Labor Day BlogHop
Welcome to Maddy Barone’s stop on the Labor Day Blog Hop. If you fall off the bus, you canget back on here.
I’m pretty sure everyone else has treated you to some delicious eyecandy in the form of men hard at work. You might not be doing any physical work but if you’re like me you’re feeling a bit sweaty by this point! Grab a cold drink and enjoy! My eyecandy is a trio of guys that look sorta like three heroes in upcoming books in my post-apocalyptic series, After the Crash.
The first is the hero of Tracking Tami. Tracker is a loner in the post-apocalyptic world I’ve created, famous for his tracking skill. When a woman runs away from her husbands they hire the Tracker to find her and bring her back. Half Lakota and half Norwegian, Tracker is one of the men of his Clan that doesn’t have a wolf. He is tall and slender, with white blond hair in two braids past his waist and a cool expressionless face that shows no emotion. But behind his stone cold face is a man who yearns for a wife of his own to love and cherish. When he catches up with Tami and finds out that her husbands abused her, he knows he can’t take her back. Like most of his kin he reveres women, and Tami captures his heart. Instead he brings her to his cousin’s werewolf pack for safekeeping, where he hopes her fear will lessen enough for him to be able to court her. This fellow’s hair isn’t hip length, like Tracker’s is, but it’s the right color and texture and the face is right.
The second is Blue Sky at Midday, the hero of Wolf’s Princess. When Sky was just barely seventeen, his wolf chose sixteen year old Rose Turner to be his mate. He courted her with all the fierce ardor of a teenaged Alpha werewolf. His cousin Taye and Taye’s mate Carla insisted he give Rose time to get settled in her new life. When his clumsy wooing failed to charm his reluctant new mate, Sky left the den to take a job in distant Omaha. After several years with no word from Sky, Rose decides she won’t wait for him. She wants a husband and children, so she goes husband shopping. But Sky hasn’t forgotten her and when he learns his neglected mate wants a husband he returns and carries her back to Omaha with him in triumph. But Sky isn’t the innocent naive teenager he was when he first came to Omaha, and Rose isn’t the unsettled and grieving plane crash survivor he left behind. Their story begins in Wolf’s Glory. This fellow’s hair is about right, but Sky has startlingly blue eyes and a dimple beside his mouth. 
The third is the hero of Eddie’s Prize. Eddie Madison is, in the words of the heroine, a golden god. With his model-handsome face and physique, and as the son of the mayor and probable heir to his powerful position, Eddie is widely considered the biggest marital catch in the area. The few females in his town fall all over themselves to catch his attention. But his attention is focussed only on the new wife he won in a Bride Fight. Lisa is already half in love with him and his gentle eagerness to please her on their wedding night makes her believe they will have a happy marriage. But that changes when Eddie learns of her promiscuous past. His naive love turns to bitter rage. Lisa tries to convince him that her previous life is behind her now and she loves only him. Eddie draws away from his bride emotionally while struggling to believe her, but he can’t hide the accusation in his eyes or the mistrust he feels. Lisa puts up with his attitude for only so long.
For the blog hop, the prize I’m offering is a free download of either the first book in the series, Sleeping With the Wolf, or the second book, Wolf’s Glory. But I’m also offering a prize to one person who leaves a comment on this blog post. One commenter will win a paperback copy of Sleeping With the Wolf. Remember that anyone who has signed up for my newsletter will automatically be entered twice in the paperback giveaway. Good luck!
13 Items that COULD Show Up in a Swag Bag
I am preparing the Swag Bags for my street team. Sadly, I somehow deleted all their mailing addies so I had to send a quick email to them requesting that they re-send their mailing info. If you haven’t updated your newsletter profile, you can do so now. I plan to mail tomorrow night and perhaps send a few stragglers on Tuesday, after the American Labor Day weekend holiday.
And, hey, I’m participating in a Blog Hop this weekend. It goes from Saturday through Monday. A free download of either Sleeping With the Wolf or Wolf’s Glory will be the prize offered for the hop, plus I will be offering a paperback copy of Sleeping With the Wolf to one commenter here on my blog. So feel free to stop back this weekend!
Now for the 13 things that may be included in a Swag Bag.
1 & 2. A 5.5 x 8.25 inch postcard of the cover art for Sleeping With the Wolf and Wolf’s Glory.
3 & 4. A compact mirror and small tub of lip glass. These represent Lisa Anton, heroine of Eddie’s Prize. She readily admits she’s vain.
5 & 6. A magnet of the cover art for Sleeping With the Wolf and Wolf’s Glory.
7. A set of thin bangle bracelets. These represent Ellie, the heroine of Saving Ellie. Quill buys them for her, saying they are almost as delicate and beautiful as she is.
8 & 9. A set of Romance Trading Cards for each Sleeping With the Wolf and Wolf’s Glory.
10. A ring with a butterfly on it. Stag gives Sherry a ring like this. To him she’s as elusive as a butterfly he tries to catch, flitting away from him every time he gets close.
11. A charm bracelet. When Sky goes to Omaha, he sends Rose a charm for her bracelet every year on her birthday. At least he does for the first several years. Then the presents stop with no word from Sky.
12 & 13. One lucky person will receive a paperback copy of Sleeping With the Wolf and Wolf’s’ Glory! This person will be notified by email on Thursday night, so if you are not the winner, you can certainly leave a comment on the Blog Hop blog post to have a chance to win.
Which of these things do you like best? Do you have suggestions for what should go into the April 2012 Swag Bags?
13 Nuts and Seeds
I’m trying to eat healthier, here. Nuts can be a nutritious snack. Although many nuts are high in fat and calories, they also have protein, fiber and other important nutrients. Here are thirteen nuts to enjoy from this helpful website:
1. Almonds. 1 ounce (23 whole nuts) of raw almonds contains 6.02 grams protein, 163 calories and 3.5 grams of dietary fiber.
2. Brazil Nuts. 1 ounce (6 whole nuts) contains 4.06 grams of protein, 186 calories and 2.1 grams of fiber.
3. Cashews. One ounce of raw, unsalted cashew nuts contains 5.17 grams of protein, 157 calories and 0.94 grams of fiber.
4. Chestnuts. Never had these, only sung about them at Christmas. Ten (10) roasted kernels with no salt added contain 2.66 grams protein, 206 calories and 4.3 grams fiber. (Note: chestnuts must be boiled or roasted before eating due to the high levels of tannic acid.)
5. Coconut. Is this a nut? I guess it is, just really, really large. One cup of raw, shredded coconut contains 2.66 grams of protein, 283 calories and 7.2 grams of dietary fiber.
6. Hazelnuts. One ounce (21 whole kernels) of hazelnuts contains 4.24 grams of protein, 178 calories and 2.7 grams of dietary fiber.
7. Macadamia nuts. One once (10-12 kernels) of raw macadamia nuts contains 2.24 grams protein, 204 calories and 2.4 grams fiber.
8. Peanuts. One ounce of dry roasted peanuts contains 6.71 grams of protein, 166 calories and 2.3 grams of dietary fiber.
9. Pecans. One ounce (19 halves) of raw pecans contains 2.6 grams protein, 196 calories and 2.7 grams fiber.
10. Pine nuts. One ounce of pine nuts (167 kernels) contains 3.88 grams of protein, 191 calories and 1.0 grams of dietary fiber.
11. Pistachios. One ounce of dry roasted pistachio nuts (no salt) (49 kernels) contains 6.05 grams of protein, 162 calories and 2.9 grams of dietary fiber.
12. Sunflower Seeds. One ounce of sunflower seed kernels, dry-roasted without salt contains 5.48 grams of protein, 165 calories and 3.1 grams of dietary fiber.
13. Walnuts. 1 ounce (14 halves) English walnuts contains 4.32 mg protein, 185 calories and 1.9 mg fiber.
Which of these do you like to munch on?
T13 / 13 Facts About the After the Crash World
My attention has been pretty well fixed on the world I’ve created for my After the Crash series for about 2 years now.I told myself that after I submitted Book 3, Tracking Tami, that I would take a two week break from writing. I submitted the manuscript on Saturday, August 13, and I haven’t actually written anything since then. But I can’t seem to let go entirely. I’ve been thinking about the man that Sky has become since he left the Pack to go work in Omaha. I’ve been considering Sherry’s fear of Stag, the wolf who has claimed her as his mate. I’ve wondered how Quill has coped with knowing that his mate is married to another man. Here are some facts about the world I’ve created.
1. The Clan is made up of descendants of Native Americans who left the reservation in South Dakota to live as their ancestors did before the reservation days. They left to isolate and protect themselves from the plagues decimating the population.
2. The Woman Killer Plague flares up again in the late spring of 2065.
3. Jelly’s full name is He Eats Jelly.
4. By the time Quill returns to the Pack after working in Omaha for a few years, Taye and Carla are the parents of two sons.
5. Glory gives birth to the Clan’s first girl baby in 30 years in January, 2066.
6. Shadow is delighted and terrified to be the father of a daughter. He wishes they would have had a few sons first so he’d have some help protecting the precious girl. But she’ll have plenty of male cousins to watch out for her.
7. Sherry Rowe is the illegitimate daughter of an African American soldier who was stationed Korea, and a Korean woman. Sherry lived with her mother in Korea until her mother died when Sherry was six. She was sent to live with her father in America, with the children he’d had by his legal American wife. Sherry never fit in with either family.
8. Unlike most of the unmarried or mated men in the Clan and Pack, Tracker is not a virgin.
9. Glory’s high school enemy Heather has become the high priestess of a cult that worships sex. I wonder if she regrets it?
10. Sky has been a naughty boy while living in Omaha, the new Sin City. It all started out innocently enough, but if Taye knew what his cousin has been up to he might not let Sky claim Rose as his mate.
11. By 2073, Omaha has some electricity as well as a municipal waterworks.
12. Shadow’s brother Jimmy White Elk dies in a bar room brawl and his widow leaves her three teenaged sons with the Clan when she remarries. She is much happier with her townie husband, but visits her sons several times a year, and they often stay for months in the winter.
13. Co-pilot Connie Mondale breaks her vow to never marry.
Paperback Copy of Sleeping With the Wolf
I have had my first book, Sleeping With the Wolf, put into print through CreateSpace. It is available through Amazon, or I believe you could ask your local bookstore to order it for you. Book 2, Wolf’s Glory, should be available by August 29. You know, I really love the ease of digital books. But as an author I have to admit that it is fun to hold my book in my hands. Here is a picture of me, Tina Holland and Laura Ficek (two lovely ladies from my critique group) and I’m the short dark haired one holding the book 🙂
I’m also offering two copies in a giveaway on GoodReads, so if you’re a member there, go enter the giveaway. If you’re not a member you might like to look into it. It’s a fun placefor book lovers.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
by Maddy Barone
Giveaway ends August 31, 2011.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
3rd Draft of Tracking Tami Done!
Tracking Tami, third book in the After the Crash series, is just about ready to submit. After I received the manuscript back from the beta readers I knew I had some fixes in the timeline to make. That’s the hairy thing about writing a series where so many stories overlap. If Glory is at the Plane Women’s House in Book 2 on a particular day, she’d better be there in Book 3. And if she’s supposed to be in bed with Shadow at the den at the end of Book 2 she better not be in Kearney at the same time in Book 3. And if the hero in Book 3 is supposed to be off killing the bad guys at a distant location during a certain week, he better not show up at the Plane Womens’ House during that same week. Oy! I ended up adding a whole chapter and expending the story by about 5,000 words. But I think I have it all figured out now, and I can honestly say I think it’s a good book. I suppose authors always say that. But I have soft spot for Tracker. Of course, it’s possible that readers won’t like it. Then I worry that the publisher will reject it or ask for major changes. Maybe the book will bomb! Do all authors fret like this when they turn in a story? I hope so! I’d hate to be the only one. 🙂
I will be strong and confident. I will re-read the story one last time to verify things, then submit it by Saturday. And there will be great rejoicing.
yay for finishing!!!
And the Winner of Wolf’s Glory is …
Etal!! Congrats! I’ll be emailing you in a minute. 🙂
Thanks for entering, everyone!
Win a free download of Wolf’s Glory!
That’s right! Anyone who leaves a comment on any post on my blog before 7:00pm central time will be entered to win a free download of Wolf’s Glory. The winner will be announced here shortly after 7:00.
I don’t know what is up with my blog comments. There are there. You just have scroll your mouse over them to see them. They are in stealth mode 🙂
Good Luck!
I’m at Shelley Munro’s Blog Today! Win Wolf’s Glory!
Hey, everyone, I’m over at Shelley Munro’s Blog today, showing how you can made a fascinator hat. Sheeley (as you probably already know) is the best selling author of the Middlemarch Mates series and the Talking Dog series. I’ve read several of the Middlemarch Mates books and I love her characters and her world. If you haven’t read them yet, start with Scarlet Woman. Shelley’s also running a contest to give away a couple of fantastic bundles of ebooks, including Sleeping With the Wolf. To learn more about the contest, click here.
I’ve decided to run a little contest of my own. Leave a comment on my blog between now and August 7 at 7:00pm, Central Time, for a chance to win a free download of Wolf’s Glory. While you’re at it, why not sign up for my newsletter? Newsletter recipients receive excerpts of upcoming stories before anyone else and are eligible for special contests for Advanced Reader Copies.
Writing Updates as of July 30, 2011
What have I been doing in July? (Besides sweating, that is. Because as of today, July is the 5th hottest on record, and if tomorrow hits 90 as they expect, it will creep up to the 4th hottest July) I’ve been fighting with my blog. I can’t see comments unless I use my mouse to highlight them. I don’t know what to do about that. I’ve sent an emil to someone who might be able to fix it, so here’s hoping she can. Back to updates! Here’s a brief rundown of my writing activities.
1. I finished the 2nd draft of Tracking Tami and turned it over to the beta readers. I’ve received feedback from one, and she pointed out some areas that will need a little more work. I’ll wait until I receive the other one back before I begin making changes. I still plan to have this ready to be turned in by August 13.
2. I made minor revisions to Sleeping With the Wolf and Wolf’s Glory in preparation for getting them into print. The cover artist, Lyn Taylor, gave me permission to use her lovely cover art. April Martinez is formatting them for me as I am a complete idiot when it comes to that sort of thing. She sent me a proof of Chapter One of Sleeping With the Wolf so I could see how I liked it or wanted any changes made. I liked it a lot. So I’m hoping to have those available in a few weeks. We’ll see how long it takes. 
3. I’ve been ordering some promotional material and swag to send my street team. See the pretty Romance Trading Cards for Wolf’s Glory? I still have room for 3 or 4 more people. so if you’d like to receive a package of Romance Trading Cards and magnets, etc please sign up in the top right corner for my newsletter and include your mailing address. I have people in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, so yes, I do ship overseas. . I’m planning to mail the first swag packages out around the end of August.
4. I’ve been mulling over Rose and Sky’s story. They were both so young when his wolf claimed her. How have they changed in the past seven years? Is Rose an Alpha like Glory or a sweet shy thing like her best friend Ellie? How has growing up as the darling princess of an overprotective wolf pack formed her character? What does she want for her future? Is Sky a bossy Alpha like Shadow? Can he be a tender lover like Taye? Why on earth has he stayed away for seven years? What has he learned about the world outside the Pack and the Clan while he’s been in the new Sin City of Omaha? How will the Princess and the Wolf come to love each other so utterly that they can’t live without each other? I know some of the answers to these questions, but some are still waiting for me to figure out. Sometimes this is the fun part of writing for me. I still need a title. Since Rose is seen by townies as the “princess” of the wolves, I thought of “The Wolf’s Princess” or “Princess of the Wolves” or “The Wolf and the Princess” but I just don’t know. Any suggestions?
