About Me

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Special Project for Wounded Warriors

I'm yielding this space today to fellow author Diane Rinella who wants to share with you her special project for some very special folks.
 

Love, Honor, & Hope- A Benefit for the United States War Veteran’s PTSD Foundation
Eight authors are joining forces to support one fantastic cause. Beginning June 24, 2014, Love, Honor, & Hope,an anthology of eight full-length novels, will be available for 30 days at the low price of $0.99. That’s right, just 99 pennies. The best part is that 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the United States War Veteran’s PTSD Foundation.

PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, affects approximately 19% of the military men and women returning from Afghanistan and Iraq—and that’s just those who have been diagnosed. The percentage is expected to grow as more of our military members seek treatment. It’s a heartbreaking trend for the men and women who sacrifice so much for our freedoms, especially with benefits being cut and promotions being threatened.
The United States War Veteran’s PTSD Foundation is a non-profit charity that focuses on providing FREE care to combat military members, both active and veterans. They can’t do it alone, which is why we’ve made the decision to step up and do something. All eight of the authors have their personal reasons for supporting this cause.

Cherime MacFarlane, author of Heart of the Hunter said, “For me, it’s the way a very quiet man, my uncle, receded into the background whenever a family function took place. I did understand he came back from WWII that way. A young man, easy going and quick to laugh became a recluse. My father also served in WWI, as did a second uncle who returned far from the mischievous young man he was before the war claimed his youth. I was a young mother during the Vietnam era. I had friends who did not come back from Vietnam. I had other friends who did come home but were permanently damaged by the things they saw. For me, this is an opportunity to give back something to the men who served their country when the call came. My uncles and father are gone now, but I do hope, in some small way, to pay it forward for them. This is a tiny step, but as the man once said, every journey begins with that first step.”

It’s easy to sit back and talk about helping our veterans and active military members. To step up and help is something altogether different. We are answering the call for help.

Will you answer? All it takes is for you to log on to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and spend 99 cents, and then hopefully share the great news on our labor of love. Not only will you receive eight full-length novels for your enjoyment, you will also tell our men and women who suffer from this terrible and debilitating illness that we’ve got their backs.

Love, Honor, & Hope is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble from June 24 to July 23. It includes the following full-length novels:
Out of the Box Awakening- Jennifer Theriot
Early One Morning- Aubree Lane
Lost and Found- Jennifer Yarbrough
Scary Modsters- Diane Rinella
Tropical Dreams- Kelly Cozzone
Sisters of the Night- Linda Lee Williams
Heart of the Hunter- Cherime MacFarlane
Piece of Heaven- Sammie J

And here are the links to some great reading for a great cause:
http://amzn.to/1ljKDyl

http://bit.ly/1m5yN68


Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Some Thought on Small Presses

I just happen to have two books being released within eight days. Didn’t plan it…just happened.  Both George Washington, Surveyor, Soldier, Leader and Troubled Times are being published by a small press. And that’s where the similarity ends.

I’ve worked with White Bird Press a number of times in the past. They are doing a re-release of Troubled Times, a historical novel set in Civil War times that first saw print in 2005. It’s been out of print for a number of years and such a good story, I felt it needed to be re-introduced to the reading public. So, with three new chapters and a smashing new cover, Troubled Times is available today, June 17th, through Amazon, Kindle, and Nook.

Part of my promotion program is to present it in serial form on Venture Galleries.com, a site where I’ve been a weekly blogger for some time. So far, I’ve gotten some great response and even garnered a super review. (http://venturegalleries.com/author/gayingram/)

The George Washington book is a fictionalized biography about our first president. I went with a different small press after hearing a presentation by one of its acquiring editors. Through no fault of the publisher, my book’s release took a lot longer than I anticipated. Without naming names, I will say through the whole process I felt quite discouraged by the lack of response to my inquiries. The communication was dismal. 

Even though its release date was June 11th, I had to go looking for it on Amazon and a week later, it is still not available in e-book format.

So what’s my point? Just this…don’t be so eager to get your work into publication that you don’t take the time to do your homework beforehand. If you’re considering a certain publishing house, go to their website, read what others who have published through them have to say about their experience. 

Friday, June 6, 2014

Our First President's Amazing Arm

Myths surrounds the memory of Washington that earlier generations of children were taught in the classroom...I know I learned it there. For instance, the untrue tale about how he once threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River. 

First we have to set aside the fact that silver dollars didn’t actually exist when Washington was young. The first U.S. Mint building didn't begin operations in Philadelphia until 1793, and the first silver dollar appeared the following year – the Flowing Hair dollar of 1794-95. According to the official mint report, just 1,758 dollars were struck the first year.

Next, the Potomac River is over a mile wide—it would be impossible to accomplish such a feat without the aid of some serious wind.

That being said, his step-grandson recorded a story that Washington once threw a piece of slate roughly the size of a silver dollar across the Rappahannock River, which was only about 250 feet wide near the Washington homestead; this is obviously significantly more doable.


If you want to get insight into our first president's life between the ages of eleven and twenty, I suggest you pick up a copy of my soon-to-be-released book, George Washington Surveyor, Soldier, Leader.