Bundle Steal Deal by The Hungry Jpeg ~ Take A Look While You Can

You guys know I love The Hungry Jpeg not only because they have amazing artists and great deals, BUT because they have one of the best commercial licenses in the industry!

Meaning you can use these images and fonts safely without worry. *Always be sure to check out any license use so you understand what you can and can't do.

This bundle has so much going for it at a fantastic price....think memes, covers, artwork, thank you cards, biz cards...endless uses and there is a special deal on top of the low bundle price...thank you The Hungry Jpeg!!

Here is their latest bundle 

Check it out here

And if you use this coupon code SGJUNE once you've clicked the link above and before you check out, you'll get an additional 20% off. 
Making it $15.20 

Don't delay, this is a June only special.

(remember, I'm an affiliate, so may receive a commission, 
there is no additional charge to you, ever!)

The Latest Writing Tools I Use and Love, Check Them Out

 Here is my latest update as well as new products I use for writing.

As writers you know there are a plethora of tools available for writer to help them work faster and/or smarter. I have these listed on my website as well and will continually add or subtract from the list. These are all tools I use or else I wouldn't recommend them.

Book Brush is book centric and is still my favorite tool for easy meme making, book cover creation and videos. Use SARTOR15 for a lifetime 15% off any paid plan.

    New: editable Instant Mockups

    New/Improved: Animations to make your meme pop I love this (and they have something new in works that I've been beta testing. Just wait!!)

    Improved: Book Trailers, both an Easy or Advanced Version. Use templates or start from scratch.

    New: Webinars for all levels of memberships and exclusive quarterly levels for Platinum members.

    Remember there is a free trial. Use the coupon once you've decided. Check it out here.

*I am not an affiliate, I just love this company.

SiteGround Web Hosting. I moved over from GoDaddy and I have a big website, so I was nervous. Not only did they move everything, they have amazing customer service and walked me through some of the more complicated things.

•  Customer service is always the biggest criteria for me to choose a company. They have a variety of sized plans, and most of all, they never tried to upsize me to this or that. Nice.  And they have a 30-day trial. Check it out here.

*I am an affiliate of SiteGround and may earn a commission if you use my link. No charge to you. (I only affiliate with companies I like and use, so you know it's the real thing)

Social Bee is a meme posting company that I absolutely love using. I was using Social Jukebox, but couldn't post videos! Never ever had anyone return my email queries and I found little new how-to info anywhere on the net, it was all very dated. 

Social Bee is incredibly responsive, flexible set and forget, schedule your posts, create for each platform if you wish, and I do, b/c I size my memes in Book Brush with basically a few steps. They have free trials which is what convinced me.

• Evergreen Posting 
• Category based scheduling
•  Team management & Internal Post Commenting with our PRO Plans - Setting a Post to Expire if needed 
• Importing content through RSS feeds, CSV Files or Links 
• Integrations with Shortlink Providers (Rebrandly, Bitly, PixelMe, JotULR Etc), Zapier, Quuu, Pocket etc. 
• Analytics & Reporting on Posts (Top performing & all posts published through SocialBee). You can also keep an eye on our Roadmap to see upcoming features & improvements.

Use this code to try them out and don't be shy about asking them questions.

*I am an affiliate of Social Bee and may earn a commission if you use my link. No charge to you. (I only affiliate with companies I like and use, so you know it's the real thing)

Epidemic Sound I make a lot of videos for memes and I make Book Trailers. It's extremely important that you use royalty free music and art. Some sites say they are royalty free, but things can change, artists leave etc. I don't have to worry about that with Epidemic Sound. While I find the searches a bit cumbersome, I've learned how to do this better and have found some epic music to use. 

Right now until June 30th, sign up for a 60 day free trial double the normal 30days).

• I love to have my music fade or cut sections out that exactly match my video and I use another product for that. Audacity which is free. I'll talk more about this in another post. So stay tuned.

*I am an affiliate of Epidemic Sound and may earn a commission if you use my link. No charge to you. (I only affiliate with companies I like and use, so you know it's the real thing.

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Okay that's it for this post, but I have more to share in future posts. Plottr, Vellum, Atticus, Kindlepreneur, Primal Video, Phototheca X and more!

Again I want to make clear that I only affiliate with companies I trust and use. 

Let me know below what you think and if you use any of these companies already.

Time Sensitive Offer From Backblaze Computer Backup

Backblaze is offering new customers a discount!

For the month of February, Backblaze is offering my peeps a 10% discount for new Backblaze Computer Backup customers. 

All you have to do is click on this LINK and enter the code feb2022 when you check out. 

This applies to monthly and yearly plans!

Also don't miss checking out their Extended Version History feature which I use as I want the peace of mind of knowing I'm backed up for a longer period of time. 

This offer is valid from February 1, 2022 at 12 a.m. through February 28, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Please note that this discount is only available to new Backblaze Computer Backup customers.

If you want to know about my BIG 3 safety net, check out this post.

(Yes, I am an affiliate and may earn a small commission, but at no cost to you.) 

Is It Time To Refresh Your Books? What Do I Mean?

 

Authors are always looking for that magic bullet to help boost their sales, and darn while I certainly wish there was one, I haven’t found it yet.

BUT, there are ways to make your book a better experience for the reader from the moment they click on your cover's thumbnail to the very end of your masterpiece.

Covers

I decided to go wide again (and stay there this time)! And before I did this, I wanted to make sure that my covers were fresh, appealing and on point. Meaning you know what the genre is by simply looking at them.  

Some covers had major changes because I was adding a new book to the series and wanted the "look" across all the titles. 

The first image on the left is the 3rd iteration of Dare To Believe launched in 2012 (I'm not showing you the first two covers).

The second image is the latest version to match the black and white couple image of the latest book in the series, Brushed By Betrayal.

Dare To Believe has been freshened up, you know it's a romance because there are couples on both covers. It fits the genre Romance and the subgenre Romantic Suspense. 

Here are 3 more covers from the first book in my Carswell Series, Stone Of Heaven.

There is more to a book refresh than the cover 

The interior files across all books should be as identical in style as possible. While you may want different chapter header art for different genres/subgenres, the consistency will enforce your brand and make you look more professional right off the bat.

I formatted my interior files with Vellum and love the program though it is strictly for a Mac. Each books has a similar feel, has links in the back that go to each specific vendor (which is an awesome time saver) and my front and back matter is now uniform in placement.

I included a QR code with my logo in the back matter, which I created here for free (thanks Dave Chesson). 

There is a new program out there that I'm going to try soon called Atticus by the same Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur fame as above. And it's PC friendly!! Man that guy is on top of stuff.

I'm excited to try it and you all know me well enough that my opinions aren't swayed by anything, even a freebie. So stay tuned, I'm very hopeful about Atticus.

Perhaps it's time for another read through for errors? 

You can ask a few of your mailing list readers if they want to read your book(s) with specific tasks in mind and if they agree, send them a free copy, as well as what you're looking for and a deadline:)

Back cover matters as well as your blurb on your various vendor sites

I've been using a system from Bryan Cohen which I then tailored to how I work.  Look for a post and a YouTube video from me on that soon. (Yes, I know a teaser, but I want you keep an eye open as it's a cool concept.)

Primarily though, so not to leave you totally hanging, I use the idea of building the characters in the blurb, then add what they're facing with some plot teasers, but I don't make it plot heavy, just enough to pique your interest. 

You use the genre tropes which give your prospective reader the feel that you're writing romance, (subgenre as well), suspense, cozy mystery, action adventure....

Then finally you add in a "If you like..." and where appropriate a CTA (call-to-action).

All Done and Wow

By the time you're done with the cover, interior, back blurb and sales blurb, you have freshened up your book and people who may have passed it by before will now hopefully stop and take a look.

That's the entire purpose of this exercise. It took me a while, to be honest, to get all 9 books done and I had to go back and fix a few links, but it was time and honestly, my sales have improved.

Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments. 

As always, Write Like The Wind

~L. A. Sartor

I started writing as a child, really. A few things happened on the way to becoming a published author … specifically, a junior high school teacher who told me I couldn’t write because I didn’t want to study grammar.

But the muse couldn’t be denied, and eventually I wrote, a lot. I learned a litany of new things and published my first novel. My second book became a bestseller, and I’m absolutely on the right course in my life.

Please come visit me at www.lasartor.com, see my books, find my social media links including my YouTube Channel for writers, and sign up for my mailing list. I have a gift I’ve specifically created for my new email subscribers.

Time To Brush Up Or Learn New Writing Skills?

 
If you're brushing up on writing techniques or want to learn some new ones, Laurie's classes are a great place to start. I speak from experience!

online: MORE THAN SETTING: WORLD-BUILDING

(February 7-18, 2022)

rwakissofdeath.org/product/more-than-setting-world-building/

       Of course your book needs a setting that contributes to the story, but your characters’ story world goes far beyond just the time and place they occupy. It’s also the people who surround them, the expectations they take for granted, the rules that infuriate them, the attitudes they share with their society -- whether or not they realize it -- and more. All those elements belong in your story world’s setting, and here’s how to build a world that works.

Zoom: MAKING INTROVERTED CHARACTERS INTERESTING 

(February 19, noon-1pm Eastern/9-10am Pacific)

get link & handouts by emailing Laurie at address on booklaurie.com

       Free for anyone who makes any size contribution to any (not-the-usual) charity they feel like God has in mind.

online: PLOTTING VIA MOTIVATION

(March 7-April 1)

writeruniv.com/classes/plotting-via-motivation/

       Here’s what writers have said about the course in previous years: “I never thought I could plot my entire book from start to finish, but here it is. This is AWESOME.” / “This month has truly changed the way I think about writing. I wish I’d taken Plotting Via Motivation before giving up on my earlier novels.” / “Now that I look back in the notebook where I wrote all my homework, I realize I’ve got my book right here!”

online: FROM PLOT TO FINISH

(April 11-22)

writeruniv.com/classes/onemaster-class-from-plot-to-finish/

       For anyone who’s taken Plotting Via Motivation online or in person at some point, this group gets you plotting a brand new or already-begun book (using your completed 14-point worksheet) from start to finish. No need to prepare a new story idea, character bios, goal charts or anything else, because you’ll see how to plot an entire book -- and actually have it ready to type -- by the end of this hands-on workshop.

online: CHOOSING THAT FATAL FLAW

(April 16, 4pm Eastern)

https://contemporaryromance.org/workshop/choosing-that-fatal-flaw

       The ideal flaw isn't totally random, tossed in at the last minute to keep a character from being Too Perfect. Instead, it's built right into their personality -- which means it's guaranteed to create turmoil that’ll keep the plot moving, along with a flip-side asset that'll enable your character to triumph in the end. See what kind will work best for your people, whether they're starring in a current story or taking the lead in another to come.

Zoom: DYNAMIC DIALOGUE & DELICIOUS DESCRIPTION

(April 23, 9am Pacific): AgedToPerfectionRomanceWriters.com/workshops/

       Use whichever of the Ds you’re better at to improve your work on the other.

Live retreat in San Antonio: SPRING GATHERING

for details, email Laurie at address on booklaurie.com

(April 28-May 1) Morning workshops, afternoon consultations (four individual half-hours with each of eight writers), and time for writing...plus relaxing!

Laurie's  Bio:
Laurie Schnebly Campbell published half a dozen romances with Harlequin, including one that beat out Nora Roberts for “Best Special Edition of the Year,” before discovering the only thing she loves more than writing is working with other writers. So she started giving workshops every month, online and in-person, and now has a special area on her bookshelf full of books with acknowledgments from authors who’ve loved her classes.

Laurie Campbell Schnebly's Writing Craft Classes for 4th Quarter

 

Now is the time to look at Laurie's classes which will pump up your writing. 

As always no classes in December, BUT there are a couple of classes posted for 2021 already. 

Zoom: YOUR PLOT-CHARACTER-STORY BRAID

(Oct. 3, 1pm Mountain Time) Coeur du Boise RWA, CBCrwa.com
A distillation of next September’s class, condensed into an hour...type fast!

Zoom: “PREMIER” VIRTUAL RETREAT WEEKEND
(Oct. 10-11, 9-6 Pacific Time) email BookLaurie@yahoo.com
Plot & character workshops, timed group brainstorming, and four one-on-one sessions with Laurie about whatever you’re writing, planning or targeting.

online: GROWING YOUR HEROINE
(Oct. 12-23 -- sold out, ask about waitlist)
writeruniv.wordpress.com/classes/growing-your-heroine
This limited-enrollment master class picks up where September’s ended, focusing on the heroine’s journey through everything she needs to overcome from beginning to end. Starting with a “stick figure” and moving to your work in progress, chart the route she’ll use for transcending her weak points -- as well as those of people she cares about -- while avoiding both the false triumph and false disaster of her own story.

Zoom: PUTTING THE JOY BACK IN WRITING
(Oct. 17, 11am Central Time) North Texas RWA, NTrwa.org

Zoom: BRAIDING YOUR BOOK
(Oct. 17, 10:30am Pacific Time) Sisters in Crime, SinC-CoastalCruisers

Zoom: “NEW & IMPROVED” VIRTUAL RETREAT WEEKEND
(Oct. 24-25, 9-6 Pacific Time) email BookLaurie@yahoo.com
See the Oct. 10-11 description and holler if you’re interested.

online: THE ALPHA MALE, FROM ABE TO ZEUS
(Nov. 2-12)
heartsthroughhistory.com/workshops/alpha-males
Readers love alpha males. (Maybe not for a real-life marriage, but for a book of romantic adventure there’s nothing better.) Yet writers sometimes find it tricky to create an alpha male without falling into stereotypes. What makes an alpha male? (It’s more than just power.) What challenges does he face? (The answers will surprise you.) How can your hero take on solely the alpha-male traits you want? Get ready to find out…and maybe to fall in love.

Zoom: YOUR PLOT-CHARACTER-STORY BRAID
(Nov. 21, 11am Eastern Time, only for members of New Jersey RWA)

Zoom: PSYCHOLOGY FOR CREATING CHARACTERS
(Dec. 6, 2pm Central Time, only for members of Houston Sisters in Crime)

Zoom: BLOCK-BUSTING: MOVING PAST WRITER’S BLOCK
(Dec. 12, 1pm Pacific Time) Rose City RWA

And, yep, December is always a no-classes holiday. Which seems contradictory.

online: PERFECT PITCH
(Jan. 4-15, 2021, only for members of Sisters In Crime Guppies)
SinCGuppies
Are you pitching your work at a conference? In an email? By letter, by phone, by chance if you run into someone browsing for a good book? The techniques will be slightly different for each situation -- and while writers tend to feel more anxiety when pitching face-to-face, it’s useful to have a plan of action for every possible scenario. Whether you’re pitching an agent, editor, interviewer, publisher or regular reader, learn how to make it a good experience for you both!

online: NEW YEAR, NEW YOU
(Jan. 18-29, 2021)
https://rwasd.com/classes/ (scroll down on page for class info)
Whether it’s the first rejection, the 50th-book slump, or just not getting the story you want, frustration is part of every writer’s life. For some, it’s a nuisance; for others, it’s the end of a career. For anyone determined to make 2021 a Better Writing Year, this class offers both practical and psychological techniques for dealing with rejection, writer’s block, frustration, motivation, and other issues that keep writers from loving their craft.

Laurie's  Bio:
Laurie Schnebly Campbell published half a dozen romances with Harlequin, including one that beat out Nora Roberts for “Best Special Edition of the Year,” before discovering the only thing she loves more than writing is working with other writers. So she started giving workshops every month, online and in-person, and now has a special area on her bookshelf full of books with acknowledgments from authors who’ve loved her classes.

New Huge Bundle From Design Cuts!!

• Extended Licence: Use in multiple commercial projects & items for resale along with 
Professional Support

This vast collection of best-selling artistic elements is the ultimate time-saver, and is perfect for taking your creations to the next level!

Whether you’re just starting out with design, or you’re looking for affordable, professional-grade resources to let your creativity flow, this pack is perfect for your needs! With an incredibly comprehensive range of tools bundled in; including brushes, fonts, illustrations, textures and more!

Available for just $29 USD for a limited time only, our deal offers you these items at a staggering 99% off the RRP!

GET THE DEAL!!

GET THE DEAL!!

 These a just a few pictures of what's in store for you. 

(I am an affiliate of DC but this costs you nothing)

Take Five With Caroline Warfield & Her New Novel ~ Christmas Hope

As an author myself, I love reading about other authors and how they approach some of the key elements of a novel.  

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Caroline. Tell us, what inspired you to write your book Christmas Hope?

Hi, L.A., thank you for hosting me again. 

Stories bubble up from the girls in the basement by some mysterious process. I didn’t see this one coming. I was presented with a set of story elements required in a novella for an anthology. A group I belong to offered the right to specify story elements for it as a prize. We ended up with a mixed bag of things: a heroine with hazel eyes and a bible among them. A vision of a story set in 1916 came to me almost immediately, I am not entirely sure why. As an army brat, I’ve always had an affinity for soldiers, but this is my first actual wartime story.

I wrote a novella that ended with the hero and heroine happy-for-now on Christmas, 1916. I knew they faced two more years of war, and I knew almost as soon as I wrote it that I had to finish their story. This book is the result.

How do you use setting to further your story?

Setting is generally critical in my writing. This story begins just after the Battle of the Somme. The contrast between the mud and destruction in the area of the fighting with the color and life among the floating gardens of Amiens reflect Harry’s despair and the thin thread of hope he feels when he meets Rosemarie.

Do you prefer to read in the same genre you write in, or do you avoid reading that genre? Why?

I do read historical romance, but not exclusively. Actually, I usually say I read historical anything—paranormal, steampunk, mysteries, romance, and non-fiction. Historical eras have always been the alternative reality I escape to one way or another. Lately, historical mysteries have been my go-to reads to unwind.

If you could live during any era of history, which one would you choose?

That is tough. It has to be an era in which literacy was high, especially for women. The Roman Empire comes to mind. After the 5th-century literacy all over Europe fell sharply. Women in Ottoman harems had better access to learning than many European women.

I used to think Tudor England would be interesting but the seething politic and religious conflicts were pretty ugly. Many eras have high points, but they all seem to have downsides. I might choose the early twentieth century when women began coming into their own.

What is the first thing you do when you begin a new book?

In a romance, everything flows from the characters. The first thing I do is identify them, name them, and then do a deep dive into their origins, background, conflicts, wounds, needs, goals, appearance, family—you get the idea. The more I know, the easier the writing process will flow. In Christmas Hope I had to know about Harry’s life as the only child of a lawyer, his conflicts with is father, and his ugly romantic breakup in college. All those things mattered. I think there ended up being a lot of my father in Harry.

How do you create internal and external conflict in your characters? I find conflict often the hardest to create when I start planning a book.

Internal conflict is critical, it is more important than external because the story hinges on it. You find it by a thorough study of your characters before you start. Everyone has scars and wounds they need to heal, but fictional characters need them to be sharp enough to drive decisions and behavior. Look around your life, your friends, or even the news media, and you can find sources of pain. Be courageous and lay it on your hero!

Once you knew their deep pain, you can create external conflict. Ask yourself what is the worst thing that can happen—to this particular character knowing his particular issues—and then do it to them. Setting Christmas Hope during wartime made some of this easier than usual. Harry hated the violence and yet he never faltered. For him it was much harder to lead other men into battle—in some cases to their death—than to do what he had to do as an individual soldier.

Give us a brief summary of Christmas Hope:

After two years at the mercy of the Canadian Expeditionary force and the German war machine, Harry ran out of metaphors for death, synonyms for brown, and images of darkness. When he encounters color among the floating islands of Amiens and life in the form a widow and her little son, hope ensnares him. Through three more long years of war and its aftermath, the hope she brings keeps Harry alive.

Rosemarie Legrand’s husband left her a tiny son, no money, and a savaged reputation when he died. She struggles to simply feed the boy and has little to offer a lonely soldier, but Harry’s devotion lifts her up. The war demands all her strength and resilience, but the hope of peace and the promise of Harry’s love keep her going.

Separated in the fog of war, they struggle to reunite in the end. When it is over, will their love be enough?

Buy: 

Amazon |Apple | Barnes&Noble  

Bio:

Award winning author Caroline Warfield has been many things: traveler, librarian, poet, raiser of children, bird watcher, Internet and Web services manager, conference speaker, indexer, tech writer, genealogist—even a nun. 

She reckons she is on at least her third act, happily working in an office surrounded by windows where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire. 

She nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart. Love, she believes, is always worth the risk.

Find Caroline: 

Website |Bookbub | Amazon Author | Twitter | Good Reads

How-To Video From Design Cuts and a Freebie

How to Design An Elegant Wedding Invitation In Photoshop

As promised here is the instructional video link showing how to create a fab project using Design Cuts latest bundle The All-Purpose Creative's Design Kit.

Don't miss the freebie link once you get to the tutorial.

In this tutorial, we will be designing a clean and elegant wedding invitation in Photoshop. To do this we will be using the beautiful Victoria script typeface from Blessed Print and a wedding invitation mockup from the Design Cuts Marketplace. 

The font we will be working with is from The All-Purpose Creative’s Design Kit – our latest bundle completely bursting at the seams with hundreds of beautiful resources! Each pack in this new collection has been lovingly put together by the designers to help save you heaps of time and get you working straight away on all of your creative projects. If you’re all ready to feel the love then fire up Photoshop and let’s begin!

Enjoy this tutorial, the freebie, and the bundle. 

Hugs, 

L.A.