Prism Book Tour ~ Sing A New Song by Candee Fick

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Paperback & ebook, 275 Pages

May 1st 2019 by Bling! Romance

The pampered diva is about to meet her match

Songbird Gloria Houghton has always needed to be the center of attention, but the spotlight has shifted. Seeking fame and a fresh start, she finds a new stage in Branson, Missouri…only to risk being replaced by a manipulative rival. If Gloria can’t be the star, who is she?

Jack-of-all-trades Nick Sherwood is just one leaf on a vast family tree that includes a restaurant chef, hotel owners, and even the headline act at a family-owned theater. He’s seen how fame can blind a person with jealousy and is more than content to stay in the background thank you very much. If only he wasn’t so fascinated--and irritated--by the newest addition to the staff.

After a disaster of a first impression and financial difficulties land Gloria in the humblest of jobs—with Nick as her boss—it might be time for her to learn to sing a new song.

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EXCERPT:
Friday, Mid-February

Gloria Houghton turned away from the list and faked a smile as her castmates congratulated her on another supporting role. She forced herself to take a deep breath, and then one more, as she squeezed through the crowd of actors outside the dressing rooms at The Wardrobe Dinner Theatre.

Yet the light-headed feeling remained. What would it take to regain her status as the leading lady? Then again, who was she kidding? She’d hoped for a bigger part this time, but she also knew that her surgically repaired knee couldn’t take the beating. Oh, she could keep living on pain pills and ice packs and try not to limp through the season. The only other alternative was to tell the owners that she needed to take more time off—for what, physical therapy? Another surgery?

She should probably start with getting a second opinion from a medical professional before doing anything rash.

Near the back of the crowd, Dani stopped her progress. “Are you okay?”

A nod and another fake smile seemed to appease the actress. The same actress whose sparkling engagement ring only served as a glittering reminder that Gloria’s grasp on love was as fleeting as her hold on the spotlight.

Gloria’s stomach churned. It wasn’t fair. She’d been part of the cast here first, but her position as the director’s favorite had cracked and then crumbled. Former friends no longer followed her direction. And her on-again, off-again boyfriend seemed to want a new leading lady.

It was no wonder. Even she didn’t like the bitter woman she had become.

And still Dani continued to be kind. Not to mention—as hard as it was to admit the truth—the other actress really had more talent, especially when it came to dancing.

Even Liz, the star of their current show, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, had exceptional talent with a camera.

The only thing Gloria excelled at was singing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Other Books in the Series

About the Author

Candee Fick is a multipublished, award-winning author. She is also the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy writing, editing, or coaching other authors, she can be found cheering on the home team at sporting events, exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.

In addition to writing clean faith-based romance novels and inspirational non-fiction, Candee coaches other authors with their marketing plans and offers content editing to aspiring novelists. She is a member of both American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network. Her fiction has semi-finaled, finaled, and won the ACFW Genesis Contest and Selah Awards.

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Tour Schedule

 Tour Giveaway

- One 1st prize winner will receive: the complete set of The Wardrobe Series (ebook only if international winner, otherwise print copies) plus a $25 Amazon gift card

- One 2nd prize winner will receive: Copy of Sing a New Song (ebook only if international winner, US winner can choose ebook or print) plus a $10 Amazon gift card

- Ends May 15, 2019

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Author Spotlight Featuring Candee Fick's New Release ~ Focus On Love

It's always a treat to have Candee here to introduce her latest book. 

Take it away, Ms. Fick :)

Thanks for hosting me L.A.

What if you had to choose between two career paths?

Elizabeth (Liz) Foster grew up loving photography and dance lessons. When circumstances at home fell apart, she set aside one dream to pursue musical theater. But now she’s met a handsome photographer and things are changing. Can she have both dreams again or will she need to choose?

I had a lot of fun getting to know Liz during the brainstorming process for Focus On Love. At first, I thought she was a free-spirit who felt stifled by the rules and expectations of her family and left them behind. So, I paired her with a freelancer who cut back on his travel in order to fit into his family’s routine, hoping that together they would learn to find balance. What I found instead was a greater metaphor about life and the multiple facets of love.

Excerpt:

About a hundred feet from the front doors, she spotted the tall cowboy exiting a large truck parked nearby, and her stomach whirred like her fast-action shutter.

Of course, it had to be nerves about showing her pictures to the Sheridans in front of the professional photographer—nothing to do with how handsome he was.

Ryan grinned as his long stride brought him quickly to her side. “Fancy meeting you here this morning. Liz, right?”

Liz tipped her head in a semi-curtsy. “I’m looking forward to seeing your pictures.”

His eyebrows rose. “Pictures? Does that mean you’re the other photographer?”

Uh-oh. “I thought you knew that.” Liz slapped a hand against her forehead. “Of course not. Mr. Sheridan didn’t mention my name.”

“Well, if you’re as talented with a camera as you are on the stage, then this might be a wasted trip.” The laugh lines around his eyes deepened along with his smile, stirring her heart in unexpectedly delicious ways until heat rose in her face.

Perfect. Now her complexion might match her hair color.

“Don’t make me wonder whether you need your eyes examined. I’m not star material.” Liz shook her head. “Not to mention, I’ve seen your website.”

“Really? Checking me out?” He reached the front door and held it open for her.

“Curiosity.” She cleared her throat and gestured toward the area where they were to meet. “But I’m still not sure why you would give up professional gigs for this.”

Mr. Sheridan appeared in the doorway of his office. “You’re right on time.” He stepped forward to shake Ryan’s hand. “I can’t wait to see what the two of you have come up with.”

Liz preceded Ryan into the office and felt the warmth of his large hand on her back as he guided her to the closest chair. Such a gentleman. His mother must be so proud of him.

“So who’s going to go first?” Mr. Sheridan swiveled his office chair as he looked from one to the other.

Her stomach clenched with a sudden wave of nerves. “The professional.”

“No, ladies first.” Ryan settled back in his chair with folded arms.

“Okay.” She took a deep breath for courage before handing over her flash drive. As Mr. Sheridan plugged it into his computer, she whispered a prayer of sorts that God would help her boss to like the pictures ... or at least not hate them. That would be humiliating.

Mr. Sheridan turned the monitor so all three could see the screen, and once the program loaded, he began to scroll. A few moments later, he whistled. “Dani was right.”

“Dani?” Ryan leaned forward and propped his chin on a hand as he studied the screen.

“My roommate is the one who told him I—”

“These are amazing pictures.” Mr. Sheridan clicked the mouse to enlarge one shot of several laughing actors gathered around the onstage piano.

Mrs. Sheridan entered and stopped just inside the door. “Wow. Mr. Callahan, you really are a professional.”

Ryan chuckled. “Thank you, ma’am, but Liz took these.” He winked in her direction. “She certainly has talent.”

To Buy: 

Amazon (Print) | Kindle

The Blurb:

Free-spirited Elizabeth Foster turned her back on her father’s photography business to pursue musical theater, but with a one-show contract, she’s a few weeks from unemployment forcing her home. Meanwhile sought-after photographer Ryan Callahan has put his career on hold to help his sister’s family while her husband is deployed, but the promise of a bigger assignment could lure him away from building a family of his own. If given the choice, what dreams would develop? Or will they learn to focus on love instead?

Bio:

Candee Fick is a multi-published author in both fiction and non-fiction. She is also the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job, writing, or coaching other authors, she can be found cheering on the home team at sporting events, exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.

Find Candee: 

Facebook |Twitter | Blog/Website | Email List to get free chapters

Author Spotlight Featuring Candee Fick's New Release: Dance Over Me

Candee Fick's Latest Release: Dance Over Me

Hi L.A., thanks for having me as your guest today. 

I'm addicted to stories, especially the ones that linger in my imagination long after the final page. Even better are the nuggets that resonate deep inside before they even find a voice. My newest release started as a vivid dream that was fed by a Scripture, then a song, followed by a variety of smaller ideas that gradually wove together into a solid story about a dancer looking for a place to belong...and the God who was working behind the scenes in her life.

It is with great joy that I'm thrilled to finally introduce readers to The Wardrobe Dinner Theatre. Be prepared to experience rousing musical numbers, Big Band trumpet playing, and the rhythm of tap dancing feet along with romance, an adoption reunion, and plenty of backstage diva drama.  I fell in love with this setting and these characters so completely that I've since written a sequel and started work on a third book. How's that for an imagination that won't let go?

Blurb:

Danielle Lefontaine, a fledgling actress raised to the lullaby of Broadway, searches for her long-lost brother and her place on the stage, but a jealous cast member and numerous fruitless leads threaten to drop the curtain on her dreams and shine a spotlight on her longing for a place to belong. 

Meanwhile, Alex Sheridan is living his dream except for someone to share it with. When Dani dances into his life, he hopes he’s found the missing piece to his heart but fears the bright lights of a bigger stage could steal her away.

Will the rhythm of dancing feet usher in their deepest desires or leave them stranded in the wings?

Excerpt:

(Partway into the Prologue)

After introducing herself, Miss Amy put her hand on Dani’s shoulder. “Mrs. Johnson, this is Danielle Barker.”

Dani reached out her hand to Mrs. Johnson the way Mommy had taught her. “Nice to meet you.”

Mrs. Johnson’s hand felt warm as they shook hands. “Welcome to our home.”

“Dani’s joining her brother, Jacob.” Miss Amy squeezed Dani’s shoulder.

“Jacob?” Mrs. Johnson’s face got really white. “He’s gone.”

Gone? That’s what they said about Mommy and Daddy. Dani’s heart stopped beating for a moment and then pounded under her sweater.

“Nobody told us there was a sister. The Wilsons took him home yesterday.” Mrs. Johnson sounded mad.

Dani’s arms tingled and a noise like a waterfall echoed inside her head. “Why did the Wilsons take him?”

The grown-ups got that look like when they forgot kids were listening. Mrs. Johnson pulled them inside the house and shut the door. Miss Amy left to use the telephone. Trembling, Dani stood by the wall. Mrs. Johnson sat on a chair and covered her face with her hands. Down the hallway, music played and children laughed.

After a long time, Miss Amy returned. Her eyes looked sad as she got on her knees in front of Dani. “You’re going to stay here with Mrs. Johnson. But your brother’s being adopted. He has a new family now.”

A new family?

Dani shook her head and tears filled her eyes. No. J. D. was her family. They couldn’t take him away. Not with Mommy and Daddy gone to heaven. She had to take care of him.

She pushed Miss Amy away and screamed.

Chapter 1

Danielle Lefontaine wiped sweaty palms on her short skirt. Auditions always put her off balance.

“Next up. Number seventeen.”

Dani rolled her shoulders once, gave each leg a shake, took a deep breath, and clicked her way up the three steps to the polished hardwood. Approaching center stage, she scanned the house and zeroed in on the older couple seated behind a table on the second level.

“And what will you be showing us this morning?”

Dani’s gaze skipped over the tall woman who’d checked her in earlier and focused on the middle-aged director who was busy rolling a pen between his fingers. She swallowed hard to dissolve the cotton-like feeling in her mouth.

“I’ve prepared a series of tap combinations.” Dani did a quick shuffle step to draw attention to her footwear and break the tension that seemed to have paralyzed her body.

A snort of laughter erupted from an area to the right of the judges’ table.

Dani shifted her gaze to the critic. Female. About her age. The blonde bombshell diva-type leaned over to whisper something in the ear of the dark-haired man beside her as two other women giggled behind them. Based on the logo on their T-shirts, they were part of the theater company and therefore in a position to enjoy watching the auditions without the fear of dashed hopes.

“Do you have accompaniment?” The director rested his chin on folded hands.

“I do.” Heat from the stage lights sent a trickle of sweat down Dani’s back.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

She glanced at the cluster of actors. The diva picked at her nail polish, and the others looked equally bored. Time to let her feet do the talking.

She stepped into position and nodded in the direction of the soundboard on the third level at the back of the room.

Okay, God. Here we go.

Buy: 

Print |  Kindle

Bio:

Candee Fick is the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job or writing, she can be found cheering on the home team at football, basketball, baseball, and Special Olympics games. In what little free time remains, she enjoys exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.

Find Candee:

Website | Twitter | Facebook Author Page

Take Five With Author Candee Fick

Today it's my honor to host Candee Fick and her debut novel Catch of a Lifetime.

And wait until you read her answer to the last question!!

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Candee.  Tell us, what inspired you to write your book Catch of a Lifetime?

Hi, Leslie, thank for hosting me today. I love football, and it’s a good thing I do because I’m married to a coach our oldest son plays. But what if I didn’t like the game? What if I hated it? That thought led me down a rabbit trail of speculation to discover my heroine, Cassie, and imagine what would make her feel that strongly about football. Then I wondered if I could change her mind.

How do you use setting to further your story?

Catch of a Lifetime revolves around a fictional college football program, so that naturally led to scenes in places like practice fields, the sidelines, meeting rooms, and training facilities. I added places around town, Colorado weather, and even took trips to other states for road games. But this setting was so much more than a place, especially when dealing with football player egos, competitive natures, testosterone, eligibility issues, NCAA compliance officers, dreams of bowl games, the thrill of victory, and yes, the agony of defeat. I was able to glean a lot of emotion and tension for the story by bringing the setting to life.

How do you construct your characters?

I’m a visual person, so I like to start with a picture of how I imagine them looking. Then I build enough background information to motivate their story goal and explain the lie they believe, because that wound will be healed by the end of the story as the character grows and changes. Of course, I’ll add and tweak things as the story develops so I make sure to keep a cheat sheet of the facts and tidbits about each character so I can keep things consistent.

How is your main character completely different than you?

Well, um, Cassie hates football. She also has an athletic past, so I made her an Olympic caliber gymnast when I can hardly do a cartwheel, let alone the splits or any tumbling without, um, tumbling.

Tell us something about yourself we might not expect!

I’m a bit of a science nerd. While I was an elementary education major in college, my first job was actually teaching high school chemistry at a private school. For the past ten-plus years, my day job has been doing legal research for an industrial hygiene company where I read and summarize depositions in asbestos cases. I get to work from home so that’s been great, but it’s little wonder why I escape to fiction-land whenever I can!

Give us a brief summary of Catch of a Lifetime:

He breathes football. She shudders at the very mention of the sport. After a tragedy involving a football player destroyed her family, athletic trainer and graduate student Cassie moves across the country looking for a fresh start, but a change in financial aid lands her in the middle of her worst nightmare. 

Meanwhile, rookie coach Reed worries his dream career will slip away as injuries plague his players and his star receiver teeters on the brink of ineligibility. As the two work together to salvage the season, sparks fly, and Reed must eventually choose between the game he cherishes and the woman he loves.

Buy Links:

Amazon | Amazon Paperback

Bio:

Candee Fick is the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job or writing, she can be found cheering on the home team at football, basketball, baseball, and Special Olympics games. In what little free time remains, she enjoys exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.

Find Candee:

Twitter | Facebook

How to Be an Insanely Great Indie Author: Randy Ingermanson, Recap by Candee Fick

Just Waiting To Be Discovered--A Mind Exploding Experience 

How did you find the last book you read? Through a friend’s recommendation? A best-sellers list? A sale promotion? On social media or an author’s newsletter? Or while browsing at the library or a bookstore? Somewhere and somehow, you discovered the book you never would have read or even known existed. Therefore, for both avid readers and authors, discoverability is the key. After all, one can’t read (or buy) a book they don’t know about.

Last September, I was in St. Louis for the American Christian Fiction Writers conference and had the mind-exploding experience of attending the “How to Be an Insanely Great Indie Author” workshop led by Randy Ingermanson (a physicist, creator of “The Snowflake Method” of brainstorming novels, and the author of Writing Fiction For Dummies and many self-proclaimed “geeky suspense” novels).

In the workshop, Randy defined insanely great as having a period of exponential growth in revenue and unit movement that eventually plateaus at a higher level than before. Being a scientist, he arrived with all sorts of graphs, statistical analysis, and even an equation:

Success = Size of Target Audience x Quality x Production x Discoverability

In essence, an author’s rank and success improves with small changes that add up. Write for a larger target audience. Increase the quality of each book in the eyes of that target audience. Increase production so the author has more books published. And increase discoverability by coming up with a strategy to attract, engage, and convert readers.

Randy’s Radical Discoverability Keys and Tactics:

•         Attract -Readers know that the author exists on the planet. Nothing attracts like a free book, so consider KDP Select or Perma-free options.
•         Engage – Readers become aware this author writes what they like. Nothing engages quite like a novel, which is why series do so well and production is so important. Write what would engage or delight members of the target audience.      
•        Convert – Readers buy another book. Nothing converts like email (except a blurb and link at the back of the book they just read!) Announce to email subscribers that the next book is available and include a link to buy it. Then, at the end of the book include a teaser for the next book (or even the first chapter) along with a link to purchase. 

More Discoverability Tactics Randy Uses:

•     Front matter – Readers want to get into the story faster, but this is a good place for an “Author’s Note” to quickly remind readers what the story is about (because they might be opening it awhile after buying and forgot). Randy then offers a free gift for readers with a link to his website and a chance to sign up for his email list. Why? Browsers may scan the book and not buy this one … but still might go signup anyway and that email could get him a sale later.
•      Back matter – “Dear Reader” letter with 3 specific calls to action. A “what to read next” teaser with a sample chapter and link to purchase. A request for a review with a link to the retailer or Goodreads page and simply ask readers to share how the book made them feel. An invitation to sign up for the email newsletter to get notice of the next book as well as a reminder about the free gift or incentive being offered. Why? Get immediate sales from readers who already love the author’s book, get an email address to notify happy readers about future books, and get reviews to sway potential readers and increase sales ranking so book is more visible on search results, genre lists, or “also bought” recommendations.
•      Build an Email list – Use an incentive of something free that would interest the target audience (like a free novella, list of romantic but cheap date ideas, drawing for a gift card, etc.) to collect a list of readers who already liked the books and want to be notified of the next release. Why? When a new book releases, email subscribers get a personal invitation and link to buy. The resulting quick jump in sales can catapult a title to the hot new releases or category top sellers lists where more future readers can discover the book and the cycle repeats.

What about social media and platform building? Randy actually asked workshop attendees to list which social media tools they would stop using. As he said, “If you hate it and it’s not working, then quit.” I understand his point. While many argue that social media is about building relationships with potential readers, it takes time away from producing more of the books necessary for that success equation. As a scientist, Randy is adamant about return on investment and being able to measure results. Example: The number of Twitter followers does not directly relate to book sales, but one can use Google Analytics to measure the desired result (email sign-ups, clicks to order, etc.) based on a specific tweeted link.

But what does all this look like for an ordinary author like me? I have four indie-published devotionals (in two series: Pigskin Parables exploring faith topics through football and Creation Declares gleaning life lessons from nature), an indie-published book about special needs parenting, and my debut inspirational romance novel will be releasing from a small press later this year. My challenges include stagnant sales on my non-fiction titles and the need to attract the attention of a different (but larger) target audience for my novel.

There are thousands of books just waiting to be discovered, but here’s what I’m doing (or will do) to attract readers to mine:

•     Social media updates – a few minutes every day to build relationships and occasionally point toward my email list or a book on sale.
•     Schedule guest blogs (like this one) for exposure to new readers with links to my website and books, especially around the new book’s release.
•     Maintain my website/blog with fresh content. Update the banner image.
•     Update the covers as well and front and back matter on all existing books.
•     Update the keywords for all existing books to increase relevance ratings in searches.
•     Set my two shortest devotionals as permanently free.
•     Write newsletters to email subscribers – what’s on sale, cover reveals, exclusive contests or giveaways, and more to keep my readers engaged.
•     Collect lists of key quotes from each book – perfect for interest hooking tweets or memes on social media with the title displayed and links to buy.
•     Recruit a launch team to help write reviews and spread the word once my novel is released.
•     Giveaways and contests – on guest blogs and Goodreads. Possibly using Rafflecopter to attract more email subscribers.
•     Organize a virtual launch party closer to the novel release date, then spread the word.
•     Consider buying a promotion with BookBub for my special needs parenting book to glean more reviews and visibility for that small niche audience.
•     Possibly troll reviewers on competitors’ books to find someone willing to review my book in exchange for a free copy.
•     Write more novels with a series (or two) in mind.

Let’s talk. Readers, how do you find out about new books? Do you subscribe to author newsletters and book deal email lists or rely on word of mouth from friends? 

Authors, what do you think about Randy’s tactics? Is what you are doing currently working? What has worked the best for you and your target audience? What are you going to try next?

BIO:

Candee Fick is the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job or writing, she can be found cheering on the home team at football, basketball, baseball, and Special Olympics games. In what little free time remains, she enjoys exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.

Browse her current books at http://candeefick.com/book-table/

TEASER:  Catch of a Lifetime, coming late 2015 from Bling! Romance

He breathes football.

She shudders at the very mention of the sport.

But when a mix-up in financial aid lands her in the middle of her worst nightmare and his star receiver teeters on the brink of ineligibility, the rookie college coach and the bitter tutor must overcome stereotypes and work together to salvage the season. Romance develops, but their growing relationship must remain hidden behind a wall of professionalism. When a scandal erupts, the aftermath could destroy both of their careers.

Can they find a way to capture their dreams and each other’s hearts?