Friday Four or Five and Teaser #2

1. Did you know it's the last day of August! How did that happen? That means I'm laving for Europe next week. I think I'm ready--I'm not ready, gah! Okay, I have the WHOLE weekend to do stuff yet.

2.Stay tuned for Sunday's post on the highlights of ONE YEAR as an Indie Author. What a year it's been!

3. My parents arrive tomorrow. They're going to house sit and manage the yard and do the banking and collect the rent and keep an eye on a barely adult kid while I'm gone.

4.Author Denise Jaden is coming to town and we're going to hang out. Whoot!

5. I think I should start packing now.

Teaser #2

The camera zoomed in on a face I recognized—it was Noah, the maid’s son. The 3D monitor thrust his image into the living room and his dark eyes blazed with an anger I hadn’t seen in anyone before. The other day I'd thought him exotic; now I found him frightening.

“Genetically Altered Persons have unfair social advantages,” Noah told the reporter. “They have the wealth and opportunity allowing them to leap ahead of poorer naturals. They have the best of the best of all things, including real estate. Look at Sol City. It was built on land that once housed lower income citizens. GAP status allowed them to push the poor off their land after the quake so they could build their walled, GAP-only, utopian city.

“They fund the government and shape unfair policies. And most importantly, they have time. They have artificially expanded lifelines. They have no right to play God in this way. The alteration of human genetics must be stopped!”

The ticker that ran under the scene said, NOAH BRODY,GRANDSON OF LESSER KNOWN GENETIC SCIENTIST MATTHEW BRODY, CO-DEVELOPER OF THE PROCESS OF HUMAN GENETIC ALTERATION.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Countdown to PERCEPTION and Teaser!

I'm nervous and excited. I can't believe it's only two weeks until PERCEPTION launches.  Today also marks one week until I leave for Europe. For seven weeks! *what was I thinking?* *It's going to be fine*

Which means I'll be in Dresden, Germany on launch day, September 12. Probably, maybe, drinking a beer or two, ya know, to calm the nerves.

Don't forget I'm LEE STRAUSS for this series. I hope Lee does as well as Elle at this indie publishing thing. In fact, I hope she does better!

Stay tuned for future posts on the top ten highlights in my first year of self-publishing, and why you can't think the same way as they do in traditional publishing. 

Anyway, tons to do and the clock is ticking.

Teaser #1

I imagined the cook and her crew were busy preparing for the party in the kitchen. I’d requested fresh sea food and simulated roast, fresh fruit and vegetables, an assortment of fancy chocolates and baked items, plus a three-tiered, surfer-themed birthday cake.

I skipped down the stairs to check on the progress, but in my hurry to the kitchen, I slammed into a body.

“Sorry,” a male voice said.

I stepped back, agitated. I recognized the dark-haired boy wearing the white tunic my mother made the male staff wear. He was the maid’s son. He held a wet mop in his hand, and I figured he’d been cleaning up Liam’s spotty water trail.

He stepped politely out of the way, but the expression on his face was stoic. Even though he was clearly from the outside and the help, I still expected some small sign that what he saw when he viewed me was pleasing. A twinkle in the eye, a slight upturning of the lips. These were the responses I got from all the boys. The straight ones, anyway.

He wasn't especially attractive but I didn't see people with his appearance very often. He had eyes the color of imported coffee beans and skin like caramel candy. His nose was wide and his jaw-line sharp. I was suddenly intrigued by him and surprised myself by thinking he looked exotic.

“Excuse me, what was your name again?” I asked.

“Noah.”

Right. I remembered now. I waited for him to say something, but he stayed quiet.

Footsteps echoed from the hall above. My parents spoke together, their muffled voices floating across the high ceilings.

“Do other maids send their sons to do their work?” Alison's voice had a brassy tone that carried through the cavernous space.

I felt a flare of red creep up my neck when I realized Alison was talking about Noah. My eyes darted to his, but he kept his averted.

“He does a good job,” Paul responded. “That's the main thing. Besides you know they need the money.”

“So we're charity now?”

“What's wrong with a little charity? Besides, they're not just anybody.”

“I don't care. I still don't trust him.”

I was mortified. My feet felt cemented to the floor and I didn’t know what to say. Anything would come off as trite since nothing I could say could undo what Noah had heard.

SEAWEED is on Tour!

Seaweed is on tour!

End of tour prize includes a signed print copy of Clockwise, a print copy of Seaweed and a special necklace that I purchased at the aquarium at Saint Thomas on the Sea, New Brunswick on the Bay of Fundy!

Tour Schedule

Monday, August 27:

World of Books ~ Review

Love of Books ~ Promotional Post

Some Like It Paranormal ~ Review

JennReneeRead ~ Review

Speculating on SpecFic ~ Review

The Book Slayer ~ Review

My Seryniti ~ Review

Tuesday, August 28:

artsy musings of a bibliophile ~ Review

ComaCalm's Corner ~ Review

whoopeeyoo :D ~ Review

Read-A-holicZ ~ Review

Waiting on Sunday to Drown ~ Review

Wintry Words ~ Review

Wednesday, August 29:

FireStarBooks ~ Promotional Post

A Diary Of A Book Addict ~ Review

The Ebook Reviewers ~ Review

Bookmarks & Bookshelves  ~ Review

Sweet Southern Home ~ This or That with Dori

Comfort Books ~ Promotional Post

A Bibliophile's Thoughts on Books ~ Review

Mostly YA Book Obsessed ~ Interview

Thursday, August 30:

Fantasy's Ink ~ Promotional Post

Buried in Books ~ Review

Nothing Better Than a Book ~ Review

The reader lines ~ Review

Samthebookaholic ~ Review

Howling Books and Design ~ Review

My Little Pocketbooks ~ Spotlight

A Dream Within A Dream ~ Review

BookBreather ~ Review

Friday, August 31:

Bookworm Lisa ~ Review

In Between  ~ Review

Memories Overtaking Me ~ Review

Bookshelf Confessions ~ Promotional Post

A Tale of Many Reviews ~ Promotional Post

Saturday, September 1:

Storybook Escape ~ Review

A Soul Unsung ~ Review

Friday Four or Five

1. September marks twelve months since I jumped into the adventure known as self-publishing. What a year! That topic deserves it's own post, so soon I'll do a recap and let you know what I've learned along the way.

2. In twelve days I leave for a seven week stint in Europe. Am I ready to go? Of course not! :) I've been too busy writing, writing, writing. But now I have to change hats and gears and focus on everything I need to do to prepare. My parents are going to house sit. My daughter will still be here but she's eighteen and starting university. (I know, most people's kids leave when they graduate. In our house, we're the ones leaving.)

I'll be spending the first three weeks traveling around Germany with my husband who's on tour and working there for two months. We're going to take a week to check out Nuremberg and Passau, the two cities that are settings in my book PLAYING WITH MATCHES (coming this November). I really wanted to visit these cities before launching that book, so I'm excited that it's worked out to do it.

I'm spending the month of October in Romania where I'll be teaching English to kids on a couple poor farms outside of Brasov. I'll for sure let you know more about that when the time comes.

A Brasov street cafe

3. Tied to #1 and 2, I've been working really, really hard to get every thing ready for my fall book launches (two novels and two novellas) before I leave. That means lining up cover work, hiring out edits, setting up cover reveals and reviews, getting proof readers, formatting. My goal is to have everything in place so that I can still launch successfully no matter what strange bed I'm sleeping in, so long as I can get on the internet.

4. I had no idea when I turned the calender in January that I was going to get as much work done in 2012 as I have already and project to do by the end of the year. Working this hard on writing and publishing, basically getting my business rolling, meant I had to let go of some other things. Like blogging and reading blogs. Once upon a time I blogged five days a week or more and read and commented on several blogs a day. I miss my blogging friends and I hope that one day, I'll be able to come back to the blogging table. But for now, I'll have to be content to wave from the distance.

Times and seasons in life change. The photo above is my 20 year old son wearing the back pack he wore when he was in grade two in Germany. Those German kids know how to rock a back pack!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Why, Sue, Why??

It was a hot and muggy night....
I couldn't sleep and found myself thinking about the latest Trad Pubbed Big Author to spout off about the evils of self-publishing.

In my near-sleep, dazed state, I waxed eloquently in my mind about my thoughts and feelings on the subject. I could've filled pages with witty and heart-felt prose.

In the light of sleep-deprived day, I'm finding it hard to get started. For one thing, I'm late to this party and there are other bloggers, more popular and prolific than I, who have covered the subject in depth.

I kept out of the Jodi Picoult mire. I'd only read one of her books prior to the gaffe and was only mildly impressed.

But when Sue Grafton made sweeping statements dissing all self-publishers, well, it HURT. Unlike JP, I am a fan of Sue's. I've read all of her books. I'd recently filled out an interview where I listed her as an influential author. I learned so much about writing detailed settings, creating three-dimensional characters and plotting mystery/suspense from reading her books.

Why do successful Trad writers even have to chime in? Aren't they already famous/rich/fill-in-the-blank? What can they hope to gain by tearing down other writers? All they manage to do is show that they are biased, judgemental and out of touch with the current publishing scene.

I'm happy to hear that she came back and ate a little crow. I'm not 100 percent sure it's because she realized the error of her arrogant way, or if she was doing damage control. She certainly didn't gain any new fans with her interview, and I'm afraid she lost more than a few old ones.

Me included.

(For the record: the only time I've worked harder than I am right now, is when I gave birth to four kids in less than six years--referring to her lazy comment.)

LEE Strauss has a new cover!

Lee Strauss has a new cover!

Seventeen year old Zoe Vanderveen is a GAP—a genetically altered person. She lives in the security of a walled city on prime water-front property along side other equally beautiful people with extended life spans. Her brother Liam is missing. 

Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protests against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they’ve created between those who have and those who don’t. He doesn’t like girls like Zoe and he has good reason not to like her specifically.

 Zoe’s carefree life takes a traumatic turn. She’s in trouble and it turns out that Noah, the last guy on earth she should trust, is the only one who can help her.

 PERCEPTION is a ( SF/mystery/romance) Young Adult novel that takes place in the not too distant future in a world changed by climate extremes, natural disasters and impending wars, and where scientific breakthroughs cause class divisions—both financially and philosophically. It explores the clash between faith and science and how differences can separate us as enemies or ally us together. And in some cases, even in the midst of betrayal and personal crisis, there’s room to fall in love. This is the first book in a planned three book series.

 You can "like" Lee Strauss on facebook and mark Perception to read on goodreads.

Lee Strauss is also known as Elle Strauss (yes, it's me!) Read this post if you want to know why I'm using a pen name.

PERCEPTION will be for sale on Amazon and at other e-retailer stores SEPTEMBER 12!

And the winner is...!

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of the prize for the YA Giveaway blog hop, but I've had computer ISSUES (blah).

The winner of a signed copy of Clockwise and an arc of The Future of Us is SUZ READS!

Congratulations! I've sent an email letting you know of your prize win.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and entered!!

Young Adult Giveaway Hop and a SALE!

I'm stoked to be part of this years Young Adult Giveaway hop and this year I'm giving away TWO books. One signed print copy of CLOCKWISE by moi, and one print copy ARC of THE FUTURE OF US by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler.

THE FUTURE OF US is such a cool story and it has time travel, so that makes it super cool!

Just fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter.

This is a blog hop so make sure you check out all the other participating bloggers listed below.

PLUS, since it's Back to School season, I feel like it's time for an e-book sale. From August 8-12 on Amazon (sorry the other retailers don't make quick price changes): Clockwise is FREE, Clockwiser, Like Clockwork and Clocked are all .99!

 That's NINETY-NINE CENTS EACH FOR FIVE DAYS ONLY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway