When it comes to volunteering, we tend to lean toward causes that reflect our passions in life. So as an author, encouraging and promoting literacy is very near and dear to me. This Spring marks the 4th year I've been involved with the Sedalia Area Literacy Council and their annual tea and auction. Even though I no longer live in Sedalia, it's still my hometown, and I can't imagine not being a part of this amazing group of ladies who do so much to promote literacy in the community.
I'll admit, when I first signed up, all I really knew about the SALC was that they delivered nursery rhyme books to newborns at Bothwell Regional Hospital. After attending my first council meeting, I discovered that they also issue grants to local grade schools and high schools for books and reading tablets. They deliver free books to the community cafe, a local meal program for families in need. They even issue scholarship vouchers to help those seeking their GED (now known as the HSE test as SFCC). There are grant requests discussed and approved at every monthly meeting, and they all aim at improving literacy in the community. It's a worthy cause that I'm proud to be a part of.
The SALC manages to accomplish their goals with one fundraiser a year: the annual tea and auction. It's so much fun! And the whole community gets involved. We collect donations from local businesses in the form of gift cards and merchandise--or in cases where there is no merchandise, like a real estate or insurance office, the owners get creative and put together themed gift baskets, often with a book. There are handcrafted items and antiques, toy trunks full of games and camping gear, pieces of art by local artists, and so much more. You can take a peek at some of the baskets from last year by clicking HERE.
A really unique item being auctioned off this year is this adorable kitchen play-set.
A few local authors, including myself, put together baskets with signed books.This year, I'm trying something new. I'm inviting YOU to send a book donation. It's a great way to reach new readers, and all proceeds go toward literacy programs. Win-win. : ) Everyone who donates is also featured in the printed programs for the tea.
If you'd like to send an ebook, I'm putting together a basket with a tablet and a thumb drive. I'd be happy to include your ebook in the lot. (please send your ebook file to adroquet@gmail.com) Signed print books are welcome too, as well as any swag (bookmarks, etc.) you'd like to contribute. You're also welcome to put together your own themed basket, otherwise I'll group titles according to genre, add something fun like a coffee mug or chocolate, and make everything look pretty in a basket. (print books can be sent to Angela Roquet, P.O. Box 1802, Lake Ozark, MO 65049)
The deadline for sending in donations is March 20th. After that, we begin cataloging things and dividing them up between the silent and live auction before typing up the program. Also, one small note of caution: This event takes place in a church gymnasium and children are present, so please save books with X-rated covers for another event. ; ) Thank you. ♥
If you're local or nearby and interested in checking out the live event, tickets are $5 at the door, and they'll be available by the end of this month for early purchase at Boonslick Regional Library in Sedalia, MO and at Sedalia Reader's World.
Snacks and beverages are provided at the event. There is a live and a silent auction, door prizes, and we'll also be selling some other fun goodies like these super cute kitchen boas, modeled by Betty Albrecht, the SALC's amazing president!
I met Liz Schulte briefly at the RT Booklovers Convention a few years back. Shortly after that, I stumbled upon a bookmark I'd picked up from her (featuring her cleverly titled Easy Bake Coven novel) and reached out to ask her if she'd like to submit a short story to Badass and the Beast, an anthology I was co-editing with my critique partner Kory Shrum. She said yes, and I've been stalking her ever since. Okay, stalking might be too strong of a word. I am pretty impressed by her though. With 20+ books out, spanning multiple genres, her motivation and stamina are enviable. Consider me in awe. Since Liz is in Columbia, MO, less than 2 hours from my home at Lake of the Ozarks, I was lucky enough to hang out with her a bit this summer and do a few joint book signings. I especially enjoyed checking out her local haunt in Columbia, Village Books. Becky, the owner, is the sweetest! And a total book pimp. I left with a bag full of awesome. ♥ If you're local or passing through, definitely stop in and say hello. Here's a little slideshow of our fancy time there:
If you're new to Liz and her books, you can find out more on her website www.lizschulte.com You can also enter below for a chance to win a starter library of some of her awesome books! I have 9 paperbacks up for grabs:
a Rafflecopter giveaway And since I can't stand letting anyone go empty handed (especially when it comes to books) everyone is welcome to grab the first book in Liz's Sekhmet Bounty series on Kindle for FREE by clicking HERE. And if you're a kindle unlimited subscriber, check out Liz's popular Easy Bake Cover series HERE.
Want more FREE ebooks? (Don't we all?) HERE are 33 more by various authors across various genres. Happy Friday! xoxo
I've been terrible about blogging lately. Sorry y'all. I'm hoping to make up for it today with an explosion of awesome! I met the lovely Lisa Medley at the RT convention in New Orleans last May, and it was inevitable that we would hit it off, because A) she also writes reapers, and B) she too is from Missouri. So when she asked me if I wanted to be part of a kick-ass blog hop featuring a dozen reaper writers, I was all the YES. That it would be taking place the week of Halloween was just a bonus. So from now until the big day, come play with us, and you could win books and swag and even a $100 Amazon Gift Card! It's as easy as share/like/following the grim writers listed in the Rafflecopter below.
As for games... the first reaper reader to unscramble the following quote and post its author in the comments will have a character named after them in Death Wish, book 5 of my Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series. The character will be harvested by Lana and the gang at some point in the book. I promise to make it an interesting death. ; ) The scrambled quote: he never may is going he that know to can himself To immortal. but know that is He everyone is die, he dead. Hint: Punctuation marks go with the words they follow, and the capitalized words are meant to be. Good luck!
If you're new to my Lana series, you can grab book 1, Graveyard Shift, for FREE on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, & Smashwords.
The Inferno has Evolved…
Lana Harvey is a reaper, and a lousy one at that. She resides in Limbo City, the modern capital of the collective afterlives, where she likes to stick it to the man (the legendary Grim Reaper himself) by harvesting the bare minimum of souls required of her. She’d much rather be hanging out with Gabriel, her favorite archangel, at Purgatory Lounge. But when a shocking promotion falls in her lap, Lana learns something that could unravel the very fabric of Eternity. If the job isn’t completed, there could be some real hell to pay.
For more grim entertainment, check out the following authors and blogs!
The RT
Booklovers Convention is over for this year, but I’m still basking in the
afterglow of its awesomeness! And I’m doing my best to stay in touch with the
incredible writers I met while in New Orleans. One of these writers is Lisa
Medley, who not only lives just a few hours away from me in Missouri, but she
also writes reaper fiction! How have we not met before? How do we not have an
exclusive Missouri reapers club with a secret handshake? We’ll get to that eventually,
I’m sure. For now, I’m just excited to be interviewing Lisa on my blog. Enjoy! Hi Lisa! Thanks for visiting my blog! Reapers are the best! Can
you tell us your take on them in your series? Thanks for having me here, Angela! The reapers in my series are
responsible for collecting human souls on Earth. They don’t hasten any
departures but collect those who pass in their respective territories. The hero
of Reap & Repent is 200+ years old and burned out. He’s going through the
motions and running his death circuits when he runs into a human woman with no
aura. Reapers don’t have auras either. In fact, that’s how they know when
someone is about to pass by. The aura is gone or turns white.
Intrigued, Deacon tracks her down and nothing will ever be the same for him
again. I know you’ve got a soft spot for beasts. Are any featured in
your series? The only beasts in book one are imps, which are demon spies and
look like black cats to humans. In book two, we get a hellhound named Bocephus.
Bo eats demons for breakfast, lunch and dinner and drools like a river. How many books do you have planned for your series? And when is
the next one coming out? I have three finished in the series. Book two, Reap &
Redeem, comes out in October and three, Reap & Reveal, publishes in
January. I have at least six more characters who need stories and to find
their love. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen to them! Now for a few random wildcard questions… What’s your favorite word? Ever since the old television show The Greatest American Hero,
my favorite word has been ‘scenario’. Robert Culp’s character used it all the
dang time and it stuck with me! If you were in a fictional fantasy world, what would be your
profession? Demon hunter? Psychic gumshoe? Dragon tamer? I think it would be extremely satisfying to kill me some demons.
In my head, I’ve got all the moves. In a fictional world I could totally rock
Demon Hunter. Zombie apocalypse. What are your top 3 essentials? Listen, I think about this an unhealthy amount of time.
I’m just waiting to pull my ninja skills out for the zombie apocalypse. I
travel a lot for my day job, and I figure I’ll get caught far away from home.
I WILL get home. I have a complete zombie bug-out bag in my trunk with a
roll of Duct tape, food, and a machete. Just. In. Case. What’s a random question you’ve always wanted to be asked, but
no one ever asks? How about…What is your secret superhero power? Thanks for asking. Apparently, my secret superhero power is the
ability to see cat yak because no one else in my family seems to see it to
clean it up. Figures. Flying would be so much cooler. Okay. Back to business…Who or what do you read for inspiration? I started this paranormal romance rollercoaster with J.R. Ward,
and I buy her new release on PRE-ORDER, then count down the days until release.
Seriously. I’m a little obsessed with her. I love me some Black Dagger
Brothers. I also love Charlaine Harris and Patricia Briggs and, and, and… My
TBR bookshelf is embarrassing. We aren’t going to talk about my decreasing
Kindle storage. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? I started writing sad and angsty, pre-teen poetry and look where
I am now. In HS and through the years, I wrote some newspaper columns and
in the back of my mind, writer was somewhere around plan M. I always thought
writing a novel was something I probably COULD do, but hadn’t really tried.
Finally after reading more than a hundred paranormal romance and urban fantasy
novels, I decided it was time to put up or shut up. The first three novels of
The Reaper Series will publish this year. Any advice for the aspiring writers out there? Keep swimming. It’s going to seem impossible but if you just
keep swimming, you’ll reach the shore before you know it. I had no idea if my
book would sell or ever be published. By the time it did contract, I already
had book two completed so they bought it as well as book three which I hadn’t
even started yet! I’ll have a backlist by the end of the year. The more you
write the more you’ll publish. Keep swimming and keep writing! I’m really looking forward to checking out your reapers! Thanks
for stopping by, Lisa. : )
Lisa has always enjoyed reading about monsters in love and now she writes about them. Reapers. The grim kind. She adores beasties of all sorts, fictional as well as real, and has a farm full of them in her Southwest Missouri home, including: one child, one husband, two dogs, two cats, a dozen hens, thousands of Italian bees, and a guinea pig. She may or may not keep a complete zombie apocalypse bug-out bag in her trunk at all times, including a machete. Just. In. Case.
They see death. Can they share a life?
Ruth Scott can read the energy of every person she meets. Then she meets Deacon Walker. She can see his ice-blue eyes, his black hair, and his gorgeous face. But this beautiful stranger has no aura. Deacon is just as unsettled by Ruth—and, having spent more than two hundred years ushering souls to Purgatory, Deacon is seldom shocked by anything. As he helps Ruth to understand her true nature, she awakens desires that he decided long ago a Reaper can’t afford. A demon invasion forces Deacon to confront the darkness in his own past even as he fights to save the human souls he’s charged to protect. When he’s taken captive, his first concern is for Ruth. But Ruth just might be able to save herself—and the Reaper she can’t live without—if she can learn to wield her newfound power.
He’s a reaper who has given up on saving souls. Will a dying woman be his salvation? After a century of enslavement to pure evil, Kylen Larson is finally free. But he’s long past caring. The only woman he ever loved is dead, and he’s tormented by memories of the horrors his demon parasite forced him to commit. Now, he lives for nothing more than hunting down the infernal creatures invading Meridian, Arkansas, and destroying them. Olivia Evans is in the final stages of cancer when Kylen accidentally saves her from demonic possession. When he rescues this innocent soul, Kylen rediscovers his mission—and his heart. All he wants is to help Alivia stay alive. He’ll just have to fight off an invasion from Hell first…
