lover. Each night, the men of Stoney Village hear her cries and wander to the field, but only one can be chosen. Will there be any left to answer her calls where the poppies grow?

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09R7ZX8XN

Book is available in Kindle Unlimited

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Excerpt:

She said her name was Maize, and I couldn’t stop staring at her. Her dirty blonde hair looked so silky, I wanted to run my fingers through it. Her cheeks flowed with a natural blush my fingers ached to caress. She paid me no mind, though, just continued collecting the poppies, clutching them to her chest and sniffing them before tossing them into the air. The flowers flit around her like red confetti, until they fell to the ground and mingled together in the field.

“I’m Carter. The poppies are early this year.”

I had no idea why I said that. I only meant to introduce myself. It was true, though. The poppies usually didn’t bloom for another month.

Maize just smiled and nodded, tossing more flowers into the air. A few of the blossoms settled in her hair, and it stole my breath away. She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, and she wasn’t from around here.

She couldn’t be because I’d never seen her before. And a girl who looked like she did would have been noticed, and not just by me. Everyone would have noticed her.

The fact that I only ever saw her in the poppy field should have been a clue, but I was so captivated by her, it never crossed my mind I never saw her elsewhere.

Admittedly, I stayed pretty busy between my schoolwork and my real job—which I only had so I could pay for college. Neither left me much time for a social life, and it never bothered me until I met Maize. Time stood still when she was around. I never wanted to leave because I never knew for sure when she’d come back.

She showed up with the appearance of the first poppy, and I worried she would go away when the last one disappeared. I don’t know why I thought that. It was crazy thinking, but I was much too wrapped up in her—or maybe it was the idea of her—to really consider the bigger picture.

The time of year, the appearance of the poppies, and the fact that she never went anywhere but the field should have been obvious clues; red flags I happily ignored as long as I could spend time with her. Time stood still whenever Maize was around, and that was okay with me.

It was not okay with my boss or my teachers. My mother didn’t much care for it, either, but none of them mattered when she was there.

We didn’t even need to talk. We just picked flowers side by side and tossed them into the air, their blooms covering us like blood until we were one with the field. And maybe that’s when I should’ve run far, far away, but I didn’t.

That was my first mistake.

“Where are you going?” my mother inquired.

“Gardner’s Field.”

“Please don’t. The poppies are in bloom, so it’s Maeve Hadley season.”

I laughed. My eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “That’s just an old wives’ tale, Ma. The only thing haunting that field is ghosts of memories gone by. No one has disappeared from that field for as long as I’ve been alive.”

Mom’s forehead wrinkled. “That doesn’t mean Maeve hasn’t shown up. Just do me a favor and stay away from the poppies. Please?”

I shook my head. Mom was easily placated, but I hated lying to her. Somehow, she always knew.

“I’m not going to make any promises I can’t keep. I promise to be careful, okay? Besides, the girl I meet up with is named Maize, not Maeve.”

“Maize, Maeve—they sound an awful lot alike. I heard she uses a different name every year.”

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Connect with Stephanie

Author Bio: A creative ninja with a dark mind and a quirky nature, Stephanie Ayers writes all the words and spins twisted tales filled with horror, fantasy, suspense, and anything in between. With a trunk full of tricks thanks to a checkered past, she haunts Irish castles and snowy mountaintops in her dreams, while living the unicorn life in Ohio disguised as a human. When she isn’t listening to the voices in her head, she spends her days as a mom, Gigi, cat lover, and Netflix binger, while avoiding housework at all costs.

Since signing with Crazy Ink Publishing, Stephanie has managed to somehow produce over a dozen solo works (with no ending in sight). With ink in her blood, an absence of fear, and a passion for telling stories, she isn’t afraid to dip her pen in the inkwell of many genres, and even has four successful series in her name—the stand-alone horror volumes of The 13 Series, the amateur witch detectives of the Coven Cozy Mysteries, the individual displaced characters in the Portal to Madness series, and her epic five book fantasy series, Destiny Defined.

When she isn’t lost in her overactive imagination or entertaining her mini-unicorns, you can find her all over social media and find a full listing of her works on her Amazon author page. Her favorite wandering place is her readers’ group on Facebook. Join the herd now!

Stay up to date with everything unicorn by subscribing to her monthly newsletter and get a free read as a thank you!

Author Links:linktr.ee/stephanieayers

Rights vs. Copyright: Untangling the Confusion – Written By Victoria Strauss for ‘Writer Beware’

Copyright, literally, is “the right to copy.” It guarantees the authors of creative works–including books,  artworks, films, recordings, and photographs–the exclusive right to allow others to copy and distribute the work, by whatever means and in whatever media currently exist. It also prohibits copying and distributing without the author’s permission, and includes moral rights: the right of attribution (the right to be named as the creator of the work) and the right of integrity (the right to control changes to the work).

In countries that are signatory to the Berne Convention,, the international source for copyright law (including the USA, Canada, the UK, Europe, and  many other countries), you own copyright, automatically, as soon your work is fixed in tangible form–i.e., the minute you write the words. Your ownership extends beyond your death–between 50 and 70 years, depending on which country you’re in.

Contained within copyright is the entire bundle of rights that authors can grant to others or utilize themselves. For book authors, that includes primary rights (the right to publish in print and digital formats) and subsidiary rights (the right to make translations and audio recordings and films, to create serializations or abridgements or derivative works…the list goes on, and continues to expand as technology makes different forms of publication and distribution possible).

When you sign a publishing contract, you are granting the publisher permission to exploit (i.e., to utilize for profit) some or all of your rights, and/or to license those rights to others, in exchange for a share of income. Because you own the copyright, granting rights doesn’t mean you lose or abandon those rights: merely that you authorize someone else to exploit them for a time, either exclusively (the publisher is the only one that can exploit them) or nonexclusively (you can simultaneously grant them to others).

Eventually, once the contract term expires, or the publisher decides the book is no longer profitable, the  publisher will cease publication and terminate its claim on your rights. This is known as rights reversion. Sometimes reversion is automatic (as in a contract that extends for a set period of years). Sometimes you can request reversion after certain conditions have been met (as in a life-of-copyright contract). Once your rights have reverted, you are free to re-sell them or to use them yourself, as you choose.

For many readers of this blog, the above will seem pretty elementary. But confusion about the difference between rights and copyright is common–not just among authors (one especially frequent misplaced fear is that granting rights to a publisher means you lose them forever), but among inexperienced publishers. If I had a dollar for every small press contract I’ve seen that hopelessly conflates rights and copyright (for instance, taking possession of copyright but reserving a variety of subsidiary rights to the author), my husband and I could treat ourselves to a very fancy dinner.

Some suggestions on how to untangle the confusion and protect yourself:

– First and foremost, understand copyright and the rights it gives you.

There’s detailed information on the Copyright page of the Writer Beware website (including a discussion of various copyright myths). Countries’ copyright offices, such as the US Copyright Office, the UK Intellectual Property Office, and the Australian Copyright Council, are also good sources of information.

As always in publishing, the more you know, the more likely it is that you’ll recognize bad contract clauses when you run across them.

CONTINUE READING HERE

SHORT STORY SUNDAY: MY COUSIN RACHAEL – Written By Juliette Kings

Summer 2020

My cousin Rachael died last week. Her house was burning. She and her dog were found dead in her swimming pool. Her body was wracked with the effects of an advanced case of Covid-19.

The weird thing about is wasn’t the house burning, or the Covid-19, or even the fact that her hands were bound behind her back. The weirdest thing was that her dog was in the pool with her. 

The fire wasn’t part of the wild fires that are blazing all over California. It was arson. Someone had poured gasoline all over her garage, lit a match, and left her alone coughing and barely able to function.

Rachael refused to go to a hospital. She’d rather be in her own bed in her own mansion. If she was going to die alone she said she wanted to be with her nasty little dog Chatsworth.

Chatsworth was a beautiful fluffy brown and white spotted animal of unknown heritage. He hated everyone except Rachael. He loved Rachael.

After Rachael died her attorney came to my house with a box. The box had holes in it. Inside of it was a cat with singed fur and whiskers. He was a large gray tabby with a white mask on his face and chest, and white paws. He’d belonged to Rachael’s ex who’d broken both of his legs in a car accident one night after they’d had a huge fight over Rachael’s callus attitudes over his place in her life. He never spoke to her again and moved out of the country.

The cat’s name was Zoomie. As soon as I let him out of the carrier he started to purr. I wondered how that cat could be so mellow and happy considering who he’d lived with.

Rachael wasn’t a nice person. In fact she was a first class raging bitch. The short list of words to describe Rachael were mean spirited, narcissistic, disingenuous, a first class liar, and a control freak. She hadn’t always been like that, well maybe she had, but it just got worse as she grew older, especially the past sixteen years. 

Despite her faults (though she saw none) she was incredibly successful. Rachael lived one of those charmed lives where everything seemed to come easy. Fabulous opportunities seemed to come out of the blue. Men went crazy over her no matter how badly she treated them. People were fascinated by her. She rubbed shoulders (and more) with the rich, famous, and powerful. Rachael had done well and was fabulously rich herself. When she died she owned the home she’d died in, plus three vacation homes all free and clear. She was worth millions. 

At one time Rachael and I were close. She thought so until the day she died. I’d been done with her for years. 

So, back to Zoomie and my household. 

CONTINUE READING HERE

SHORT STORY SUNDAY: OVER THE BRIDGE – THE STORY OF A CAT – Written by Juliette Kings

This blog post touched my heart in a very special way. I’m an avid reader of Juliette Kings’ ‘Vampire Maman’ blog for years now and I love it. I love her writing style, her different subjects, short stories, children’s posts, diaries, and her sense of humor. Today, again, I ‘stumbled’ across this blog post, and my eyes watered once more. That’s when I decided to share it on ‘Writer’s Treasure Chest’.

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All of the veterinarian offices are closed on Sunday. The old cat lost the ability to stand on her own the night before.

Unless she fell asleep forever on his lap, this wouldn’t her last day.

Over the years she’d been there for him when he was sick or injured. She was at his side when he recovered from cancer, a broken leg, knee surgery, and the death of his wife.

They’d watched hundreds of movies together. They watched baseball games together.

When she was young he and his wife would take the dog for walks and she’d follow behind. Eventually the wife would pick her up and carry her home. That was always fun.

She missed the wife. She was always there until she wasn’t. The husband said the wife had been killed by a carjacker. The cat didn’t know what that was. She supposed it might have been like the bad dogs who used to live down the street, or the coyotes who lived behind the house.

After that the man was sad too much. She tried to make him happy by purring extra loud and staying close to him. She licked his hand, and tried to give him love bites on his nose.

She was an ancient cat, and a wise cat, but there was much she still didn’t know.

As she closed her eyes for a bit she thought about the girl. It was the girl who insisted the cat would be hers.

The memory of being a tiny kitten in a loud room full of cages, filled with cats, still terrified her. When the small girl passed by the cat reached out her tiny kitten paw and as if to say, “take me.” And the girl took her.

CONTINUE READING HERE

Picture courtesy of Flickr

Author Interview With 2022 Reviewer’s Choice Award Nominee A. J. Alexander

I just discovered that my interview is published now on the ‘Paranormal Romance Guild’s’ website. I’m so very proud of this interview, as well as my nomination.

Please, don’t forget to vote for the book and the series. Thank you so much for your support, it means the world to me!

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2022 RCA Author Interview with A.J. Alexander

Interview by Sherry Perkins

A.J. Alexander, Paranormal Romance Guild 2022 Reviewer’s Choice Award nominee, writes poetry, fantasy, and is an accomplished classical musician. She often explores the concept of good vs. evil in her short stories or novellas while challenging the idea that angels, guardians and demons aren’t necessarily always male but romance usually figures into the struggle.

CONTINUE READING HERE

Dream Walker on ‘Smorgasbord’ With Sally Cronin

I’m so very proud

Very pleased to share the new of the latest release by A.J. Alexander the YA Fantasy Dream Walker: Book 5 in ‘The Council of Twelve’ Series

About the book

Koyu thought she had done her duty, but deep inside she knows it will never be over. She is bound to her master forever and will have to execute his every command. But when he demands she’ll invade his sworn enemy’s dreams, she chooses to rebel.

Koyu risks her existence to help the ‘other side’ by purposely disobeying her master’s orders.

Koyu knows she’ll pay with her life for her impertinence. Is there, indeed, no hope for her?

A review for the book

linda 5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it  Reviewed in the United States  on November 25, 2022

Reviewed by Linda Tonis Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team

Koyu Bellamy is a succubus like her mother and sisters, she is a seducer, destroyer and demon but unlike her family she has a conscience. Koyu has always regretted what she was and what she was called to do and when she sits outside a book store she finds out that the owner is Alfred, a Cherub. Alfred is a messenger whose job it is to report her to the Council of Twelve and he did. Fearing that she has gone from hunter to hunted she knows there is no where she can run.

While sitting with Alfred she is called by Asmodeus the third prince of Hell and her Master, a call she has no way to refuse. He calls and she comes running only this time he wants her to seduce Santanael an Archangel who is known for being immune to seduction. When asked if she will accept the task, she answers that she is up for the challenge. Somehow saying challenge made a difference and once again she finds herself zapped only this time she is back where she started from.

Koyu begs Alfred to get help and Andreas from the Council of Twelve comes. She reveals everything that Asmodeus demanded from her and begs for someone to help Santanael. Once again, she finds herself in a strange place and this time Santanael is looking down at her. She is in Heaven and he is well aware of the fact that she is unlike all the other demons, she has a conscience. He promises to protect her from Asmodeus but even Heaven can’t stop him from hurting her. It becomes a chess game; Angels against Lucifer and the pawn is Koyu.

For hundreds of years Koyu followed orders, destroying lives, only when the life she destroyed was a man who deserved it was she content. She also has the ability to dream walk into her victim’s dreams setting them up for what would follow and what would follow was would become a nightmare.

Like all the previous books in this series this one was amazing and I read it in one sitting. Angels, demons, Lucifer, constant battle between good and evil and love. A story of redemption, a demon in Heaven there’s hope for us all, lol. I loved the fact that we catch up with everyone from the previous books, all the woman we met before, and that is why I totally recommend reading this series in order, well one of the reasons because there are so many. 

Head over to buy the book: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

CONTINUE READING HERE

The Best Of Writer Beware In 2022

Written by Victoria Strauss

As 2023 gets underway, it’s time again for Writer Beware’s annual look back at all the schemes, scams, pitfalls, and publishing industry craziness we covered in 2022.

A Big Change for Writer Beware

A New Home for the Writer Beware Blog: After many years, Blogger (our previous home) finally got too small for us, and we transitioned to WordPress. How that came about–and the benefits thereof.

Industry News

Some important publishing industry initiatives kicked off in 2022.

The AALA (Formerly the AAR) Revises Its Canon of Ethics: The Canon of Ethics is the professional standard to which the AALA expects member agents to adhere. In updating it to keep pace with a changing industry, the most significant revision is a detailed set of guidelines for agents who also offer paid editing services, intended both to guide ethical practice and to prevent the kinds of abuse and conflict of interest that gets reported to Writer Beware.

The Copyright Claims Board: A New Option for Copyright Disputes: Established by the US Congress, the Copyright Claims Board allows creators to bring lower-dollar infringement claims without having to hire an attorney or make a court appearance. It’s a great new option for creators, who until now have only had access to the prohibitively expensive process of pursuing infringement claims in federal court.

Update: The Copyright Claims Board at the Three-Month Mark: Writer Beware’s Michael Capobianco takes a look at the claims that have been filed with the CCB so far. Among other interesting data points: there are very few writing-related claims.

Publishing Contract “Bewares”

Issues to watch out for in your next publishing contract.

Keeping Moral Rights: A Wattpad Contest Controversy: Moral rights–the right to have your work published with your name, and the right to have it published exactly as you wrote it–are unfamiliar to most US writers, but they are important in the rest of the world (and most publishing these days is international). Writers are strongly advised not to relinquish them. When Wattpad launched a contest requiring winners to waive their moral rights, an uproar ensued. Wattpad took notice…but change is hard.

A Contract Clause to Beware: Claiming Copyright on “Publishers Content”: Writer Beware’s Michael Capobianco explains why this copyright claim–which more properly belongs in a work-for-hire contract–is a red flag.

Publishing Contracts 101: Beware Internal Contradictions: Your publishing contract shouldn’t include clauses that directly contradict one another, should it? Nevertheless, some contracts do–such as requiring a transfer of copyright in the Grant of Rights clause yet also requiring the publisher to register copyright in the author’s name. It’s a major red flag.

CONTINUE READING HERE

Complaints and Changes at Parliament House Press – Written By Victoria Strauss

Last week, authors logging into the Parliament House Press Facebook group found a surprise announcement: Parliament House had a new owner, and a host of other changes were in store.

In its current form, Parliament House Press will be dissolved due to a combination of personal and economic considerations from our founder, Shayne Leighton. Shayne has spearheaded the publisher since 2016 and has been a force in bringing this small indie press to a larger stage. Shayne will continue to work with our team in a design capacity. In her stead, Malorie Nilson will take over as the CEO of a reincorporated Parliament House Press. Business will continue uninterrupted, but several essential changes will transpire during this transition.

All existing author contracts will be dissolved and replaced with new contracts, as is required by law, but there will be no interruptions to the day-to-day functions of the house. Unfortunately, due to the increasingly competitive landscape of the industry, we will not be able to offer contracts to all existing authors. Many of our current projects were brought on under a different team and different leadership, forcing us to take stock of where we are and what we are able to accomplish. We want all our authors to be successful, including those who will no longer be with us. Unfortunately, we are currently unable to serve the entirety of our catalog, so we are forced to downsize to ensure that we can give every book the attention it deserves. If you are not offered a new contract, please know that it is not because we don’t love your work, but rather that we do not have the capacity to give everyone the attention and care they deserve. We are working hard to bring more opportunities to our authors, which means narrowing our enterprise’s scope.

We will continue our partnership with IPG for digital distribution, as well as our work with the Seymour Agency to sell subsidiary rights. Furthermore, we will be moving our entire print catalog to Ingram, which will give brick and mortar stores the ability to purchase books through Ingram’s distribution program. Finally, we have revised our contracts to align with industry standards as we begin working more closely with literary agents for future acquisitions. As we invite authors back to the Parliament House Press, we will review the new contracts with you (which we have updated to reflect industry standard for royalties and terms) to ensure that each of you is comfortable moving forward. Of course, with the dissolution of the existing contracts, you are free to part ways with the Parliament House Press and seek other opportunities if you wish.

The abrupt announcement was a shock. But it didn’t come entirely out of the blue.

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Founded in 2016 by Shayne Leighton and Chantal Gadoury, Parliament House Press (PHP) is “a small traditional publisher, working with authors to produce brilliantly bizarre, original, and moving stories with an edge.” It has better-than-average distribution via the Independent Publishers Group, and its subsidiary rights are represented by the Seymour Agency.

CONTINUE READING HERE

How to Write Two Characters Talking at Once – Written By Bryn Donovan

If you’re writing a conversation between two or more characters, you may run into the issue of characters talking at the same time. This is an easy thing to pull off in a TV show or a movie, but slightly trickier in a novel or a short story, so I thought I’d address it!

(By the way, I’m going to share a related post next week on how to write a great, believable argument between two characters. If you don’t want to miss it, be sure you’re subscribed to the blog—there’s a signup on the lefthand side of this page.)

Let’s look at some examples. You’ll notice that the solution to this issue usually involves just telling the reader that the characters are talking at the same time.

CONTINUE READING HERE

How to Build Brand Awareness Through YouTube Videos (for Authors) – Written By Kimberley Grabas

Brand awareness refers to people’s ability to recognize you and your creative work. It is the very first step in your marketing funnel. Brand awareness also helps you achieve your goals as an author by expanding your target audience, building brand affinity, and improving brand identity. In this guest post, Andre Oentoro simplifies the process of using YouTube videos to grow awareness for your author brand and business.

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Brand awareness is very important for any author because it not only entices readers to buy your book but also keeps them coming back for more.

People are more likely to buy goods or use services from a business that they trust and as an author, your ‘business’ is no exception.

Your brand – how people perceive you and your creative work – is one of the first things that will draw readers in when they are searching for a solution to a problem they have or to fulfill an experience they desire.

In addition, if their experience with your brand is enjoyable, they are more likely to tell other people about your work which helps spread the word, further increasing your visibility and reach.

So, how can you build your brand awareness, and what is the best platform?

According to this post by Ahrefs.com, YouTube is the most visited website in the past few years. It is also the second-largest search engine, proving that people are crazy about video content.

Through video,

Anyone and everyone has the opportunity to entertain, engage, and rank.–Ahrefs

YouTube videos get good rankings on Google searches because Google has owned YouTube since 2006. This will certainly provide a huge opportunity for you to get noticed, to be known more widely in your topic area or genre, and thus help you increase brand awareness.

CONTINUE READING HERE