I am excited to welcome Tonya Macalino, author of Faces in the Water here today. Let's give her a big welcome!
by Tonya Macalino
Electing to become an indie author went against everything I’d grown up working toward as a writer. To somehow force my ego to drop the idea of gaining the validation of the publishing industry, to “lower” myself into that pool of people who chose to navigate the book marketing waters alone—a.k.a. people who wrote crap, but wanted to be published anyway—wow, what an appealing option. Sign me up!
So how did I get myself past that and make the leap? The business woman in me simply couldn’t deny the market trends: bookstores folding, the traditional publishing houses teetering, the enhanced print-on-demand solutions emerging, and the dwindling opportunities for unpublished authors to break into print. And, honestly, the emerging indie publishing market appealed to the entrepreneur in me as well. I wanted in before someone found a way to close the floodgates. I didn’t want to be the writer standing on the sidelines saying, “Damn, if only…”
So I jumped.
And it was liberating and exciting and unbelievably grueling, but I was published!
And then the thrill began to fade. Pretty soon stark reality reminded me of what I’d known from the start: building a following when you were in a pool stigmatized as “the people who wrote crap,” was like keeping your head above water when the breakers pounded down on you. Agony.
I needed a solution. I needed some way to prove to the justifiably skittish readers of the world that what I wrote was worth their time and money.
Bizarrely, just as I was accepting this, a solution fell into my lap. At a conference, a group of indie authors approached me: the Northwest Independent Writers Association (NIWA). They were working on a NIWA Seal of Quality (NSQ) application process that would do just that. Using an approved list of professional publishing standards, they planned to form a review panel and begin building a list of NSQ approved indie books.
I needed absolutely no prompting this time. I was in.
My books entered the finalized review process just a few days ago. Am I nervous? Of course! But I know I can also take the results, refine my work, and apply again if I need to. The entrepreneur in me is excited again for the possibilities this will open up.
And so is the writer!
If you are interested in the cure for the common stigma, visit www.niwawriters.com for more information.
Faces in the WaterBy Tonya Macalino
Who created that slide of silk across your skin as you
reached for your cinematic lover? Who recorded the crushing weight of the
grizzly as you fought for your life in the fictional wilderness? It is Lone
Pine Pictures’ Alyse Kate Bryant who wraps your body in the story only your
mind was privy to before.
A
brilliant sensory immersion artist and a wild daredevil, Alyse will do almost
anything for the perfect sensory file, but the violent death of her father has
her teetering on the very edge of reckless sanity.
For
just one night, Alyse seeks refuge in the arms of a beautiful stranger.
And
her recklessness finally has consequences.
Now
Alyse finds herself trapped in the flooded ruins of Venice, a quarantine camp for
the carriers of Sleepers’ Syndrome. But it can never be that simple. Because
the Sleepers’ Syndrome carriers who populate the camp are no longer as human as
they seem.
The
city of legend is bringing its legends back to life.
They come now, Alyse.
Run.
Short Excerpt:
But this time the gate
had a guardian.
I felt her before I saw her, that same surge of power I’d
felt from Jürgen, but more elemental, more penetrating. Both Matteo and I
stopped abruptly. His grip on me tightened.
She took form from the shadows that clung to the structure
where the light couldn’t penetrate the fog. The delicate lines of her face took
shape first, upward sloping eyes, cheeks, and jaw. Her skin had the same pale
hue as the clouds around her and her eyes were a ghostly blue, narrowed coyly. She
stepped forward and Matteo went completely still beneath my hands. Her long,
long silvery hair danced around her face and her glittering gown flowed in the
same mysterious storm. My whole body screamed a warning at a mind that had long
since gone numb.
Then she laughed, a light airy sound, completely at odds
with the seductive threat I felt coming off her.
“Ah, Matteo, are you going to hide her from Hadria? Keep her
for yourself?”
Matteo jerked into motion.
“Get lost, Cirena.”
Again the tinkling laugh. She tossed her head back, her
hands clasped in merriment. Matteo’s arm turned to steel as he held me against
him and pushed his way around her. She floated easily aside, her glee never
faltering as she watched us.
“Oh, little Matteo, but what if I want her for myself?”
About the Author
Tonya Macalino lives in Hillsboro, Oregon with her husband and two
children. She is an avid collector of folklore and folk history, far too many
to fit comfortably within the pages of any given book. When not working on her
latest novel, she enjoys coaching other writers through the How to Build a Book workshops at
Jacobsen’s Books & More. To read more of the little folklore gems she
unearthed during her research, please visit her blog at www.tonyamacalino.com
For
news and events, drop by her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TonyaMacalino.com
The Story of Place Blog: www.tonyamacalino.com/page10.php
Amazon Author Page:
Shelfari: www.shelfari.com/tonyamacalino
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/tonyamacalino
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/TonyaMacalino
Pintrest: http://pinterest.com/tonyamacalino/
Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in this tour by clicking the button below!
2 Prize Packs (photo below)
One Night in Venice gift pack
- 1 pot of Crimson Lip Dew with Lip Wand
- 1 bar of Sparkle of First Light Shimmer Bar
- 1 bag of Chocolate Sin Bath Salts with Wooden Scoop
- 1 bag of Rose Milk Bath Salts with Wooden Scoop
- 1 Paper Mache Venetian mask - Colors May Vary
- 2 A Night in Venice prize packs, each prize pack contains: - 1 pot of Crimson Lip Dew with Lip Wand - 1 bar of Sparkle of First Light Shimmer Bar - 1 bag of Chocolate Sin Bath Salts with Wooden Scoop - 1 bag of Rose Milk Bath Salts with Wooden Scoop - 1 Paper Mache Venetian mask - Colors May Vary
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Thanks for the opportunity to drop by! And good luck to everybody in the drawing! (And my apologies for not say hi earlier. Thought I did, but apparently it didn't post. Goofy computer!)
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