Christmas

UNEXPECTED HIATUS…

Donna L

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I thought once I bought a new computer, my troubles would be over. Now it appears I need to do more work on merging my files, internet connections, and existing programs onto the new computer and it’s proving to be more of a challenge than I expected.

I have no doubt I will be able to set up the new computer in due time but right now, the rest of my life, work, and upcoming holiday obligations are eating up any spare time I have to be able to work on setting up my new computer.

This leaves me with one option and that is to begin my holiday hiatus earlier than planned. Originally, I was going to be away from my computer from 12/21/18 through 1/2/19 for any work related issues. I would still be on Facebook and other social sites, but was going to focus on a much needed rest. For now, I will pause my blog posts until after the New Year so I may have time to get this new computer set up correctly and can tackle the new year properly.

I will still find a way to load my Monday posts for the next three weeks to complete my TWLEVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR freebies contest but that’s about it for now.

To all my readers, I wish the very merriest of holiday season for you and your family. I hope Santa brings you everything you might wish for, and I hope you return to this blog with the new year to find out about all the new and exiting things I have in store for Story Catcher Publishing!

And if you are in the area next Saturday, I will be at the Barnes & Noble in west Knoxville from 9-2, signing copies of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound as well as my story in Chicken Soup For The Soul: Angels Among Us. See you there!

 

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AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY: A Holiday Countdown

Donna L

 

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I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route but I’ve decided to take a different path.

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Christmas is just weeks away and here at Story Catcher Publishing, I’m gearing up for the holidays. This past weekend I checked off everything on my family and friends’ wish list. My living room is pile high with various bags and boxes from my search for the perfect Christmas gifts. Even my book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound, is on sale for the holidays. The ebook version is listed at $1.99 and you can get the print version for $12.49 through the end of the year.

I’ve also started the next book in the LUNADAR series. Indie author fans are no different from traditionally published author fans. They all want to be the first to read the next book and the longer you wait between books, the more impatient they can become. Besides, I can’t wait to find out what else happens to Ariana, Kaspar, and Candra in LUNADAR: Candra’s Revenge.

I’m also sorting through a number of book contests I can possibly submit my book to over the next few weeks. Winning a book award helps validate an indie author’s writing and shows the world their book just might be worth reading.

These next few weeks are going to be hectic for me, so please forgive me in advance  if I seem a bit distracted.  I also have an extended vacation coming up and plan to catch up on some much needed rest…

 

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***WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!***
***WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!***

 
I’m happy to announce the winner of week nine of my TWELVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR free giveaway! Laura De La Cruz has won the Yorkie Book Stand. Thanks for following me on Twitter! Congratulations! Look for my email on how to get your prize…

 
***DON’T FORGET! It’s week ten of THE TWELVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR giveaway and this week you get a chance to wish you are at the beach with the beach themed tea light holder shown above! Just click on the pile of presents to the right of this post and choose how you would like to enter the FREE giveaway. Winners will be announced every Monday in my INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY post!

 

***Also, both ebook and paperback versions of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound are on sale through the holidays! You can grab the ebook copy for just $1.99 and the paperback for $12.49 through Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Nook, Books A Million or dozens of other online retailers. Books make great Christmas gifts!

 

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Ruler by day, a reluctant pirate by night, 18-year-old Princess Ariana fights for her subjects in the waterfall city of LUNADAR. In a kingdom surrounded by fairies and mermaids, and ravaged by deadly Drundles, only a chosen few are trusted to guard her daughter, Candra, as the secret heir to the throne.

But it only takes one ill-fated meeting for Ariana to suddenly be plunged into an escalating web of secrets found in her father’s journal, a deadly kidnapping, and an ever-weakening resolve to turn her back on the call of the merman’s song.

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of LUNADAR at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

 
donna
International best selling, award-winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy), is now available in ebook and print form from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and other online retailers.

FLASH FICTION TUESDAY: A Christmas Miracle

Donna L

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Now on Tuesdays…at least for the foreseeable future…welcome to Flash Fiction Tuesday. In case you don’t know what flash fiction is, it is an extremely short story (sometimes created in 100 words or less) with a beginning, middle, and an ending.

But in my case, I write flash fiction with an open ending. I allow my readers to draw their own conclusion as to what happens next to the characters of each story. To help beat the heat of mid summer, let’s think about cooler weather while stepping into the solitary life of one mall Santa…

 

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He had been dreaming about a long line of whiney kids when a faint noise tickled his ear. He felt himself drawn away from the child sitting on his knee. There it was again, getting stronger and he finally realized it was the phone on the table beside him. Pushing the last shreds of sleep from his tired brain, he grabbed it on the last ring.

“Hello?” His voice sounded gruff even to himself.

“Uh, is this Chris? Chris Norman?”, a soft voice cautiously asked.

“Yeah, who’s this?”

“Daddy? It’s Amy…your daughter.”

He wondered if it’s possible to have all the air sucked out of your lungs in a flash and still be able to breathe? He felt like time had stopped and all he could see was a little girl’s tear-streaked face in the rear view mirror as he drove away from his old life. Even now, as a mall Santa, he looked into the eyes of every little girl and wondered what kind of woman his own had become.

“Daddy?”

“I’m…I’m here.”

“I’m so glad I finally found you. I was hoping we could meet somewhere for coffee.”

Time sped up again and the gut wrenching pain felt so fresh. Later he couldn’t even remember much of the conversation, but managed to make some lame excuse to avoid facing a life best forgotten. He quickly got off the phone saying it was almost Christmas and he had to get back to work. Now, listening to another line of whiney kids waiting to sit on his knee, he wondered how he would make it through the long night ahead of him.

“Santa? Are you for real?”

He could barely see the bright green eyes staring up at him. Roughly brushing a white gloved hand across suddenly misty eyes, he wondered how he would answer her question when he glanced over the child’s head into another pair of green eyes. Eyes as green as Amy’s had been.

“Daddy?”

 

What happens next? Share your imagination with others by leaving a comment below!

 

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International best selling, award winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy) is scheduled to be released in ebook edition by summer 2018 from Story Catcher Publishing, with the print edition hopefully coming out late fall 2018.