The Spinning Wheel: An Old Fashioned Café and Bookstore for Authors and Readers

THE SPINNING WHEEL

See the sign over the door?

"The Spinning Wheel: An Old Fashioned Café and Bookstore for Authors and Readers."

The mellow yellow letters painted on sea foam green background goes well with the white brick building with the navy shutters on the windows.

Please wipe off any negative attitudes on the welcome mat before entering this building. We welcome everyone but we don't welcome negative attitudes. Please leave them on the other side of the door.

Close your eyes and envision what is on the other side of the door. You are about to enter the No Spin Zone.

Rows and rows of books on shelves with pots of ivy and the occasional geranium scattered around. Smell the fragrant candles along with the hint of homemade oatmeal cookies wafting through the air?

Miss Daisy, the resident cat, is curled up on the top bookshelf. She seems to be dozing but don't let that fool you. She's watching you. Or perhaps she's keeping an eye on Ralph, the resident dog, snoozing over by the potbellied stove in the corner. It's always cold on that side of the room so the fire stays burning all the time. Feel free to wander over and warm yourself. Throw a log on the fire if it needs it.

See that place in the corner across from the potbellied stove? Where the big overstuffed couches and easy chairs are located? That's the lounge where we all congregate. It's nice to have a place to just sit and relax and have a nice hot cup of coffee or tea but don't forget to read the sign hanging on the wall of the lounge.

"Treat others as you would like to be treated. Respect goes a long way in keeping The Spinning Wheel a friendly little old fashioned bookstore where everyone is welcome."

There are so many books just waiting to be read. The bookshelves are crammed to overflowing. Open your mind. Explore new possibilities. Think beyond what has normally been your comfort genre. Or if you aren't up to exploring new genres, we are bound to have something you like on our shelves. The possibilities are endless.

Pick up a book. Download a sample and browse the pages. Buy it if you like it but there is no pressure here at The Spinning Wheel to do so. You can browse here to your heart's content.

Head on over to the lounge area if you would like to discuss the books with others. If you hang around long enough you might even get to discuss the books with the authors who wrote them!

Authors and readers alike are welcome at The Spinning Wheel where the door is always open and the books are waiting for you.

Readers and authors, please introduce yourself as you come in.

Authors, feel free to place your book(s) on the shelves of The Spinning Wheel by posting the blurb for your book and the link to where it can be purchased when you first come in. Thereafter please limit to just placing a link to your book when you post or when you feel it is appropriate.

Readers, get those questions for the authors ready.

By the way, my name is Kristie Leigh Maguire. I am the proprietor of The Spinning Wheel. I am also an author and a reader. I am looking forward to getting to know all of you.

The Grand Opening of "The Spinning Wheel: An Old Fashioned Café and Bookstore for Authors and Readers" has begun! Come on in, everyone! Have fun!

***

Edited to add:

We now have completed construction of a screened in sun porch out back of The Spinning Wheel. It faces Lake Serenity. We have plenty of hammocks for relaxing and reading a good book while the bamboo fans stir the air overhead. Baskets of hanging ivy add a nice touch of greenery.

We have added a 5 Star Resort for Dogs and Cats so you are welcome to bring your pets and let them play while you visit The Spinning Wheel. I have nicknamed this resort The Animal House.

Another added event at The Spinning Wheel is author readings. Authors, if you would like to schedule a reading just post a message on the bulletin board at The Spinning Wheel and let me know. I will reply to you with a post at The Spinning Wheel with a date. I do not send out emails.

Both authors and readers are welcome to drop into The Spinning Wheel. I hope it becomes your home away from home.

LaVyrle Spencer's "That Camden Summer"

That Camden Summer
by LaVyrle Spencer

LaVyrle Spencer, known for her "heartrending slices of Americana" writes of how love can be more special the second time around...

It is 1916 and Roberta Jewett is surprised that her hometown of Camden, Maine, considers a divorced woman little more than a prostitute. She nonetheless perseveres in her struggle to forge a new and better life for her daughters there. Behaving like no "respectable" woman would, she gets a job as a county nurse, learns to drive, and buys her very own Model T.

Embittered by her painful marriage to an unfaithful husband, she has no intention of being any man's victim again. So Roberta is taken aback to find the widowed carpenter Gabriel Farley has somehow found his way into her heart. And in the ultimate test of will and devotion, she must depend on the man she has grown to love—and summon the courage to stand up to an entire town.

LaVyrle worked as a teacher's aide at Osseo Junior High School, when in her thirties, she read Kathleen Woodiwiss's novel "The Flame and Flower", which gave her the idea to become a novelist. She decided to try transferring to paper a recurring dream she was having about a story based on her grandmother's lifestyle on a Minnesota farm. Her story became her first manuscript, "The Fulfillment", and she sent it to Kathleen Woodiwiss. The bestselling author read the novel and promptly mailed it to her own editor at Avon. The editor purchased the novel, which was published in 1979. She was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame in 1988. She wrote 23 sweet historical and contemporany novels. Published around the world, her works had included 12 New York Times Bestsellers, and have been won 4 RITA Awards, 3 Golden Medallion Award and a Minnesota Book Awards. LaVyrle said: "the trademark of my books is mending relationships, showing people how to mend relationships."

Christie Kelley - romance writer

From Christie Kelley's website:

Christie Kelley was born and raised in upstate New York. As a child, she always had a vivid imagination and the bad dreams that go along with it, or perhaps the dreams were caused by the five brothers and three sisters she lived with. After seventeen years working for financial institutions in software development, she took a leap of faith and started her first book. Seven years later, her first book EVERY NIGHT I’M YOURS was bought by Zebra books. She now lives in Maryland with her husband and two future romance heroes.

Visit Christie Kelley online.

Christie Kelley's book list.

Ring Around the Sun by Gemini Judson

Ring Around the Sun
by Gemini Judson
Eirelander Publishing
Genre - Contemporary Erotic Romance

Length - Novella
Heat Level - Carnal

A ring around the sun foretells new beginnings.


That’s exactly what Teal Marin needs. When she inherits a cabin in the woods of northern Minnesota, she sees an opportunity to escape her physically abusive lover and disappear. From the moment she steps off bus, she realizes it won’t be easy—these weren’t the streets of Chicago.

As she battles against a new wintery enemy, a tall dark stranger emerges from the darkness. Darren Kennedy is a sports writer, nursing an old football injury and a broken heart in his cabin in the woods. He plucks Teal out the snow and teaches her the basics of cabin life. Together they ignite an unexpected passion that keeps them toasty warm.

Now Teal bathes in snowy, frigid sunshine with her new hero. Did she make a clean break? Not at all. Her former abuser wants his beautiful girl home.

Read an Excerpt and Purchase (ebook or Kindle version)

Gemini Judson


Gem is a biologist by training and an artist by heart. She’s spent her career studying fish, birds, bugs and many other critters, all providing a colorful tapestry for her stories. She writes contemporary romances with varying degrees of heat, but the common thread is a natural setting or a scientific twist.

Her first love was painting and came to writing romances only recently. “The similarities in the process amaze me. When I write, I lay down a background wash first and gradually add form and structure, just like I would with a blank canvas. The last step is adding nuance and balance. There’s nothing more satisfying than a finished manuscript and a finished painting.”

She makes her home in Minnesota with her husband and daughter and a pile of cats and dogs and horses. When she’s not writing or attending assorted youth sporting events, she’s painting, on canvas or digitally.

Fresh Fiction

Fresh Fiction is a great site for people who love to read. I really enjoy getting their newsletters. I highly recommend that you sign up for their newsletters too.

From the Fresh Fiction website:

About Fresh Fiction
FreshFiction is a web site designed to provide easy, accessible, and informative data to popular fiction readers on current authors and their available books. We specialize in genre fiction: romance, mystery, suspense, thrillers, horror, science fiction, fantasy, contemporary, graphic and action novels. FreshFiction.com consists of author pages, book pages, reviews, columns, blog, book reviews, news, and contests.

We have an active online database of authors and books growing daily with input from our researchers, reviewers and columnists. All books in our database include basic information: ISBN, publisher, publication date, genre. Additional information includes the cover image, price, tagline, summary, primary characters, setting location, period, excerpt and note from author or publisher. The information is displayed on a book page incorporating provided information, purchase links and author backlist.

Our author information includes basic information: publicity photo, biography and
available back list. The author page displays the information with links to each book in their list and optionally to the author's website.

If you join us as a registered member of Fresh Fiction, you can be notified via email when authors publish a book no matter who the publisher. You can also join our community and leave your thoughts on book and review pages. You're also able to create your own shopping lists. Contests are easy to enter with a single click. There is NO COST to join FreshFiction.com, simply register and log in when you visit us.

Romance Writers of America Conference

As Romance Booms, Authors and Publishers Invest in Face Time
By Rose Fox -- Publishers Weekly, 7/22/2009 7:51:00 AM

Around 2,000 members of the Romance Writers of America descended on
Washington, D.C. this weekend for RWA's annual conference. Despite overall
economic woes, romance is selling well in both trade and mass market, and
the mood was quite upbeat.

......

Despite an admission fee close to $500, the conference hotel charging over $200 a night, and the expense of travel, authors were adamant that RWA is a good investment in their careers.

Read the complete article at PW Daily.

Lisa Lane - Guest Blogger

Today's guest blogger is author Lisa Lane. Lisa is a friend of mine at Facebook.

Lisa says, "I have been writing novels and screenplays for over twenty years, but my craft didn't take that necessary leap from good to polished until about five years ago. Whereas dialog and narration came rather naturally to me throughout the majority of my life, only my most recent works truly reflect a sense of depth, pacing, and suspense that comes only with experience and time. Of the works I feel are finished or in the process of redraft, I can claim seven novels: two literary, one narrative nonfiction, three erotic horrors, and one erotic romantic sci-fi. I have adapted three of my original novels into screenplays. I also have four original screenplays,as well as a collection of short stories and essays. My stories range from literary, science fiction, and horror to lighthearted comedy, romance/erotica, and heartfelt confession. I love to explore new genres, and then find new and exciting ways to make them my own. My work is eclectic and unique. And I write because I have to."

And now, here is Lisa!

********

I want to thank Sizzling Hot Romance for having me as a guest and Kristie Leigh Maguire for inviting me. I feel honored to talk about my work here, especially since I am not the typical romance writer. With that in mind, I want to talk to you today about the distinctive and the unusual.

Breaking Traditions, Bending Rules, and Shattering Boundaries

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Lisa Lane and I write mixed genre fiction. That might seem like a blanket term, but I think it describes my work well. I house many muses, and as a result my writing is very eclectic. Whether is it my pulp sci-fi, romance, erotica, or horror, critics agree that my work has a unique flair all its own.

I am fascinated by the archetype and the cliche, not because of the abuse each have suffered over the centuries, but because of the literary tools that persist within them, despite their abuse. When broken down to their most basic elements, they are what create and delineate the various genres we write. I feel it necessary to suggest that they also ultimately dictate the various rules by which we as writers have grown accustomed to following. For example:

* the Hero in a horror story is a survivor
* the Hero in a romance seeks fulfillment and lasting happiness
* the Hero in a pulp sci-fi is a product of his society

The very nature of these characters create rules I have learned the hard way one rarely breaks:

* only the strong/persevering/smart/etc. survive horror stories
* romance books must always have happy endings
* even the anti-hero must be likeable in his own way

I can think of one story that successfully breaks one of the above three rules; this story is an exception, and it a powerful piece specifically because of the one rule it breaks. The work is an Indie horror film titled CUBE, and only because of its brilliance and unique approach is it able to get away with all that it does, while ending on such a powerful note. Most of us can only strive for such brilliance, and for the meantime, we must follow the above rules.

I have learned, however, that those rules can still be bent. Executed in just the right way, romance can be bittersweet, horror can be enlightening and provocative, and sci-fi can be powerful and heart wrenching. I think that is what literature is all about: learning the rules, and then finding unique and permissible ways of twisting and contorting them to suit the needs of both the audience and the story. When used wisely, such technique can make the difference between a good story and an exceptional one.

In my erotic horror trilogy, THE DARKNESS AND THE NIGHT, I take the most basic elements of the vampire myth, using an archetype akin to Dracula or Lestat, while also importing elements from numerous other genres. The result is a unique tale that is dark and gritty, but also thoughtful, heartfelt, and provocative. It is a work of erotic horror, but it is also a romance, a social commentary, and a tribute to its genres.

A character in book III, Anna, the seemingly human offspring of vampires Karen and Billy, is the perfect example of the character that strips the archetype to its most basic elements, while importing elements from other archetypes and bending numerous rules. Anna is a psychic vampire, and she travels the Astral plane via a Doppelganger, or psychic double, in search of men willing to trade small bits of their life-force for sexual favors. Anna does not drink blood and she does not shun the daylight–unlike her fraternal twin brother, Andy. I chose for Anna to be a twin for a reason: Andy, the archetypal vampire, is a stark contrast to Anna, and by placing the two side by side along their story, their contrast only becomes that much more apparent. Together, they make a statement:

* this story bends rules, and prepared to be surprised


THE DARKNESS AND THE NIGHT: BLOOD AND COFFEE

Life becomes complicated enough, after Karen takes sexy Billy as her lover andhe turns her into a vampire. Once they exchange blood, however, she finds that they share a bond more powerful than anything she has ever experienced. When Karen and Billy become separated, she is forced on the run from her crazy father, who imagines himself a vampire hunter, dream walking demon hunters, and a creepy commune of brainwashed vampires, controlled by orgy-loving leader, John-Michael. In this breathless debut novel, Lisa Lane takes you on a thrilling ride through vampire enclaves, moral dilemmas, and forbidden sexual encounters.

"...the writer is a good storyteller, and does an excellent job of leading the reader on..." - Regina, Coffee Time Romance

THE DARKNESS AND THE NIGHT II: COSMIC ORGASM

Karen's dark, sexy vampire odyssey continues, as she finds herself pursued by John-Michael's bounty hunters by night, and by once-sexy, now-demonic Billy's restless spirit by day. In a strange turn of events, lover becomes captor, foe becomes ally, love begins anew, and Karen survives her biggest challenge yet: childbirth. The second installment to The Darkness and the Night series, Cosmic Orgasm picks up directly where the first book ends, Karen's journey taking her through both the shadows of her past and the glimmer of light in her future. Her sexual exploration continues, as well, with a cosmic experience like none other, guaranteed to leave you breathless.

"I finished the book much quicker than the first and by the time I read the last sentence in the last chapter I really wanted Lisa Lane's next and conclusion to her The Darkness & the Night series to be published already so I could read it. I give this book 4 Open Books." - Phoebe Jordan, Talk About My Favorite Authors

THE DARKNESS AND THE NIGHT III: TWINS OF DARKNESS

Karen learns quickly that being both a mother and a vampire is no easy task, especially since her children, fraternal twins Anna and Andy, are not typical kids. Anna, although seemingly human, has the unique ability to not only travel the Astral, but also manipulate objects and people between planes. Andy also appears to be a normal human boy, but appearances prove disastrously deceiving. With the help of her blood donor and lover, Jason, Karen does her best to offer the twins a "normal" suburban life. Despite them, Anna and Andy come into their own, exploring their family's past . . . and the very different beings they are both slowly becoming. In the process, the author takes us on a wild ride that breaks beyond the boundaries of time and reality, sexual exploration, love and sacrifice . . . and back to the vampire commune.

". . .well written and exciting. This is certainly one of the most unique vampire novels I have come across. It is chock full of imagination and feeling; a totally fresh look at the dark side." - Lototy, Coffee Time Romance

"Having read the first twenty-nine pages off and on, I continued straight through to the end. As I’ve already said, the plot is superb, and when such a plot comes along, I always marvel at the human imagination and what it can produce." - Fanny, Cerebral Reviews

For more information and buy links, visit my website: http://www.cerebralwriter.weebly.com/erotica.html

Thanks for reading! I’ll be popping in throughout the day to chat and answer questions, so if you have a question or comment, I’d love to hear from you!

********

Thank you, Lisa, for visiting with us today at Sizzling Hot Romance!

Kristie Leigh Maguire

Lisa Lane will be guest blogger on Tues July 14th

Mark you calendars for Tuesday July 14th. Author Lisa Lane will be my guest blogger for that day.

Lisa says, "I am a writer. Writing is my passion, my release, and my escape. My day is not complete unless I write at least a few pages, and I craft sentences and redraft chapters as I drift off to sleep each night. It is quite safe to say that I obsess over the written word. I see words as broken shards of colored glass: alone they are worthless, but when placed together in just the right way they have the potential to form great masterpieces."

Be sure to come back Tuesday to learn more about Lisa Lane!

1st Turning Point

I am really impressed with this new place for writers. Their slogan is Authors Teach, Share, & Learn–All About Promotion ... and they really do! I was invited to join from Facebook and have not regretted my decision to jump on their bandwagon. I look forward each day for their email message notifying me of a new article posted to the site.

For instance today's article is Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance by by John Foxjohn.

Here is the first paragraph to whet your appetite. Because of copyright that is all that I will post but you can read the complete article by CLICKING HERE ... and I highly suggest you do so if you are serious about your writing career.

The 5 P’s of Self-Promotions

I actually began teaching self-promotions because my friends titled me the “King of Self-Promotions,” and wanted me to teach them. Now I teach the classes at workshops, conferences, and online. I titled these classes the 5 P’s of self-promotions. It stands for prior planning prevents poor performance.

Author Catherine Wade will be guest blogging on Tues July 7th

Catherine Wade will be my guest blogger for Tuesday July 7th.

Catherine is a friend of mine at Facebook. She describes her writing as Romantic Comedy With Attitude. Naturally this intrigued me as I, too, have published a romantic comedy (No Lady and Her Tramp) that definitely has attitude! I just had to have Catherine blog at Sizzling Hot Romance!

Mark your calendar so you won't miss this event! Invite your friends to come as well. The more the merrier. And don't forget to be thinking of questions that you would like to ask Catherine on her day.

You can visit her website at http://www.catherinewade.com.

Sizzling Hot Romance now available on KINDLE!

I am very happy to announce that I have finally gotten with it and entered the KINDLE age for my blog, Sizzling Hot Romance from Kristie Leigh Maguire. For a limited time Amazon is having a 14 day trial subscription so it will cost you NOTHING to subscribe. If you don't like it you can cancel. If you do like it, then it will only cost you $1.99 per month to get my blog downloaded to your KINDLE. I am not the one who set the price. Amazon does that. But I really don't think $1.99 a month is too much to ask if you prefer reading from your KINDLE.

Now that I have entered the KINDLE AGE with my blog, I am determined to be more diligent in posting...and in having interesting articles for you to read. I have some great thoughts running through my head as to how to improve my blog.

BUT...I would like to hear what YOU want to read. Would you like for me to have guest authors blog here? Would you like for me to do interviews with other authors? Would you like for me to suggest books for you to read in the romance genre?

YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE HERE! I am very open to suggestions.

Author Page and Amazon.com

Did you know that you can now have your very own author page at Amazon.com? And I don't mean just the individual pages where your books are listed for sale either. This is a page that lists your bibliograpy (all your titles) together on one page.You can add your picture and your author bio. You can set up a blog through Amazon or import a blog that you are already doing by using the RSS feed feature. There is even a place for a forum where your readers can ask you questions or you can have discussions.

This is a pretty neat feature that Amazon has added for its authors. If you are not aware of this, you might want to check it out. It is currently in Beta stage but I have mine up and running and it looks great!

Check out my Amazon Kristie Leigh Maguire Page and see for yourself.

To set yours up, go to AUTHOR CENTRAL at Amazon.com.

Why book tours are passé

Author readings and signing sessions, once the staple of publishing publicity, are being usurped by virtual encounters and promotional videos.

By Teresa Méndez Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

The author tour, with its accompanying readings and signings, has come to be the quintessential tool for promoting books. It is a chance for writers to charm their readers and for readers to glimpse the person behind the words. At its best, the meeting can be electric. (At worst, nobody shows up.)

But in the past five years or so, observers say the traditional author tour has been in decline: Fewer writers are being sent out, and those who do tour make fewer stops. Among the many reasons for this shift are marketing tools that have made it possible to orchestrate a virtual encounter, without the hassle or expense of travel. Publishers and authors are now touting books through podcasts, film tours, blog tours, book videos, and book trailers. In fact, it's unusual for a book not to have some sort of Web presence. (Blue van Meer, the fictional main character in the 2006 novel "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" by Marisha Pessl, even has her own MySpace page.)

Publicity departments used to be places where wacky ideas originated but languished, says Carol Schneider, executive director of publicity for Random House. Now, with the Internet, she says, "they are really able to carry [those ideas] out."

Each is a small experiment, an incremental move, as the publishing industry has begun to embrace the Internet and other new media. It's hard not to wonder, though, whether their cumulative effect will one day render the face-to-face bookstore meeting between writer and reader obsolete.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE

BOOK COVERS AND MORE can create a customized video book trailer for your book for only $50.

Indie Readers - Where Readers Make Decisions, Not Bookstores!

I invite anyone who likes to read to join this hot new group: Indie Readers - Where Readers Make Decisions - Not Bookstores!

http://indiereaders.ning.com/

A reading group network where readers decide what authors deserve their attention, not bookstores. Discuss independent titles here.