Sunday, December 23, 2018

Books make great Christmas gifts

In Iceland, they call it "Jokabokaflod"--Christmas Book Flood. Icelanders have a long history (centuries!) of loving literature. Giving books as Christmas presents is a natural extension of that love.

In December, you'll find a lot of great deals on books, especially e-books. So send your loved ones the gift of discovery, new future-favorite authors, travel without leaving their homes, and worlds or ideas they haven't known.

I'll suggest 2 of mine. Whisper Falls (Book 1) is free as an e-book for the month of December, and the entire Whisper Falls series is on sale as an e-book boxed set for $7.99.

Whisper Falls buy links:
Amazon
B&N
iBooks
Kobo

Friday, November 9, 2018

Veteran's Day blog hop from Romance Veterans

It's Veteran's Day weekend, a time to remember the service of military members everywhere.

I have joined with a group of fellow women veterans in a writing group called Romance Veterans, aka RomVets. We write romances of all kind. Adult and YA. Sweet to Sexy. In honor of Veteran's Day, we're holding a blog hop, with giveaways at each stop. There is also a grand prize of a $50 gift card, given to one participant.




The grand prize is open for entries from midnight Nov 10 until midnight Nov 12. Enter below.





To 3 winners (US only), I'm giving away a hardcover copy of either Julia Day book, Fade to Us or The Possibility of Somewhere. 

I always include a military character in my YA romances, like:
  • Fade to Us-- there are two heroines: Brooke and her autistic stepsister, Natalie. Natalie's father and Brooke's stepfather is Jeff--a recently-retired Army engineer.
  • The Possibility of Somewhere--the heroine Eden meets a new friend, Mundy. Mundy's late father was a Navy helicopter pilot, who lost his life in a helicopter crash.

My giveaway runs now through midnight Nov 12. Enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


To continue on the RomVets blog hop, visit Samantha A. Cole next.



Tuesday, October 2, 2018

YA Scavenger Hunt - Fall 2018



Hello, I’m Julia Day, your hostess for this stop with TEAM PURPLE!

This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors…and a chance to win some awesome prizes! So enjoy your stop here and at the other 19 stops on Team Purple. Check out the other 6 teams too (blue, gold, green, organge, pink, and red). But play fast! This contest only lasts until Sunday, October 7, 2018.

First, a little about me.
  • My latest release, Fade to Us, is the book I'm featuring for the scavenger hunt as part of Team Purple. It's a sweet YA contemporary romance set during a summer musical theater camp. I'm an autism mom and was proud to write an autistic character as one of the trio of MCs.
  • I have my own giveaway. See the end of this post for details on how to enter.
  • Because I love to travel, I spend my vacations traveling the world. This year, it was England, Scotland, and Wales.
  • While in Scotland, I saw haggis, but I did not eat it.
Next, a reminder about the YA Scavenger Hunt.

For complete rules and instructions, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt - How to Hunt page. Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the purple team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!).  Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.
Rules: Open internationally; anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by noon Pacific Time on Sunday, October 7. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
Basically, enjoy exclusive content on each stop on the hunt, collect clues, enter personal giveaways, add up the clues (numbers), and return to the YASH site to enter for more prizes.

Here are all of the wonderful books you could win from Team Purple.




Now, introducing my guest author, Chelsea Pitcher.






Chelsea Pitcher is a karaoke-singing, ocean-worshipping Oregonian with a penchant for twisty mysteries. She began gobbling up stories as soon as she could read, and especially enjoys delving into the darker places to see if she can draw out some light. You can visit her at chelseapitcher.com and follow her on Twitter at @Chelsea_Pitcher.






Now, let's learn more about her book This Lie Will Kill You . (Here is where you can Buy this Book!)



One year ago, there was a party.
At the party, someone died.
Five teens each played a part and up until now, no one has told the truth.

But tonight, the five survivors arrive at an isolated mansion in the hills, expecting to compete in a contest with a $50,000 grand prize. Of course…some things are too good to be true. They were each so desperate for the prize, they didn’t question the odd, rather exclusive invitation until it was too late.

Now, they realize they’ve been lured together by a person bent on revenge, a person who will stop at nothing to uncover what actually happened on that deadly night, one year ago.

Five arrived, but not all can leave.




Chelsea's exclusive content is a Spotify playlist.






Thank you, Chelsea, for joining us this week.

Find and follow Chelsea on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Goodreads




Before you go...

I'm giving away a copy of Fade to Us (winner's choice of print or e-book.) Enter through the Rafflecopter giveaway below. The first question is my favorite team; hint: it's my team on the scavenger hunt.
(Privacy note: you will have to supply your email address to enter. I do not use use your private data for any reason other than to notify the winner.)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fade to Us has multiple main characters: Natalie, Brooke, and Micah. I think there are 22 letters in their names. Or did I miscount?

Don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of books by me and many others. Add up my number and the numbers of the other 19 authors on Team Purple so that you'll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize.

For your next stop on the hunt for Team Purple, click here to visit Eric Lindstrom.


Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Coming soon - YA Scavenger Hunt Fall 2018


The YA Scavenger Hunt is back again. Running from October 2 through 7, join 140 YA authors for fun, exclusive content, and prizes. Lots of prizes.

We are organized into teams of 20 authors. (I'm on Team Purple.) Each team will award one major team prize--20 books to one lucky winner. And individual authors will be giving out prizes, too.  So check us out. Join me here again, starting Tuesday, Oct 2.

For more details, visit the official YA Scavenger Hunt website.

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Autism and religious inclusion

Do you love someone who is on the autism spectrum? Are you an autistic? If so, we need your help!

My daughter is autistic. She is in graduate school, studying world religions. She is also a passionate advocate for inclusion for people with autism. She is bringing these two passions together in her graduate studies by researching how autistics experience religious environments and faith communities.

She has an anonymous survey where she is collecting data on how welcome autistics feel at churches, synagogues, temples, religious centers, mosques--wherever people gather to worship or express their spirituality. She will be attending a conference in Toronto in November and hopes to present her findings about:
  • how autistics are included in religious environments
  • how the sensitivities and traits of autistics can affect their religious experiences
  • what steps religious environments and faith communities can take to become more inclusive and welcoming

If you have experiences (past or present) that you would like to include her research, please consider sharing your thoughts in the anonymous surveys below. She will protect personally identifiable information (PII). Her presentation(s) will provide education about autism, summarized information from her research, and recommendations for being more inclusive. If you fill out the survey, share what you feel comfortable saying; you are not asked for your name.


If you are autistic, please fill out the For Autistic Individuals survey.

If you have a loved one with autism, please fill out the For Families, Friends, Associates survey.


Thank you!

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

UK trip and the view from the hotel

In August, my daughter and I traveled to the United Kingdom for a 2-week vacation. I have hundreds of photos to record all of the fun, beauty, history, food, and culture of this amazing nation. I can't show all of them (of course), but I will write a few blog posts and feature some of my favorite parts of England, Scotland, and Wales.

Today's post has a simple theme: the views from the hotel rooms we stayed in. With one exception, we could peer out the window of our room and enjoy the view.





London hotel, overlooking the River Thames. This was a great location, near the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye.







Cardiff, Wales -- I'm happy to say that the road noise didn't awaken us!


Liverpool, England-- overlooking the Albert Dock





Glasgow and the River Clyde
This city is Scotland's largest, and it is an industrial/business center. We enjoyed the unique and varied architecture.






Carrbridge in the Scottish Highlands
This was a small, charming town--about an hour from Inverness. It was centrally located for the sites we visited in the Highlands and Isle of Skye.



Here is the exception to beautiful views from our hotel rooms. In Edinburgh, we stayed in a Holiday Inn. Our room overlooked the parking lot. Beyond the opposite trees was the Edinburgh Zoo. Although the view is boring, each morning, the noise of excited animals awakened us--a memorable kind of alarm clock.






We ended where we began, in the same hotel on the Albert Embarkment on the River Thames!

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Deal/giveaway ending Wed

I have 3 books "free" today.

I WISH will return to regular price on Thursday, so it's free for just a few more hours.

I'm also participating in a big giveaway with other authors. Enter to win an e-copy of WHISPER FALLS or an e-copy of FADE TO US. Offer ends at 11:59pm on Wednesday.


Monday, July 16, 2018

I WISH free through Aug 9

I Wish, the first book in the I Wish trilogy, is free as an e-book from most retailers for the next 3 weeks.

Please tell your family, your friends, strangers on the street...

Amazon
B&N
Apple
Kobo


What she needs is a miracle. What she gets is a genie with rules.

Lacey Linden has gotten good at hiding the truth of her life—a depressed mom, a crumbling house, and bills too big to pay. In school, she’s a girl with a ready smile and good grades, but at night, Lacey spends her time dreaming up ways to save her family. On a get-cash-quick trip to the flea market, Lacey stumbles over a music box that seemingly begs her to take it home. She does, only to find that it’s inhabited by a gorgeous “genie.” He offers her a month of wishes, one per day, but there’s a catch. Each wish must be humanly possible.

Grant belongs to a league of supernatural beings, dedicated to serving humans in need. After two years of fulfilling conventional wishes, he’s one assignment away from promotion to a new job with more challenging cases. His month with Lacey is exactly what he expects and nothing like he imagines. Lacey and Grant soon discover that the hardest task of all might be saying goodbye.


Monday, July 2, 2018

La Cascada Susurrante

My first published novel was Whisper Falls, a YA magical realism story where an indentured servant girl in 1796 forms a friendship across two centuries with a boy living in 2016 Raleigh (NC), USA.

I'm happy to announce that the Spanish translation, La Cascada Susurrante, released in June!

Alexandra Garcƭa GalvƔn spent eight months creating a lovely, lyrical translation of this book. She worked closely with me to find the best words and phrases to communicate what it meant to be an indentured servant in 18th century United States. It was a pleasure to collaborate with her.

I asked Alexandra to share some of her favorite passages from the book. (The English translations are at the end of the post.)  Here are two of her favorites, with her explanation of why she chose them.

Alexandra GarcĆ­a GalvĆ”n: "Quotes about books always win my heart."

PapĆ” me habĆ­a dicho que un libro era un simple papel lleno de tinta hasta que la mente de un lector le daba vida.1


AGG: "I admired Susanna’s strength since the beginning but this part reminded me in a clearer way the helplessness girls like her had to face in the past; the way she says that maybe her scars haven’t spoken loudly enough is heartbreaking and the gasps of the townspeople enrage you because that’s their only reaction. This was very powerful."

-- A lo largo de los ocho aƱos de servicio, seƱor Worth, usted ha visto mis moretones, quemaduras y cortes --subĆ­ la manga izquierda, exponiendo la cicatriz roja y fruncĆ­ los labios. La gente del pueblo ahogĆ³ gritos desde sus bancas-- Ha habido evidencia de la crueldad de manera clara y constante. Si mis cicatrices no hablan lo suficientemente fuerte todavĆ­a, entonces no, seƱor. No tengo nada mĆ”s quĆ© decir.2

Here's the blurb:

Su relaciĆ³n a distancia abarca doscientos aƱos... 

Mark Lewis, estudiante de Ćŗltimo aƱo de preparatoria, se estĆ” preparando para una carrera de ciclismo de montaƱa cuando ve a una joven vestida de forma extraƱa a travĆ©s de una cascada en el bosque cerca de su casa, en Carolina del Norte. Cuando ella le hace un comentario sobre la extraƱa mĆ”quina que monta, sospecha que algo no anda bien. Y cuando Susanna le dice que es una sirvienta de 1796, se pregunta si estĆ” loca. Sin embargo, estĆ” decidido a averiguar mĆ”s. Mark comienza una "relaciĆ³n a distancia" con Susanna gracias a la barrera misteriosa y temperamental que es la Cascada Susurrante. Intrigado por su mundo, Mark busca a travĆ©s de la historia poder descubrir todo sobre la vida brutal en la que ella estĆ” atrapada. Pero el conocimiento puede ser peligroso. Pronto debe elegir entre el riesgo de cambiar la historia o de condenar a la chica, de la que no puede dejar de pensar, a una vida de miseria.

La Cascada Susurrante is available now at many ebook retailers.





1Papa once told me that a book was mere paper splattered with ink until a reader's mind gave it life.

2Throughout the eight years of my indenture, Mr. Worth, you have seen my bruises, burns, and cuts.” I rolled back my left sleeve, exposing the red, puckered scar. The townsfolk in the pews gasped. “There has been clear and constant evidence of cruelty. If my scars have not spoken loudly enough already, then no, sir—I have nothing further to say.



Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt - Spring 2018



Hello, I’m Julia Day, your hostess for this stop with TEAM PURPLE!

This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors…and a chance to win some awesome prizes! So enjoy your stop here and at the other 19 stops on Team Purple. Check out the other 5 teams too, but play fast! This contest only lasts until Sunday, April 8.



First, a little about me.
  • I am an autism mom, and this is Autism Awareness Month. My latest release, Fade to Us, has an autistic main character. I'm giving away a copy as part of YASH team purple. I also have a personal giveaway; enter later in this post.
  • I live in North Carolina, USA, with a couple of daughters, my first husband, and so many computers I won’t even try to count (although most of them don’t work. They’re more like sculptures now.)
  • I am allergic to chocolate, love ice cream, and hate cilantro! 
  • I’m scared of heights, I collect Christmas tree ornaments, and I buy a new pair of earrings from everywhere I visit (except Antarctica. Not a lot of gift shops there).



Next, a reminder about the YA Scavenger Hunt. For complete rules and instructions, you can go to the YA Scavenger Hunt - How to Hunt page.
Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the purple team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!). 

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by 3 April 2018, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

Basically, enjoy exclusive content on each stop on the hunt, collect clues, enter personal giveaways, add up the clues (numbers), and return to the YASH site to enter for more prizes.


Here are all of the wonderful books you could win from Team Purple.




Now, introducing my guest author, F.M. Boughan.


F.M. Boughan is a bibliophile, a writer, and an unabashed parrot enthusiast. She can often be found writing in local coffee shops, namely because it’s hard to concentrate with a cat lying on the keyboard and a small, colorful parrot screaming into her ear. Her work is somewhat dark, somewhat violent, somewhat hopeful, and always contains a hint of magic."}">F.M. Boughan is a bibliophile, a writer, and an unabashed parrot enthusiast. She can often be found writing in local coffee shops, namely because it’s hard to concentrate with a cat lying on the keyboard and a small, colorful parrot screaming into her ear. Her work is somewhat dark, somewhat violent, somewhat hopeful, and always contains a hint of magic




10 Fun Facts About Fairy Tales… and Necromancy – F.M. Boughan


I love fairy tales, in all their inceptions. From Disney’s animated classics to loose retellings to the ancient folk tales that shaped the heart of many of the versions we know today, I find them all fascinating. But most people know that fairy tales didn’t start off as the sweet stuff of modern picture books or as the sanitized versions compiled in Andrew Lang’s “Coloured” Fairy Books. Rather, the weird eeriness – and occasionally downright disturbing elements – goes even further back. Often, readers will ask me “how on earth did you end up mashing Cinderella and necromancy together?”
Well, here’s the thing… they’re both creepy as heck.

Want a glimpse into just how creepy? Here are ten fun facts (fun, alarming… same thing, right?) about the early versions of Cinderella’s story and about necromancy in 15th-century Europe (the same time period as the setting of CINDERELLA, NECROMANCER).
Enjoy!

1. The term “necromancy” in medieval Europe explicitly referred to the conjuring of demons, not to raising the dead—in fact, it was thought that the dead couldn’t actually be brought back to life, but that demons could appear to the conjuror in the form of a deceased individual and pretend to be that person. Gives a bit of new perspective to the “I see dead people” meme…

2. After the third ball in the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella (Aschenputtel), the prince doesn’t mess around when it comes to finding the woman he “loves”… he literally smears pitch all over the steps so that her shoes will stick and she won’t be able to escape. Sadly for him, Cinderella has half a brain and simply takes off her shoe when it gets stuck.

3. The title of a real necromancy handbook—which is now lost to history—was The Death of the Soul. Just some light, pleasant afternoon reading, I’m sure.

4. Aschenputtel’s stepmother is a real piece of work—she throws two cups of lentils into the fireplace and tells Aschie that she can go to the balls if she can pick them all out. Good news for Aschie, she has friends in high places. Literally! Her bird friends do all the work for her. And if that last piece of info has you wondering if Cinderella was originally a hedge witch, well… ¯\_(惄)_/¯

5. You’ve probably heard of angel name lists or books? You might have even seen this type of thing sold at gift shops next to birthday cards or on those small racks of gum package sized tomes. Well, turns out medieval necromancers had their own angel name books… except they weren’t angel names. Ahem. They were essentially demon catalogues a necromancer could browse through to find the spirit whose abilities corresponded to his nefarious needs. Handy!

6. In the Aschenputtel version, the famous shoes are made of gold, not glass. And when the prince slips the shoes on the stepsisters’ feet, apparently lover-boy is somewhat lacking in his observation skills. Aschie’s bird friends have to be the ones to say “Hey, dude? That shoe is, uh, filling up with blood…” after the stepsisters cut off parts of their feet—some toes, a few slices of their heels—to make the shoes fit. Talk about dedication to climbing the social ladder, though!

7. Some grimoires contained love spells for necromancers who wanted to perform “tricks” to make their intended fall in love with them like… holding fire in one’s shirt. Or making a giant flame explode in someone’s face. Or magically causing someone to strip. I… have a feeling that these didn’t quite work as intended.

8. Hey, remember those bird friends I mentioned? By “friends” I meant “minions of revenge,” because when it’s time for Aschenputtel and the prince to get married, our heroine seems to be doing the noble thing by forgiving her stepsisters and allowing them to be bridesmaids at her wedding… except that the birds swoop out of the sky and peck out her stepsisters’ eyes in revenge. Ah, family.

9. While blood was indeed a common “sacrifice” used in a conjuring to summon a demon, one manuscript from Prague had a spell that told the necromancer to offer coal, bread, cheese, three shoeing-nails, barley, and salt as “presents” for the demons. I mean, blood sounds great and all, but who wouldn’t take bread and cheese instead? Much tastier.

10. Here’s the thing about fairy godmothers—Aschenputtel’s FG wasn’t a fairy, or even a person, or anything, really. Aschie actually was her own FG to begin with, in the sense that she planted a twig (a gift from her father after a business trip) on her mother’s grave, watered it with her tears, and it grew to become a magic tree that granted her every wish. So why she didn’t just wish herself into winning the prince in the first place—or, you know, ask for better circumstances for herself that didn’t involve a possessive, trap-setting fiancĆ©—is a mite perplexing. (Actually, it’s not, considering the source material. Thanks, patriarchy!)


If you have any favorite fun facts about fairy tales (or, uh… ancient magic or weird historical practices!) go ahead and share those in the comments below!


About Cinderella, Necromancer by F. M. Boughan...

A young woman’s discovery of an ancient, hidden necromancy manual gives her the strength and power to fight back against her abusive, controlling stepfamily. Ellison wants to teach her stepsisters a lesson by learning how to use the necromantic tome she discovers in the secret passages of her father’s mansion. Despite her new and terrible secret power, her world begins to crumble as her younger brother falls incurably ill, the house staff begin to disappear, and her stepmother tears away all of Ellison’s material connections to her father and late mother. 

Ellison is forced to spend her days as a servant for her stepmother and stepsisters, who threaten her brother’s life if she refuses. Even making the acquaintance of kind, attractive Prince William when she sneaks out to visit her mother’s grave does nothing to lessen the blow when her stepmother refuses to allow Ellison to attend an unexpectedly announced palace festival—but what she can do is fight back by secretly conjuring spirits to take revenge. As her stepmother’s cruelty grows, Ellison’s control over the spirits weakens and soon Ellison must face the question: Is her stepmother is the true monster…or is she?


Thank you to F.M. Boughan for joining us today! Here's where you can BUY THE BOOK. You can also find her on social media. (and here's a quick peek at the cover of Cinderella's Inferno!)






One last thing before you go...

As I mentioned earlier, it's Autism Awareness Month. One of the heroines in FADE TO US is autistic. I have a personal giveaway of one copy of FADE TO US, choice of print or e-book. Enter in Rafflecopter below.

You'll answer a question about my favorite "team". (Hint: the color of my YASH team.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway





So, I guess that's it for this stop on the hunt. No, wait. I've forgotten to include the number 34 somewhere. Better go back and fix that.


Click here to go to the next stop on the hunt!




Miscellaneous on Tuesday

The YA Scavenger hunt begins at noon Eastern time on April 3. Stay tuned!

Want to connect with me on social media? You can find me on:



I also have a newsletter. It comes out every 2-3 months and includes information about book releases, giveaways, sometimes exclusive content (like deleted scenes), and books I'm reading and love. Join here!




Monday, April 2, 2018

It's World Autism Awareness Day!

My fellow author & autism mom Sabrina Jeffries and I are talking on Facebook about how autism has touched our lives.

Read the post, watch the video, and a comment. Each comment gives you a chance at one of 3 prizes. Also, we're donating $10 for every 50 comments. Drop by and tell us "How has autism touched your life?"

Friday, March 30, 2018

April is Autism Awareness Month



April 2 (Monday) is World Autism Awareness day, and April is Autism Awareness Month.

I'm an autism mom, the mother of an amazing daughter with Aspergers. Along with Sabrina Jeffries, a fellow author and autism mom, I will be hosting a conversation about autism on my Facebook page on World Autism Day. Join us Monday! Read the post, watch the short video clip, and leave a comment about how autism has touched your life.







I will also be participating in the spring 2018 YA Scavenger Hunt from April 3 - 8. I'm one of 20 authors on Team Purple. Check back here on April 3 for rules, exclusive bonus content from some of your favorite authors, and the chance to win books!



Thursday, March 8, 2018

Small world--and Let Us Know

My favorite restaurant is named for a famous Beatles landmark. I go there at least once a week to eat and write. The waitstaff put my order in when I walk through the door.

Recently, a new waitress was being trained. We were being friendly, chatting about various things, when the senior waitress said--"Elizabeth is an author." The new waitress smiled and nodded and went away to check on my order.

When she returned, we had this conversation.

HER: are you Julia Day?
ME: yes, that's one of my pen names.
HER: you're my niece's favorite author.
ME: Wow, that's great.
HER: I took her to B&N and told her to pick out any book she wanted. So she got yours because she loved the cover. She took it home and read it and now she loves your books.
ME: Do you know which book? One came out just a few days ago.
HER: she's read both. She had her mother order the next one immediately.

I'm sharing this story for two reasons.

One, because that's just frickin' cool. Talk about a small world! I'm not that well-known. My author career has had only modest success (extremely modest.) Knowing that someone reads and loves your books is fuel to write more.

Two, it reminds me to encourage readers to speak up. Whenever you meet your favorite authors, tell us you enjoy our books. Send us an email; we all have contact forms on our websites. Leave us reviews (like Amazon), especially for the modestly successful authors. Let us know that you're enjoying what we write!


Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Author events in February

I've participated in more author events in February than any other month since my first book was published 4 years ago.

It's been so much fun! Of all the things I love about being an author, writing the stories is the best, and talking with readers is a close second.

I attended a book festival (which included a short talk in the nearby community library.) I also presented twice at regional libraries in our county system.

And I discovered an interesting paradox.

The talk at the community library had a lot of attendees--which is lovely to see. People came! They laughed at the appropriate times and asked questions. It was great.

I didn't have so many at the regional libraries--three attendees each. But they engaged with me. They didn't merely ask questions; they held a conversation. They told me about what they like to read. Sometimes, they told me about what they like to write.

So now I know that...
- Big crowds are good for my commitment to press on. They encourage me to keep writing. To keep publishing.
- Small crowds are good for my writer's soul. They remind me why we all do it--for the love of stories.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Happy birthday to FADE TO US!

Fade to Us is out there!

From the reviews:

“Warm and sensitive, Day’s deft depiction of difficult sibling and blended family relationships will make you laugh, cry, and sigh. A wonderful book!" --New York Timesbestselling author Sabrina Jeffries

"Day (The Possibility of Somewhere) weaves a quiet tale of love, friendship, sisterhood, and family; she takes time to carefully develop her characters, allowing readers to fully understand their perspectives…. an emotional and touching conclusion." --Publishers Weekly
"In her carefully intentional treatment of Natalie’s neurodiversity, Day depicts Natalie as capable and intelligent via both Brooke’s observant first-person narration and her own dialogue. The book does not shy away from the cruelty and misunderstanding that many on the autism spectrum face. Both Natalie and Brooke are strong, well-developed female characters. A book for readers who like romance that flourishes against the odds and characters who learn and grow." --Kirkus

"A fast-paced and engaging story of family drama and first love." --School Library Journal

Julia Day's Fade to Us is a story about found families, the bond of sisterhood, and the agony and awe of first love.
Brooke's summer is going to be EPIC― having fun with her friends and a job that lets her buy a car. Then her new stepfather announces his daughter is moving in. Brooke has always longed for a sibling, so she’s excited about spending more time with her stepsister. But she worries, too. Natalie has Asperger’s--and Brooke's not sure how to be the big sister that Natalie needs.
After Natalie joins a musical theater program, Brooke sacrifices her job to volunteer for the backstage crew. She’s mostly there for Natalie, but Brooke soon discovers how much she enjoys being part of the show. Especially sweet is the chance to work closely with charming and fascinating Micah--the production’s stage manager. If only he wasn't Natalie's mentor...
When her summer comes to an end, will Brooke finally have the family she so desperately wants--and the love she's only dreamed about?



Buy links:

Amazon

B&N

iBooks

Kobo


Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Giveaway to celebrate release of FADE TO US

We're counting down 2 weeks until FADE TO US releases on Feb 6!


To celebrate, I'm giving away prizes.


  • 1 grand prize (US only) of a print copy of FADE TO US, a print copy of SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME by Katie McGarry, a key ring with charms of important themes in FADE TO US (autism, sisterhood, theater), $25 gift card to Amazon or B&N, and a swag package.
  • 2 second-prizes of a print copy of FADE TO US, a print copy of SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME by Katie McGarry, and a swag package
  • 2 third-prizes of swag packages


Here's more about Fade to Us, a story about found families, the bond of sisterhood, and the agony and awe of first love.

Brooke’s summer is going to be EPIC— having fun with her friends and a job that lets her buy a car. Then her new stepfather announces his daughter is moving in. Brooke has always longed for a sibling, so she’s excited about spending more time with her stepsister. But she worries, too. Natalie has Asperger’s–and Brooke’s not sure how to be the big sister that Natalie needs.

After Natalie joins a musical theater program, Brooke sacrifices her job to volunteer for the backstage crew. She’s mostly there for Natalie, but Brooke soon discovers how much she enjoys being part of the show. Especially sweet is the chance to work closely with charming and fascinating Micah–the production’s stage manager. If only he wasn’t Natalie’s mentor…

When summer comes to an end, will Brooke finally have the family she so desperately wants–and the love she’s only dreamed about?


Buy links:
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Sunday, January 14, 2018

5 gifts for readers to give to authors

Authors love it when readers buy our books. It's expensive to be an author, probably more than you would think. We're business people. Manufacturers of stories. We want our customers to enjoy our products--books--and we know that, for readers who have a serious "book addiction", it can be expensive for you, too.

So I'm going to suggest 5 things you can do that have no cost but your time. And they're easy. All they take are a few words or the click of a mouse.

Tell a friend. If you enjoyed a book, tell a friend who might enjoy it, too. Let them know why. You could say things like...

  • I know you love American history, and this time-travel story is so well-researched.
  • I have another Pride & Prejudice retelling to recommend.
  • I think you'd really like this new mystery author, with all his twisty plot points and none of the gore.


Tell a teacher or a book club.  Do you know any people in book clubs? Any middle or high school English teachers? They are looking for good books to read or for their students to read. Suggest the books you love, especially if the books have lower "discoverability." Hundreds of thousands of titles release each year. Books from authors with a big fan base will be noticed. Books with big marketing pushes behind them will be noticed. But many great books will get lost in the noise. So if you enjoyed a small book, a quiet book, a book that deserves to be noticed more than it has been, recommend it to people who are actively seeking new and amazing stories.

LIKE a positive review. This one is so easy. Go on a site with reviews, such as Amazon or Goodreads. Find a positive review that seems to reflect a story well, and click LIKE. Simple, no cost, and helpful. That positive review is more likely to be seen now. That's because the number of LIKEs influence where the review appears by default. Reviews with lots of LIKEs "float to the top." You could really be helping an author by helping that good review to leave a first impression on potential readers.

Request it from the library. Libraries have limited budgets, so they have to make careful choices on how to spend them. They have to predict what their patrons want to read. If you request a book, you are telling them what you want to read--and they don't have to guess any longer!

Be social. Let us know you're there. Send us a fan letter through email; we all have contact forms on our websites. LIKE us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Find us on Bookbub or Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletters. With all of the way there are to control what you see on social media, you won't get overwhelmed with content. (Well, there is a gotcha with Facebook. FB generally only sends an author's postings to 10% of her followers, so you might not see them often.)

There you are. 5 ways to give back to your favorite authors--and they don't cause anything but time.




Sunday, January 7, 2018

Fun with SWAG

Do you like to get Stuff We All Get (SWAG) from authors?

I do. I love to pick up bookmarks, pens, jelly bean bags, etc. It's fun to take a few things home and think about meeting the author. But, I must admit, most of it ends up in the trash pretty quickly.

I have a new YA releasing in February, and I'm in the process of creating some SWAG as giveaways. As I was trying to decide what to order, I thought I might ask readers!



So here's your chance. Tell me what you think about SWAG. You can comment here--or fill in an anonymous Google form survey.

In the past, I've given away bookmarks, trading cards, lip gloss, recipe cards, and temporary tattoos. At a recent author event at a local high school, I put out several hundred bookmarks, trading cards, and tattoos--and they all disappeared within seconds. While I suspect most of it made its way into the trash can by nightfall, that's okay. My website had a lot of hits that day, so that's a win for me!


Most readers will likely say that free books are great SWAG. I agree! But let me make a comment about the free thing.

Although a book might be free for the reader, it is not free for the author. We have to buy the books we give away. And, yes, we'll probably get them for a lower price than readers, but it's still not cheap. Here are some ballpark figures to buy and deliver a book to a reader (with a US address):


  • Paperback - $10
  • Hardcover - $15
  • E-book (traditional) - $10
  • E-book (self-pubbed) - pennies


For international readers, the shipping cost is crazy. 30 - 40 dollars (USD) is not uncommon. I still try to hold giveaways for international readers, but they will often get books shipped to them directly from Bookdepository.com, which means it won't be signed.

Bookmark for WHISPER FALLS and I WISH


there you are--some quick insights into SWAG and giveaways. If you have some ideas to share, please comment or fill in the survey. Thank you!