More Fun From Great Lakes Book Bash With A #Giveaway

As you can see, Great Lakes Book Bash was a blast.  It was a chance to see authors and friends that I have had the honor to get to know through our book community.  Sharing a love of books is only one side of the coin, laughing and enjoying each others "unique" personalities is also a part of the love I feel for this community.  There is no other group of people that I have ever found that embraces my inner nerd and shares some part of those characteristics.  It feels like a great big family. I miss them already! (Photographed above:  Front, Rachael Brownell, Back left to right: Me, Jo Michaels. Bette Barber, Misty Provencher, Cassie Shively, and Tia Silverthorne Bach)

Meet author SF Benson who was so full of energy and enthusiasm as she described each of her books and all the new ones she has planned.  Her excitement was contagious!  She writes young adult and new adult Dystopian/science fiction and paranormal stories.  I just purchased the Hearts Duology and from what she has told me there will be many more books added to this series.  If you would like to look at her work go to her Amazon author page or follow her on Facebook .

Author M.R. Polish greeted me with her beautiful smile that lit up the entire room.  I was so excited to see her again and to finally get my hands on her Saddles and Spells Series .  I found one of her quotes that I think are words to live by.  "Life is too short to stand by and watch everyone else live your dreams. The bigger the dream, the bigger the adventure!"  Her hard work and dedication is paying off and I am so glad I can support her dream of being an author and getting her stories out into the world.  If you would like to follow her journey go to her Facebook page or her Amazon author page.

I would like to introduce author Becca Vincenza.  I have known her since she released her very first book.  To see where she is today is a joy to behold.  Not only has she grown in leaps and bounds, but she continues to be one of the nicest people I know.  One of her most recent series released is a collaboration with author M.J. Haag called The Resurrection Chronicles.  I am looking forward to reading this series.  She had me at zombie-like plague!  You can find out more on her Amazon author page or on Facebook .

Author Misty Provencher is so freaking funny.  Whenever you take a photo, you may just have an extra person in the background smiling from ear to ear.  *See photo below.  LOL That's just one of the many reasons I love her. 

Misty writes in many genres, so there is something for everyone.  Her newest release is Weeds of Detroit written under the name Misty Paquette.  It's written about a teenage runaway and the harshness of life on your own in Detroit, which is based on true events.  To follow Misty please go to her Amazon author page or on Facebook .

Author Ellie Wade in the photo with my mother who absolutely loves her Choices Series is a truly lovely person on the inside and out.It's always a pleasure to see her at each book convention.

I am addicted to her Flawed Hearts Series.  Both series are Contemporary Romance and filled with emotion, struggles and finding true love.  Of course there is so much more to her books, but you have to read them to find out!  Please look her up on Amazon or Facebook.



That's it for this post EXCEPT...a GIVEAWAY!
To win an ebook of your choice from one of these authors above, share this post on any social media platform, then comment below.

Great Lakes Book Bash 2017

Last weekend I had the most amazing time at Great Lakes Book Bash in Kalamazoo, MI.  It was so nice to see many of my favorite authors and meet so many new authors.  I was lucky enough to bring home a pretty nice book haul.  (Photo from left to right: Cassie Shively, Author Misty Provencher, Me, Better Barber)

 This will be the first post in a series of posts, introducing you to each of the authors I met and hopefully introduce you to a few new ones.    I will leave a link for each of them, so you can check them out. 

Each author was very friendly and full of excitement to share their hard work.  I am so excited to begin reading their books.

 Giveaway:
Comment below for a chance to win a mystery bag with a paperback and goodies from this event.  Let me know what you would like to see more of on future blog posts.

Meet author Rachael Brownell.  She was our gracious hostess for GLBB and did such a phenomenal job.  Her work includes one of my favorite ugly cry Contemporary Romances, Jumping Puddles .  I cannot express how much I love this book and sincerely think it is one of the best books I have read to date.

She has many others, including Saving Bliss, which I waited over a year to read.  It was worth the wait!  To check out Rachael's work, head over to Amazon and Facebook .

Author Stacey Rourke was absolutely adorable wearing her hubby's Chewbacca slippers due to an incident with a bird bath.  Even in pain she was gracious and full of enthusiasm.  She has a new book Veiled,  which is being released on November 7th.  I cannot wait to sink my teeth into that baby. 

If you haven't read her Gryphon Series, you need to.  It is so good.  Luckily book 1 is FREE on Amazon. 

Also, Stacey hosts the event Once Upon A Book in Frankenmuth, MI in August.  It's a great family friendly event.  For more info, go HERE .

Meet authors Jo Michaels & Tia Silverthorne Bach.  Both are a part of the Ferocious 5.  A lovely group of authors that each year puts out some amazing collaborative work, including this years Frayed Fairy Tales.
It's a unique spin on many of the happily ever after stories we have grown up with.  Check out their work on Amazon .

Jo Michaels is one of the hardest working authors I know.  She has an imagination like no other and it really shows in her work. I love all her books, but I do have a favorite series of hers though that has stayed with me even a year later, The Mystic Series. I would advise having a box of tissues while reading. This series will grab your heart and squeeze while you beg for more.

 To check out Jo's work go to her Amazon author page or find her on Facebook .

Last but not least, Tia Silverthorne Bach.  A kind hearted and wonderful person.  Her Tala Prophecy series still gives me goosebumps.  I started the series and fell in love with the way her characters felt so real, with honest reactions and feelings.  What I loved most was the compassion I felt for the main character and this stemmed from Tia's expertise writing style.

To find out more about Tala's Prophecy and Tia's other work, go to her Amazon author page or her Facebook page.



Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY, and watch for more posts from GLBB.

OUAB Preorders

Amy Cecil
Amy K McClung
Amy Miles
Casey L. Bond
Diana Kathryn Plopa

Hope Daniels & Alicia Dawn

Jessica Cage

K.R. Fajardo
Mackenzie Flohr
Martina Marie
Mary Ting/ M.Clarke
Melissa Keir
Michelle Bolanger
N.J. Ember

Payne & Taylor

Rachael Brownell
SF Benson
Solease M. Barner
Stacey Rourke
Victoria Flynn
Wende Dikec/Abigail Drake

 I will be updating the list as we get more preorder form links!

Current list of attending authors!
Have you purchased your tickets yet?  What are you waiting for?

Purchase tickets & tables HERE!

OIBF Keynote Speaker Christina Benjamin

I am so excited to welcome author Christina Benjamin to Reading For Fun. She will be attending OIBF on October 19-22, 2017 in Springfield, MO as one of our Key Note Speakers. I have been lucky enough to meet her in Nashville and I can’t wait to see her again at OIBF.

Hello Christina and welcome! I thought we would begin with discussing your work. How many books do you currently have published? 

Oh wow, I had to count. 17 with number 18 on the way.

Of those books which one are you most proud of and why?

Such a hard question because they’re all so different, but I guess I’d have to say my first book, The Geneva Project - Truth, because it started all of this. It was spawned from my love for YA fantasy and I started writing it because I wanted to have a world all my own to share with others.

 Do you have a favorite quote from one of your books? If so, could you share it with us and explain why?

OMG, Tina this is like CNN! Lol. This is so hard. I wish I had a better memory because I know I’ll totally think of something better later, but let’s go with this one from The Geneva Project - Destiny, because it’s the one I relate to. “I’m not fearless. If anything I’m afraid all the time. But I let my fear motivate me.” I also love this one from Destiny. “Come now . . . writing is harmless. They’re just words, after all.” As a writer and book nerd words are the most powerful things in the world so I love the hidden humor and ignorance of that statement.

Are you currently working on another book? Can you share a little something about it? Is it YA, NA, Adult? What genre?

I’m always working on another book. I’ve challenged myself to do a book a month. Crazy, I know! But it’s been really fun. I primarily write YA and Romance. It’s nice to bounce back and forth between two completely different genres because I think it helps keep my writing fresh. My current WIP is YA and it’s called The Almost Boyfriend. It’s a follow up to my best-seller, The Practice Boyfriend. They’re both stand alones but part of the same collection, which is good old high school drama and gossip. They have a very Gossip Girl/Pretty Little Liars feel. The Almost Boyfriend takes place in Ireland so it’s been really fun researching and I can’t wait to bring the book on tour to Ireland this summer.

~~Now for a little FuN!~~

Who is your favorite author?

Another hard one! Everyone! But for the sake of not writing a novel about my favorite authors I’ll narrow it down to my fav YA authors at the moment, JK Rowling, Cassandra Clare and Sarah J. Maas.

Do you have a favorite book that you come back to time and time again?

I rarely read books more than once because I always feel there are so many more that I want to get to. I did listen to all the Harry Potter’s on Audible after reading them and I watch the movies over and over. So there’s that. I’m a big Potter nerd.

If you could go to one place, where would you go and why? 

I really, really want to go to Santorini, Greece because my YA series, The Geneva Project sort of takes place there. It was inspired by a lot of the amazing landscape of Greece and Greek mythology. Plus the iconic Santorini shoreline is actually part of the seal we created for the series. It’s kind of my hidden tribute to Greece.

What hobbies do you have that you do to unwind and relax? 

Can I say binge watching Netflix with a glass of wine? Lol. No, really it’s the water. Anything on the water. Cruising, sailing, boating, stand up paddle boarding, sitting on the beach or by the pool. That’s my happy place. Put a book in my hand on the beach and I’m a happy girl. My other love is music. I can’t sing or play an instrument but I love music so much. It really inspires my writing and I try to fill my days with as much live music as I can find.

Would you please share something quirky about yourself that most people wouldn’t know? 

Oh gosh, what isn’t quirky? I’m a book nerd. I write in a closet. Literally. I needed a private place to hide away and write my novels so we converted a walk in closet into an office. I call it my writing cave, or my Harry Potter room. So I pretty much spend all day in a closet. That’s quirky, right?

One last question…it needs to be a good one…

Harry Potter or Hunger Games? What do you like most about the series? 

Oh! Good one! I love them both. They’re literally on my shelves of fame! (that’s what I call the top row of my bookshelf) But I think I have to go with Potter because I’m just such a huge fan of what JK did for the world of fantasy. Her books really inspired me to create my own brand of magic that can live and breath between the pages of my books.

Thank you so much for taking time from your busy schedule to share your thoughts and work with us. I can’t wait to see you at OIBF!!

If you would like to attend Ozarks Indie Book Fest here are a few links for more information:

Website

Tickets