I know that the past two years have been rough on a lot of people (myself included). Going into this holiday season, many of us have a limited budget to purchase gifts for our friends and family. With all of this in mind, I'll be running a series of sales in my Etsy shop, Reprieve's Corner, from now through the end of the year.
For the month of November:
Save 30-40% off ALL handmade crafts, vintage, and crafting supplies!
Save 20% off autographed copies of my books!
Free shipping on orders of $35 or more (US only)
www.Etsy.com/shop/ReprievesCorner
(These sales end on November 30th, 2021, but I'll be creating new ones for December).
Please, feel free to take advantage of these deals and help spread the word!
Mark your calendars! This Saturday is the Florence Festival of Books. I hesitated to write about this before because I was worried that the event would be cancelled due to the current coronavirus surge in Oregon. However, I received an email this morning from the event sponsor and we're still good to go.
As my regular followers are aware, I'm a big fan of the Florence Festival of Books. It's one of the largest annual book festivals on the Oregon coast. The first annual event just happened to be in 2011 which was the year I published my first full length book, Shipwrecks of Coos County (Arcadia Publishing). I had good timing! Because of this I can proudly say that I have had a booth at every Florence Festival of Books.
Last year (2020) would have been the 10th annual event but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus. As I mentioned earlier, I was worried that year's event would be cancelled as well-- especially since we're int he middle of a virus surge-- but they're going forward with the event. In order to keep everyone safe, there will be some additional rules and restrictions. For instance, everyone-- both attendees and authors/publishers-- will be required to wear masks. They're also encouraging us to have hand sanitizer available at our booths and the event hosts will be setting up hand sanitizer stations throughout the building.
The Florence Festival of Books is a great venue. Every year it gets a little bit bigger. The majority of the booths are for authors, but there are usually a few publishers as well. One of my favorite parts is the diversity. The event draws a mix of traditional and independent (self) published authors who represent a variety of genres and reading levels.
My booth at the 2019 Florence Festival of Books.
Since I usually attend the events alone, I don't get a lot of time to wander through the booths. But the venue does provide volunteers that are available to watch your booth for short periods of time. I like to take advantage of this opportunity to walk around, say hello to the authors I know, and purchase a few new books for my personal collection.
There's something for everyone! During past events, I've visited with fellow authors that write books for kids through adults, fiction and non-fiction, and a variety of genres. My personal favorites are local history, science-fiction, and I have a soft spot for children's books (I have a healthy inner child!). But, the event draws a variety of other genres as well includes graphic novels, romance, and mystery.
***
The Florence Festival of Books is held at the Florence Events Center which is located at 715 Quince Street in Florence, Oregon. It's a two day event.
On Friday night (September 17th, 2021) they will have a presentation featuring Melody Carlson as the keynote speaker. There will also be an educational panel featuring local authors Bob Welch and Bill Sulllivan.
The actual book fair will be held this Saturday, September 18th from 10 am until 4 pm. Attendance is free, but there will be numerous books available for sale. They also have a small cafe that sells food and drinks.
If you're in the area, please stop by my booth and say hello! If you mention this blog post, I'll give you a 25% discount toward the purchase of any of my autographed books.
You've heard of "Meatless Mondays" and "Throwback Thursdays." Today I'm introducing a new one: Fan Mail Fridays. Once a month or so, I'll share a positive review of my books or handmade crafts from either Etsy or Good Reads.
As my fellow writers, artists, and other creative types know, it's easy to get discouraged. Most people don't pursue artistic pursuits to get rich. We do it because we love it. Creating art-- whether it's writing books, painting, crafting, making music, etc-- is hard work. Most people only ever see the finished result, but those of us that create know how much hard work goes into creating our art.
We also know about all of the failures. The projects that simply didn't work out. The ideas that were better in concept than reality. And we're familiar with the sad reality that sometimes we aren't at the skill level that we need to do a project justice. To be fair, we get a little better with every project and every time we practice... but, we're only human.
With all of this in mind, it can be really nice to receive positive feedback. And it's worth occasionally going back and re-reading our fan mail.
To get this new series started, I'll be sharing one of my most recent pieces of fan mail. It's a positive review that I received for my most recently published book, "Alternatives." The novel was a "labor of love" as the expression goes. Working on it helped get me through the 2020-- which, as we all know, was an incredibly challenging year! Overall, I spent 2 full years working on the novel. Since I was working with a shoestring budget, I did everything from coming up with the idea, writing the story, editing and formatting the manuscript, and designing the cover. It's not perfect, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I'm so relieved that my readers enjoyed the book too!
Thank you, Earnie and Ellie Efforts, for your positive feedback. I'm so glad that you enjoyed reading my book!
I hope that everyone is enjoying their last few weeks of summer. The weather here on the Oregon coast has been gorgeous! Loki and I have been enjoying lots of long walks! We're so blessed to live in an area with an abundance of natural beauty to enjoy!
Just a quick post today. Someone recently mentioned that they had trouble finding one of my social media accounts. So, I thought I'd make it easy for everyone and list them all here. I use most of the popular social media platforms, but I spend the most time on Facebook and Twitter. Feel free to visit my social media pages, follow me, or send me a message. I love hearing from readers and befriending fellow authors/artists/creative types!
As you can see, I've signed up with numerous platforms over the years. I know that everyone has different preferences and favorites when it comes to social media, so my approach has been to create accounts where people can find me (and by extension, my work).
Just a quick follow-up post today. Thank you to everyone that participated in the recent giveaway for my new novel, "Alternatives." The deadline to enter was Saturday, July 31st, 2021. So, on Sunday morning, I wrote down all of the names and randomly drew one.
Drum roll, please! And the winner is... Doc!
Small world, Doc also happens to be one of my neighbors. (Since two of my books are about local history, it's not really surprising that the majority of my fans live on the Oregon coast). Yesterday afternoon, I signed a copy of the book (along with a personalized message) and walked it down the street to deliver it. How's that for personalized customer service? 😉
I hope that everyone had a great weekend. On a personal note, I celebrated my birthday on Saturday. Being an introvert and a science nerd, I celebrated by first watching a webinar hosted by The Planetary Society (https://www.planetary.org) on near Earth objects (NEO's) then going geocaching with a friend. We ended the day by getting dinner and just sitting and chatting for a while. And, of course, there was dessert! These may not sound like exciting plans to my extroverted readers, but-- for me-- they were perfect. :)
Just a short post today. I've decided to have a book give away for my latest novel, Alternatives (available for sale through Amazon). In the past, I've hosted a few book giveaways through GoodReads. Unfortunately, they have since started charging authors. So, I'll be doing this the "old school" way. To enter to win, simply comment on this blog post or send me an email. I'll print out all of the names on slips of paper, put them in a bowl, then choose a random winner.
Pros and cons-- the book giveaway would receive more attention and participants through the GoodReads webpage. And, of course, the purpose of the giveaway is to draw attention to my new book. But, since my blog gets a lot less traffic, your odds of winning will be much higher. Silver linings!
***
Book Giveaway Details:
I'll be giving away 1 print copy of my novel, Alternatives. I will sign the book before shipping it. Both the book and shipping will be free. So, there is no cost to participate.
Readers have from June 29th through July 31st, 2021 to enter the contest. To enter, either comment on this blog post or send me an email (H.S.Contino@hotmail.com).
Winner will be chosen randomly. I'll contact the winner the first week of August. I'll send them a link to a "custom order"/reserved listing on my Etsy shop, Reprieve's Corner, so they can provide their mailing address.
The book will be completely free, but I would appreciate a book review (through Amazon or GoodReads). However, this is not a requirement.
***
About the book:
Sci-fi meets romance in this quirky read!
Theoretically,
there exists a parallel version of reality for every possible outcome
of our life choices. What if you were given a glimpse into your
alternative lives? What version of yourself would you see? How would
it influence your future decisions?
Francis
Marino's quiet life on the Oregon coast was interrupted when two
military officers arrived on her doorstep with a bizarre story and
urged her to come with them. Thus began an unexpected adventure that
forced her to leave her comfort zone and confront many of her beliefs
about the world we live in.
As
the commander of a highly classified military facility, Colonel
Dominic Davis was dedicated to his job. But, after being exposed to
an alien device, he is given visions of alternative realities. Dom
realizes that he needs to make changes-- both personal and
professional.
I currently maintain two official author blogs-- one on Blogger
(https://hscontino.blogspot.com/) and one on WordPress
(https://hscontino.wordpress.com/)-- so readers can choose their preferred
platform. Although I initially created the blogs to promote my writing career
(updates on my writing, books in progress, book festivals, and author talks), I
also like to post about other topics that are important to me. The basic theme
of my blogs are creativity and creative outlets. But, I also write about current
events, fun things to do, and some of my other hobbies (including crafting,
drawing, geocaching, and amateur astronomy).
I recently learned that Blogger is disabling their subscribe by email feature.
Despite my best intentions, I'm not very good at keeping up with a regular
blogging schedule. As a result, the email feature was helpful for letting
people know when there was a new post available for them to read.
If you'd like to continue to receive email notifications when I publish a new
blog post, please subscribe through this email message. Or, you can subscribe
to my WordPress blog. (As far as I know, they're planning on keeping that
feature).
As always, thanks so much for supporting my writing or visiting my Etsy shop,
Reprieve's Corner (www.etsy.com/shop/ReprievesCorner). I really appreciate your
support! Without you, I wouldn't be able to pursue my passions-- which all involve some sort of creative outlet! :)
I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful June day wherever you are in the world. Personally, I love summers on the Oregon coast. We usually have several months of mostly sunny weather, but it never gets too hot. The coastal "breeze" (an inside joke since it's usually more like gusts that can knock you on your butt is you're not paying attention) keeps us comfortable.
Just a short post today. I recently received a bit of writing advice, and I wanted to run it by my blog followers. So, here's your chance to share your opinion. :) I have a question for everyone:
Would you be interested in signing up for a periodic e-mail newsletter?
If I decide to go forward with this idea then I'd probably write the e-mail newsletters 2-3 times per year with updates on my writing-- projects I'm working on, upcoming author talks and markets or festivals I'll be attending, etc.
Please feel free to share your thoughts on this idea in the comments below or send me a private email.
Okay, feel free to return to enjoying this gorgeous summer day!
Good morning! It’s shaping up to be a gorgeous day here on the Oregon coast.
Once again, I’ve been neglecting this blog, but I had a good excuse. I
received the proof copy of my novel “Alternatives” in January and I’ve
spent the months since then painstakingly working my way through edits
and revisions. I’ve also been corresponding with my beta-readers to
apply their recommended changes to the manuscript.
The good news is that I’m almost ready to release the final
edition of the novel into the world. Phew! I’ve been working on this
project consistently for nearly two years, so getting so close to the
finish line feels like a huge accomplishment.
They always advise writers to “write the story that you want to
read”— and that’s exactly what I did. As one of my beta readers told me,
this “book is so you”! The novel is soft sci-fi (science fiction
without a lot of hard science or “techno-babble”). There’s also a strong
romantic story line. Being a “me” book there are quirky characters and
lots of pets. I also intentionally incorporated several references to
the Oregon coast, sci-fi TV shows and movies, and pop culture. And an
acoustic guitar makes a cameo! It’s basically a mash-up of most of my
favorite things
Brand new proof copy...
Just a few changes...
Proof copy several months and many edits later...
Now that I’m getting close to the finish line, I’ve created a list of
people that would like to pre-order a copy. This will also help me
figure out how many copies to order from my publisher. Please message me
if you’re interested in purchasing a copy. (Details: paperback, 400
pages; signed by the author; $15 per copy plus shipping).
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the support!
~ H. S. Contino
PS– Due to the pandemic, I’ll be mailing out the signed copies of my
book. I’ll have them available for sale through my Etsy shop, Reprieve’s
Corner. Eventually, I’ll be returning to selling books in person at
local craft fairs, farmers markets, and book fairs. I’ll also be lining
up some book talks– eventually. But, for now, the case numbers in this
area are still to high for me to feel safe hosting an indoor event.
Well, it's official! My latest novel, "Alternatives" is available as both a print book and a Kindle e-book through Amazon. As I discussed in previous posts, I decided to release a "Beta Reader" edition in order to receive some reader feedback before I make the final edits to the manuscript.
In the meantime, I've moved on to another writing project. I went through an incredibly creative period during late 2019. I wrote the rough drafts to what became "Alternatives" and another novel that I'm tentatively calling "This Forgotten Life" back to back over a 2 1/2 month period. (although, I had been "percolating" on the story lines for several months prior to sitting down and putting words to paper).
I printed out the second manuscript and began editing it the day after I submitted the "Alternatives" manuscript to Amazon. I've been cringing a lot as I re-read my very rough draft, but the story has potential. It took me a year and a half of continual editing and polishing to get "Alternatives" to the point where I was ready to share it with readers. I suspect it's going to take a while to do the same to "This Forgotten Life"-- although this manuscript is about 100 pages shorter which should speed up the process.
Without further ado, "Alternatives" is available at the following links:
Amazon also allows people to read a sample before purchasing a book. Simply click on the "Look Inside" link. I checked it out and it allows you to read the entire prologue and a good chunk of the first chapter.
And to (hopefully) tempt you to read the book:
According to theory, there are countless versions of reality running in
parallel with each other. What if you were given a glimpse into your
alternative lives? What version of yourself would you see? How would it
effect your future decisions?
Francis Marino's quiet life on the
Oregon coast was interrupted when two military officers showed up on her
doorstep with a bizarre story and urged her to come with them.
Curious-- and figuring that she had nothing to lose-- she agreed. Thus
began an unexpected adventure that forced her to leave her comfort zone
and confront many of her beliefs about the world we live in.
As
the commander of a highly classified military facility, Colonel Dominic
Davis was dedicated to his job. But, after being exposed to an alien
device, he is given visions of two alternative realities. Dom realizes
that he needs to make changes-- both personal and professional.
Life on Earth hangs in the balance...
Happy reading!
~ H. S. Contino
PS-- I made some tweaks to the cover of the print edition since my last post. I intentionally used a different color font on the cover of the e-book in order to make it easier to tell them apart.
the e-book version of "Alternatives" is live! $4.99 for the Kindle version, but it looks like Amazon will let you can read it for free if you have a "Kindle Unlimited" account.
Feel free to check it out! As I said in my earlier post, this is the Beta Reader edition, so I will be making additional changes after I've recieved some reader feedback.
After a year and a half of hard labor, my book baby is nearly ready to greet the world! (The Beta Reader edition)
I “burned the midnight oil” last night. I completed the final edits
to the manuscript and uploaded it to Amazon and Kindle around 2 am.
It’ll take them up to 72 hours to review the e-book version and a little
longer for the print addition. During the review process, they’ll be
making sure that the manuscript and cover formatting meet their
publishing guidelines. The main thing is to make sure that none of text
will be cut off at the edge of the page during the printing and binding
process.
Since I created this novel on a shoestring budget (and I’m
self-publishing it), I couldn’t afford to hire publishing help. As a
result, I wore many hats: writer, editor, cover designer, manuscript
designer, and eventually book promoter.
Editing your own work is incredibly challenging! Part of the problem
is that you’re too close to the work. It’s hard to see the holes in your
own story. It can be difficult to spot your own typos and other
mistakes. For instance, I’m bad about reversing the order of letters
when I’m typing. Spell check will help find some of these mistakes, but
if the letters still form a real word they get missed (for example: form
and from). The novel has gone through more than a dozen revisions over
the past year and a half. Yet, during every read through, I find at
least 1 mistake that I missed.
Realizing that I could use some help, I decided to release a Beta
Reader edition of the novel. I included a letter in front of the novel
encouraging readers to contact me with their comments (or if they spot
any missed mistakes!). My current plan is to release the Beta Reader
edition into the world while I work on the rough draft of another novel
then return to it once I’ve received some reader feedback.
My regular blog followers may have noticed in the above photograph
that I changed the title of the book. During all but the last two
drafts, I had been called it “Timelines.” I liked that title and how
smoothly in rolled off the tongue. It also looked awesome on the cover
of the book– simple and concise. But… the title didn’t really fit the
contents of the book.
The word “timelines” implies time travel while my story involves
alternative realities/parallel worlds. The problem was that when I
decided to change the title, my first 15 or so choices were already
taken. I made the mistake before of using a too generic book title. As a
result, my book was lost in a sea of others with similar titles and
subject matters.
Some of the titles that I considered that were already in use:
Parallel Lives, Alternative Lives, Parallel Worlds, Parallels (one of my
favorites!), title variations using “Multiverse” including “Glimpsing
the Multiverse”…
I finally settled on “Alternatives” since it implies choices. There
are other published books that include the word but not as a stand alone
title. I also liked that it was a single word title. For some reason, a
simple title seemed right for this particular project.
My little blue marble…
I also went through many different computer generated book covers
before settling on one. You’ve all probably heard the famous quote from
Carl Sagan about the Earth being our little blue marble. Years ago, I
purchased a blue marble with the continents painted on it. (Side note: I
have to hide it in a jewelry box to keep my cats from stealing it!) I
decided to photograph the marble and work it into the cover design. I
also played with the lens effects in Adobe Photograph in my attempt to
create a very sci-fi looking cover. I’m not completely satisfied with it
though, so I may make additional changes. What I do like is that the
current cover art hints at the contents of the book. There are two
Earths travel parallel with each other through space.
Anyway… I’m seriously sleep deprived, so please forgive me if I
rambled on in this blog post. I was just so excited to share this update
with my readers and writing friends. I’ll update the bog again once the
novel is available on Amazon and include the links where you can
purchase it. The Beta Reader edition of the e-book is only $3.99.
Technically, the print edition will be available as well, but I would
recommend waiting to purchase the print version until after I’ve made
the final edits. I can guarantee that there will be more changes made to
the manuscript once I’ve received some feedback!
Oh, a little teaser from the back cover of the book:
According to theory, there are countless versions of reality
running in parallel with each other. What if you were given a glimpse
into your alternative lives? What version of yourself would you see? How
would it effect your future decisions?
Francis Marino’s quiet life on the Oregon coast was interrupted
when two military officers showed up on her doorstep with a bizarre
story and urged her to come with them. Curious– and figuring that she
had nothing to lose– she agreed. Thus began an unexpected adventure that
forced her to leave her comfort zone and confront many of her beliefs
about the world we live in.
As the commander of a highly classified military facility,
Colonel Dominic Davis was dedicated to his job. But, after being exposed
to an alien device, he is given visions of two alternative realities.
Dom realizes that he needs to make changes– both personal and
professional.
Life on Earth hangs in the balance…
Stay tuned! And, as always, thank you for subscribing to my blog. I really appreciate the support!
Good morning and welcome to my blog. Thanks for stopping by!
Okay, let’s face it: 2020 has been a major challenge for all of us.
Between the world-wide pandemic, job losses, natural disasters, and
nose-diving economies around the world, it’s been rough.
On a personal level, I was furloughed from my day job in March then
officially let go in July. In late September, I applied for and was
offered a new position which I started in mid-October. Things finally seemed
to be looking up; then I overheard part of a phone call between my new
boss and a co-worker– who had the call on speaker phone– about things
“not working out” with me. After only a month on the job, they let me
go– while I was home sick and the day before Veteran’s Day. (How’s that
for honoring veterans? Letting the only veteran on staff go the day
before the holiday intended to honor them).
I’m not the only one that has been struggling. I have many friends
who also lost their jobs due to the coronavirus (either during the
shutdown in March or later when businesses re-opened with limited
capacity). I have other friends who have been battling major illnesses
and disease. One friend’s husband had a major stroke this suffer, but he
survived. Another friend’s husband had a major heart attack, but he
didn’t make it. Fortunately, he lived long enough for his family to come
to the hospital to say goodbye.
So, like I said, it’s been a rough year!
In an attempt to simultaneously increase the sales in my online Etsy
shop and make the holidays more affordable for the many people out there
that are struggling financially this holiday season, I decided to run
two big sales:
Starting today, ALL of my handmade crafts and crafting supplies are 50% off of their regular prices. And, all of my autographed books are 25% off (personalized messages available).
I’m calling it my 2020 Blow… out sale (since this year seriously blows)!
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. I
appreciate the support– especially during such trying times. I read
somewhere that 2020 was the year that “people came together while
staying apart.” While we all practice “social distancing” to slow the
spread of the coronavirus, we have the opportunity to come together
virtually through social media, blogs, and other online activities.
Wishing everyone health and happiness during this unusual holiday season. Fingers crossed that 2021 is better– for everyone!
Like many people around the world, the
ongoing coronavirus crisis has had a big impact on my finances. Under
normal conditions, I have three jobs (one traditional and two
freelance). I work part time at a local public library, I write and sell
my books (which includes giving book talks and history lectures), and I
run a handmade craft business (which includes selling items both online
and at local markets).
Since mid-March, all three of my jobs have
come to a screeching halt. Technically, I still have books and crafts
listed online; but, people have been more focused on purchasing staples
and paying their basic bills.
In an attempt to (hopefully) get more
online sales, I’m running several promotions through June 25th in my
Etsy shop, Reprieve’s Corner:
25% Off Autographed Copies of My Books
30% Off of All Handmade Crafts and Craft Supplies
50% Off of items in my Clearance Section
Additionally, I’m offering free shipping on orders of $35 or more (US customers only).
Please, feel free to check out my Etsy shop and take advantage of these discounts.
