Small Change

Today's special guest is Sheila Roberts. Sheila lives in the Pacific Northwest. She's happily married and has three children. 

   

Writing since 1989, Sheila’s books have been printed in several different languages and have been chosen for book clubs such as Doubleday as well as for Readers Digest Condensed books. Her best-selling novel ON STRIKE FOR CHRISTMAS was made into a movie and appeared on the Lifetime Movie Network, and her novel THE NINE LIVES OF CHRISTMAS has just been optioned for film. Her novel ANGEL LANE was named one of Amazon’s Top Ten Romances for 2009.

    

When she's not making public appearances or playing with her friends, she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women's hearts: family, friends, and chocolate.

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

I asked Sheila what her inspiration was for writing SMALL CHANGE. Here is her answer:

My inspiration for writing SMALL CHANGE came from watching people struggling with financial challenges. Remember when so many of us were upside down on our houses? Getting laid off? Having trouble making ends meet? (Heck, you might still be in that leaky financial boat. A lot of us still are!) I loooked around and saw so many people left with too much month at the end of the money, grappling with which bills to pay and which to leave for next time, and just plain not having fun and thought, I want to address this in some small way.

If there was one thing I was an expert on, it was learning to live well in lean times. My husband and I had so many financial challenges over the years I used to joke that I took a vow of poverty when I married. Still, we managed to raise three kids, pay off our house, barter for goods and services, and even travel. We didn’t let a small detail like being broke stop us from getting the kind of life we wanted.

I felt like it was time to spread the message that a shift in attitude and behavior can take a woman almost anywhere she wants to go. I’m a firm believer that if you make enough small changes in your life and attitude they can add up to a big difference. Of course, I don’t say this to minimize the very real challenges so many people have had to face. Money worries are horrible. But for every challenge there is a solution, and sometimes that solution comes from doing some research and putting in place a good support system, which is what my three friends, Rachel, Jess, and Tiffany do in SMALL CHANGE.

I’ll be the first to admit that some of the money-saving measures my characters adopt, in and of themselves, won’t pay the mortgage in real life. But they’re still valid. Learning to cut expenses and shave corners in lots of small ways will eventually save us money. So will learning to live within our means. So will asking for help when we need it. Most of all, so will realizing we don’t need as much stuff as we think we need to be happy.

These are such simple truths, but they’re not easy to put into practice, which is why the friends in my book band together to help each other with their issues and start their own Small Change Club. There is strength in numbers. With the help and encouragement of others we can all make important life changes. And I hope that reading this book will inspire readers to do just that.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Take a trip to the charming little town of Heart Lake, and meet three best friends you’ll never forget. . . .

Rachel, Jessica, and Tiffany have major money problems. Tiffany’s whipped out the plastic one too many times, and now a mountain of debt has come crashing down on her. Jessica’s husband has lost his job, thrusting this longtime stay-at-home mom out into the cold, cruel workforce. And Rachel’s divorce transformed her from an upper-middle-class mom to a strapped-for-cash divorcée. So the three women start a financial support group called the Small Change Club—vowing to bring balance back to their checkbooks…and, in turn, their lives. Along the way they learn some valuable lessons—that friendship is an investment that keeps on growing and that sometimes love, like a loose coin, can be found in the most unexpected places…

“Roberts’s trademark humor and memorable characters wrestling with real-life issues add up to a novel that will make readers smile and wish for more.”—BookPage

AN EXCERPT

There it sat, a Cloud Nine queen-sized luxury gold comforter with red ribbon appliqué and metallic embroidery. Forty-percent off. It was the last one left. Tiffany Turner had seen it, and so had the other woman.

The woman caught Tiffany looking at it and her eyes narrowed. Tiffany narrowed hers right back. Her competitor was somewhere in her fifties, dressed for comfort in jeans and a sweater, her feet shod in tennis shoes for quick movement – obviously a sale veteran, but Tiffany wasn’t intimidated. She was younger. She had the drive, the determination.

           

It only took that one second to start the race. The other woman strode toward the comforter with the confidence that comes with age, her hand stretched toward the prize.

           

Tiffany chose that moment to look over her competitor’s shoulder. Her eyes went wide and she gasped. “Oh, my gosh.” Her hands flew to her face in horror.

           

The other woman turned to see the calamity happening in back of her.

           

And that was her undoing. In a superhuman leap, Tiffany bagged the comforter just as her competitor turned back. Score.

Boy, if looks could kill.

           

It would be rude to gloat.  Tiffany gave an apologetic shrug and murmured, “Sorry.”

           

The woman paid her homage with a reluctant nod. “You’re good.”

           

Yes, I am. “Thanks,” Tiffany murmured, and left the field of battle for the customer service counter.

As she walked away, she heard the other woman mutter, “Little beast.”

Okay, now she’d gloat.


SPECIAL LINKS

Sheila will be awarding a copy of Small Change and a $25 Visa gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US ONLY), and a $25 Visa gift card to a randomly drawn host.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/12/virtual-book-tour-small-change-by.html

Website: http://www.sheilasplace.com

Find Sheila on Facebook as Sheila Roberts, author

Twitter: _Sheila_Roberts

Amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/125004376X/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0YXFTNH3EDEBDFNAE8E7&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1630083502&pf_rd_i=507846

Essence

Today's special guest is Mackenzie Lucas, a lover of story in any form. She’s an avid reader of genre fiction, she writes contemporary and paranormal romance, and she listens to an eclectic mix of music that spans from pop/rock to country to gospel. She loves a good story whether it’s an erotic short, a full-length romance novel, or the narrative slice-of-life found in country music. In any story, emotional integrity and authenticity are most important to her as well as a big dose of romping hot sexual tension. She enjoys smart-mouthed, sexy heroines, hunky alpha heroes who know how to take care of their women, and plot twists that surprise her, but most of all, she just wants to experience a satisfying emotional arc of a character falling in love and finding what he or she needs most in life.

Mac is a small-town country girl with a world-traveler’s soul. She grew up in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and she’s lived in Dublin, Ireland, within spitting distance of New York City in Long Island, and now in the Washington, D.C. area. She obtained her undergraduate degree in English Literature from Dickinson College and received her M.F.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She’s currently an author, writing coach, a mother, and a wife.

With Mackenzie Lucas--whether you’re reading her light paranormal romance, her small-town-based contemporary romance, or her steamin’ hawt erotica--you’ll always get a story about connectedness, community, and emotional authenticity, and, at its core, love. No, and it doesn’t hurt that all her heroes are panty-melting gorgeous alphas and all their sexy, sensually aware heroines know how to stand up to them, give no quarter, and love them just as they are.

ABOUT THE BOOK

All Haven Jameson ever wanted was to own a little piece of paradise. Now, she does, having established a successful luxury spa in St. Augustine, Florida. But when the property next door is sold to a mega developer and his pro-golf celebrity brother who design trendy, bustling playgrounds for the rich and famous, she fears her dream could slip away. Confronted by her late husband’s infidelity, Haven learns everything she believed about her marriage was a lie; so she finally sets aside her grief and opens her heart to loving the widowed pro-golfer who is her biggest professional competition. In the end, Haven discovers that living a safe, loveless life is far worse than embracing passion and taking a chance on a man who’s vowed never to love again. And that, sometimes, no matter how high the risk, the best paradise of all can be found inside our own hearts.

AN EXCERPT

Pace Daniels lay on his belly on a massage table, naked except for a thin sheet covering his backside. He rested his cheek on his hands and closed his eyes, and breathed in the calming scent of the room.

Light music played from the overhead speakers, not too loud, but nice. It sounded like a mix of music from India and the Southwest—Burma to Santa Fe. Pan flutes and bowl singing. Interesting.

He breathed deep again, taking air deep into his lungs, and pushed through the pain in his shoulder, the achiness that seemed to stick with him no matter what he did.

It was time to retire. Leave the circuit.

He'd known for a while now. Hell, he was a fairly young man for his profession. But one mistake. One stupid mistake had cost him everything. And now at the age of almost forty, he was facing a blank future. Filled with a lot of nothing if he didn't make some changes soon.

He had no idea what to expect when he'd come to Essence. A pretty brunette had given him instructions today for the massage, showed him the transition room—a fancy name for a locker room—and where to store his clothes and belongings. Of course, he'd had massages before. Mostly by sports medicine doctors.

Essence surprised him. Pleasantly. The atmosphere was different than he’d imagined. He'd expected fru fru and had been bowled over at every turn. The place wasn't just a female Mecca, as he’d feared. He'd anticipated salon chairs and manicurists around every corner.

Instead, the spa resort was a posh hotel.

A serene place. A spot he could see himself settling into to find some measure of peace in his own life.

He let out a deep sigh.

But, no. He wouldn't. He'd move on like he always did.

A knock sounded at the door and a moment later, the door opened on silent hinges. He opened his eyes to see the massage therapist.

The woman who entered wasn't the petite, curvy brunette who'd checked him in, but a tall, leggy blonde.

He stilled as he watched her.

Yes, she was beautiful. High cheekbones, wide, exotic pale green eyes, lush body. But there was something else. Something indefinable. Something more, he couldn’t explain. Maybe a sadness that clung to her that he recognized because the same sloe-eyed desolation dogged him, day after day for the past ten years.

He couldn’t be one-hundred percent certain to what extent, but on some level, he identified with her.

Then she spoke, and every cell in his body awoke at the husky tone of her voice. Sex liquefied. He'd die and go to Heaven if he could just have her talk to him for the next hour in that sweet, sexy, soft voice.

“I'm sorry. I must be in the wrong room.” She turned to go.

He pushed up from the table. “No. Wait.”

SPECIAL LINKS



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prizes for the tour are as follows:
• One randomly chosen commenter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
• Two randomly chosen hosts will each receive a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/12/virtual-book-tour-essence-by-mackenzie.html

Links:

Website: http://www.mackenzielucas.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MacLucas_writer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MackenzieLucasAuthor

https://www.facebook.com/MackenzieLucasFanPage

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6915570.Mackenzie_Lucas

Sky's End

Today's special guest is Lesley Young. Journalist Lesley Young never thought she would delve into the world of writing fiction, but when she sat down for the first time to put pen to paper, ideas for what would become her first novel just poured out naturally. Young’s first book, “Sky’s End,” is a multi-genre tale that showcases her unique style of weaving romance, action and wit into one page-burning story.

Young was born in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. She holds an arts degree from the University of Alberta and a journalism degree from the University of Victoria.

Young now lives in Loretto, Ontario where she works as a journalist, freelance writer and editor for health, décor and business magazines. Since 2008, Young has written more than 300 articles for print and online media including Profit, Toronto Life, MSN Green, and Elle Canada among others. She is a regular contributor to Reader’s Digest, Best Health, Canadian Living and House and Home Magazine.

Young has won three gold honors for feature stories from the National Business Magazine Awards and another top media award from the Canadian Dermatology Association.

Soul Mate Publishing released “Sky’s End” on July 15 in paperback and e-book and since its launch, it has remained an Amazon Best Seller. The novel is Young’s first installment in a series about Cassiel Winters, a futuristic heroine, and her outer space escapades.

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

We asked Lesley which media inspired her sci-fi novel: Sky’s End—Book One in the Cassiel Winters Series. Here is her response:

Carl Sagan’s Cosmos

I fell in love with astronomy in general in my early 20s, although the bug was planted in my teens via Star Trek Next Generation. The minute I finished Cosmos, an incredible explanation of man’s understanding of our universe, I started it over. Half of it I still don’t quite grasp but that’s like any bible. You will always find new ways to learn from it.

How it inspired my novel After Sagan said that alien life was next to impossible, my brain did what it always does. Yeah but what if...

Voila—the universe and all the aliens in Sky’s End came to be.

Firefly (TV Series 2002-2003)

The premise of this TV series really got my heart racing. A renegade crew, evading authorities and warring factions in the galaxy...what’s not to love? Nathan Fillion was cast so well, and I mean, it was written by Joss Whedon. Sorry I digress.

How it inspired my novel This one’s simple. I wanted to imagine a similar space adventure—Sky’s End is a completely different plot— only with a kick-ass heroine as the leader.

Brian Greene’s The Hidden Reality

Greene explains the latest astrophysics theory with aplomb. This stuff is highly complex, but important for understanding what’s really going on in our universe and possibly, an infinite number of parallel universes. I mean you can’t make this stuff up.

How it inspired my novel Cassiel has a gift, a special ability that is rooted in the most advance multi-verse or M-theory being worked on by today’s scientists. Without Greene’s enlightenment, I would never have landed on a fundamental premise of Sky’s End. And yes it involved multiple universes.

Thanks so much for the opportunity! I’d love to hear about your favorite sci-fi movies and book.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A secret she must never share. A secret that two warring species are determined to control. A universe’s future at stake.

Twenty-year-old Cassiel Winters joins Earth’s new space academy in hopes of finding her brother, one of Command’s top pilots and her only family, who’s been reported MIA. But she quickly realizes she may not be cut out for life in space, where female cadets are outnumbered, competition’s fierce, and she’s already failed her hand-to-hand combat test once.

When Cassiel’s manipulated into a perilous mission, she encounters a warrior species bred to protect the universe from an even greater threat. And she learns that her secret visions are at the heart of it all. Now Cassiel must fight to control her own destiny and race to save her brother—even if it means pretending to be the pawn of Prime Or’ic, the cold-as-steel Thell’eon leader. Even if it means risking her life, facing hard truths, and making the ultimate sacrifice.

AN EXCERPT

The sea of black and silver guns and uniforms open up to let through a Thell’eon wearing a long dark gray cloak made of what looks like microscopic chain-mail over a thin gray shirt that contours another chiseled chest and stomach. Honestly, they’re commonplace here.

But . . . our eyes meet, and I swear I have never seen a more handsome or fierce or handsomely fierce man in my life. I forget to conceal my facial expression. He’s the definition of man and . . . and . . . sex. Literally, that is his appeal. Its pull is soft and warm and persuasive. I find myself admiring his intelligent eyes, so dark they seem black. Tattoos or markings, or whatever those things are, accent his strong brow, contour his cheekbones, and one on his chin creates a goatee effect. I can tell by his facial stubble that he would have dark brown hair. I notice he’s breathing a little heavy, like he had run to catch up with the others. Given how fit he is, he must have come some distance.

He eyes me carefully, first with disbelief and then disgust. He claps his hands together suddenly, and laughs, meanly, causing me to jump a little. The spell is only partly broken.

“So this is what ESE sends?” His voice is deep and melodic. “A female . . . child,” he adds, eyeing my face.

SPECIAL LINKS


Lesley will be awarding print copies of “Sky’s End” to ten randomly drawn winners, and a grand prize of one $50 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/12/virtual-book-tour-skys-end-by-lesley.html

http://www.LesleyYoungBooks.com

Facebook.com/CassielWintersSeries

@LesleyYoungBks

Amazon Buy Link

http://www.amazon.com/Skys-Cassiel-Winters-Lesley-Young-ebook/dp/B00DXV8G9K/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1385512973&sr=8-1&keywords=%22sky%27s+end%22

A Burning Truth

Today's special guest is Joyce Proell. Joyce grew up in Minnesota and attended college and grad school in Chicago. After working in mental health, she retired at a young age to write full-time. Her first book, Eliza, was published in 2012.  A Burning Truth is the second in the Cady Delafield series. When she isn’t writing mysteries or historical romances, she loves to travel, walk, read, and do crossword puzzles. She and her husband make their home in rural Minnesota in her very own little house on the prairie.


ABOUT THE BOOK

There’s no shortage of deadly deeds in 1881 Chicago as school administrator Cady Delafield and entrepreneur Doyle Flanagan plan their wedding. When one of Doyle’s workers is brutally killed he must use his considerable power to stop a mysterious enemy bent on destroying his reputation and business empire. But as Cady and Doyle struggle to keep their marriage on track, the murder victims might not be the only casualties.

AN EXCERPT

Doyle sat in the carriage, his brain frozen and his limbs unable to move. He watched Cady run up the steps and disappear into Ophelia’s impenetrable stone manor. When the front door boomed shut with the noise of a cannon blast, he jumped. He lurched forward and exploded out of the vehicle. She wasn’t getting rid of him so easily. In fact, she wasn’t getting rid of him at all. He had a voice in the matter. He intended to be heard.

Just as soon as he thought it, his steps faltered and he ground to a stop.

“Damn!”

Now was not the time to try to reason with her, not when she was in a cold fury. He pumped a fist against a thigh and stared at the mansion’s rock façade, aware her current state of mind was as solid and unshakable. Even if he managed to get beyond the front door, she wouldn’t listen. Not now.

His head fell back. A piercing ache tore through him, as if his heart and soul had been shredded and tossed aside. Gunmetal storm clouds reeled over the sky, bleak and threatening. The bite in the air made his cheeks sting. Inside he was hollowed and gutted. His fingers curled and uncurled. Muscles coiled, he pivoted with a fierce twist, snapped an order to Phelps then threw himself back into the carriage. His next move must be deployed with utmost care. The carriage jolted forward and thrust him back against the seat cushion. She needed time to cool. Then he’d be back, and she’d listen to what he had to say.

 
SPECIAL LINKS

Joyce will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/11/virtual-blurb-blitz-tour-burning-truth.html

http://www.joyceproell.com

http://facebook.com/JoyceProellAuthor

http://www.amazon.com

http://champagnebooks.com

http://kobobooks.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/A-Burning-Truth-Cady-Delafield-ebook/dp/B00I7E42BY/

 

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/400869

 

Kobo: http://prod-www.kobobooks.com/ebook/A-Burning-Truth/book-aWCFzcoyr0O2Eec-RV-Emg/page1.html

 

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-burning-truth-joyce-proell/1118326595?ean=2940045593625

 

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20703746-a-burning-truth

Champagne Books author page: http://www.champagnebooks.com/joyceproell.htm

Realizing You

Today's special guests are Ron Doades and Susan Sloate, authors of Realizing You.

RON DOADES is president of Ronald Doades & Company, a consulting firm that, since 1977, has helped the people of large and mid-size energy companies improve their individual and corporate performance results by learning from the best-practice experiences of others. A popular speaker on the topic of managing change for optimal results, he holds an MBA from Columbia University and an MS in Psychology from The New School in New York City. Visit him at www.realizingyoubook.com

SUSAN SLOATE is the author of twenty published books, including STEALING FIRE, a #2 Amazon bestseller and Quarter-Finalist in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest, and FORWARD TO CAMELOT (authored with Kevin Finn), which in its first edition was a #6 Amazon bestseller, took honors in 3 literary competitions and was optioned for film by a Hollywood production company. She lives in Mount Pleasant, SC. Visit her online at http://susansloate.com. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Meet Robby Aihn, the newest star in the self-help universe and author of the runaway bestseller, Realizing You, now struggling with his first taste of fame. Though his five principles for good living are changing other people’s lives, his own life is starting to fall apart. When Robby stages a lavish self-help conference in Dallas, he attracts others with their own secrets: his estranged wife and unhappy teenage daughter; the businessman pursuing his own agenda; the all-star pitcher facing the end of his career; and the shy co-author Robby never acknowledged, who is searching for meaning in her own life. Join Robby and the others on their journey toward understanding and fulfillment, in this truly novel approach to changing YOUR life.

AN EXCERPT

Sophie was the last one awake. She lay tensely in the queen-size bed next to her mother’s until she heard Marie’s soft, even breathing. Certain that her mother was deeply asleep, she slipped out of bed, tiptoed to her suitcase, and took out the little pink and red bag. Inside nestled a print scarf and a multi-colored beaded bracelet. Both items still bore their price tags. She’d snipped the tag off only the tortoiseshell hair comb so she could wear it today. She took it from the nightstand, looked at all three items, shook out and stroked the glossy material of the scarf, then quietly tucked all of them back in the bag, which she pushed deep into her suitcase. She wouldn’t take them out again until she left Dallas. She’d never wear that stupid hair comb again. She told herself it wasn’t as pretty as she’d thought when she first saw it in the store. The stern little voice inside her head told her that wasn’t the reason.

Sophie refused to allow herself to know what the real reason was.

She hadn’t left Colorado with those items in her suitcase. Her mother didn’t know she had them. She couldn’t explain where she’d gotten them.

But taking them had made her feel better. Everybody did it, at least once or twice. No big deal. She took a deep relaxing breath, thinking about how the act of lifting them from the counter made her feel, and realized she was finally getting drowsy. She crawled into bed, turned over, and was deeply asleep in three minutes.

 

LEAVE A COMMENT - AND LINKS

One randomly chosen commenter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sponsors and Moderators

As Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair approaches fast, we'd like to thank the businesses and individuals who support our cause financially. Their donations allow us to provide t-shirts for volunteers, signs throughout the facilities, name badges, flyers, promotional activities and advertising. It ensures that money raised at the event itself is used entirely for literacy campaigns throughout Robeson County, North Carolina.

SPONSORS

Many, many thanks to these sponsors of our 2014 event:

Platinum Sponsors

Southern Writers Magazine
Robeson Community College
Lumberton Area Visitors Bureau
Golden Corral of Lumberton
Village Station Restaurant
University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Gold Sponsors

Southeastern Health
Kiwanis Club of Lumberton
Rotary Club of Lumberton
Friends of the Robeson County Public Library

Silver Sponsors

Law Offices of Bruce Jobe, P.A.
BB&T
Donald R. Whaley, M.D., P.C.
Comfort Inn

Bronze Sponsors

LPL Financial
Lumbee Guaranty Bank
Senator and Mrs. Michael Walters
Lumberton Optometric Associates, PLLC
Century 21-Leroy Rising
Edward Jones-Mary Jo Walter
John's Fuel Service
Drs. Lacey Gane III and Christopher Karshner, DDS PA
Robeson Road Runners
Lumberton Chevrolet
Biggs Park Mall
Ginny and Jeff Hardin

MODERATORS

The moderators for panel discussions and individuals introducing solo speakers come from Lumberton's business community, Robeson Community College and Pembroke. We'd like to thank the following folks for volunteering as moderators (listed in the order of appearance at BENC):

Dr. Pamela Hilbert, Robeson Community College President
Bruce Jobe, Law Offices of Bruce Jobe, P.A.
Ginny Hardin

Dr. John Jones, UNCP
Carolyn Watson, Robeson Community College
Dr. John Rozier
E. Marie Sanders, Robeson Community College (and author)

Crystal Edmonds, Robeson Community College
Karen Silvestri, Robeson Community College (and publisher)
Ginger King, author

Joann Anderson, Southeastern Health CEO
Mary Jo Walter, Edward Jones
Chip Pate, LPL Financial
Jef Lambdin, Robeson Road Runners President

Jay Britt, Lumbee Guaranty Bank
Drina Hedgpeth, Retired Teacher
Margaret Inman, Robeson Community College
Dr. Mary Ann Masters, Lumberton Optometric Associates and President, Robeson County Arts Council

James Bass, Robeson Community College

Advice from a Bestselling Author

Today's very special guest is Haywood Smith, a New York Times bestselling author of The Red Hat Club, historical romance and funny stories about serious issues in the Deep South. Haywood will be one of the headliners at the Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair scheduled for Saturday, February 22, 2014. The event will be held at Robeson Community College, conveniently located near both Interstate 95 and Interstate 74 in Lumberton, North Carolina. It's free and open to the public, and it's the perfect chance to speak with Haywood about her path to the bestseller lists and her advice for aspiring writers. Find out all the details at www.bookemnc.org.

You can find more information about Haywood at www.haywoodsmith.net.

In Haywood's own words, here's some advice from a bestselling author:

1. Learn the craft of writing.  Grammar is the backbone of our language.  Only after you learn what's correct can you break the rules and get away with it.
   
2. Learn the business and technical end of publishing, either traditionally or self-publishing.  Join groups that give you access to multi-published authors.
   
3. If somebody claims to be an agent, then asks for money to "fix" your book, they're lying. Lots of people use paid editors , but book doctors posing as agents take advantage of lots of naive writers.
   
4. Don't ever send a manuscript to an agent, a published author, or an editor until it's been polished till it shines.  Bad spelling, grammar, or structure turn on my critical editor, so I can't see the story for the mistakes.  You only have one chance to be the great new thing.  Don't blow it by submitting before your work is ready.
   
5. Never give up.  Every rejection is another step closer to publication.  That doesn't men you shouldn't rewrite.  Use any criticism to address that element of your book, then decide whether or not to apply it.
   
6. Also, in the state of Georgia, when a friend says you can use some of her true stories in a book, print out an adequate legal release and have him or her sign and date it.  I didn't, and my publisher and I ended up getting sued for $1,300,000--over a million dollars!  The paper printed all the accusations, and none of the rebuttals.  But God and I knew she'd given me verbal permission, so my conscience was clear.  In the end, the jury awarded her $50,000 LESS than she'd been offered by our insurers at the beginning, and NO legal fees. So even though we lost on a technicality, we won.