Celebrate #INDIEpendence: Week Four—Thriller, Suspense & Mystery

Welcome to week four of our Celebrate #INDIEpendence With Everyone At Blue Harest Creative event.

5 weeks, 14 genres, 18 authors—one awesome event

All month-long we’ll be celebrating some of the best and the brightest of the indie author world, offering awesome prizes as well as fascinating insights into why it rocks to be an indie author. It's an exciting time to self-publish! Join us for live author chats, weekly genre prize pack giveaways, games, trivia, and more—including lots of prizes to win all week long. Each week we'll focus on specific genres and highlight some of the best authors who write it while giving back to our community of readers. We'll also feature blogs from our authors and Blue Harvest Creative—from inspirational blogs to learning about our authors and their genres to tips and techniques from Blue Harvest Creative—you're sure to find lots of interesting and informative stuff to read.

WEEK #4—THRILLER, SUSPENSE & MYSTERY

Do you live for the chills of a good thrill, the tingles that go up your spine from suspense, or plunging into a mystery and trying to figure out whodunnit? Then get ready for a week of spine tingling fun as we explore the genres of Thriller, Suspense, and Mystery. Everything takes place at our Facebook Event so be sure to stop by and join us for some fun. Here is this week's schedule: Monday, July 22: Live Author Chat and Author Focus with Rebecka Vigus Get to know author Rebecka Vigus and learn about her book Crossing The Line plus have a Q&A session with the author. Time: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. EST Where: Our Facebook Event. Click HERE to go there now. Everyone who joins the author chat will be entered to win an eBook of Crossing The Line and an exclusive set of *BHC author trading cards. One prize will be awarded.

Available on Amazon

Tuesday, July 23: Live Author Chat and Author Focus with Barbara Watkins Get to know bestselling author Barbara Watkins and learn about her book Thorns of an Innocent Soul. Plus have a Q&A session with the author and enjoy fun trivia. Time: 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST Where: Our Facebook Event. Click HERE to go there now. Everyone who joins the author chat will be entered to win an eBook of Thorns of an Innocent Soul and an exclusive set of *BHC author trading cards. One prize will be awarded.

Available on Amazon

Wednesday, July 24

Every Wednesday is Blue Harvest Creative day. We'll be on hand to highlight different services and answer questions. Time: 1 p.m. until 2 p.m. EST Where: Our Facebook Event. Click HERE to go there now. This week's topic: Book design, book trailers, and self-publishing—Part One

Visit our Website

Thursday, July 25:

Game Day: Join Marissa Ames for a fun crime scene "whodunnit" game Time: Noon until 1 p.m. EST Where: Our Facebook Event. Click HERE to go there now. Prizes: Winners can pick any of the featured eBooks from this week's featured authors. Choose your favorite format—we offer Kindle, ePub or PDF files

Friday, July 26th: Live Author Chat and Author Focus with Ashley Fontainne PLUS Trivia Day Get to know international bestselling author Ashley Fontainne as she discusses her Eviscerating The Snake series (Accountable to None, Zero Balance, and Adjusting Journal Entries) and the critically acclaimed novella Number Seventy-Five. Number Seventy-Five is currently a finalist in the 2013 Readers' Favorite Book Awards for best thriller. Winners announced September 2013. Time: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST Where: Our Facebook Event. Click HERE to go there now. Everyone who joins the author chat will be entered to win an eBook of Eviscerating The Snake—The Complete Trilogy and an exclusive set of *BHC author trading cards. One prize will be awarded. Trivia Game Day: Join Ashley for some fun trivia. All prize winners receive an eBook of Number Seventy-Five.

Available on Amazon

Available on Amazon

Finalist for best thriller in the Readers' Favorite International 2013 Awards

Saturday, July 27th Live Author Chat and Author Focus with Zach Fortier Get to know bestselling true crime author Zach Fortier as he discusses his books CurbChek and Street Creds. CurbChek is currently a finalist in the 2013 Readers' Favorite Book Awards for best non-fiction/true crime. Winners announced September 2013. Time: Noon until to 2 p.m. EST Where: Our Facebook Event. Click HERE to go there now. Everyone who joins the author chat will be entered to win an eBook of CurbChek and an exclusive set of *BHC author trading cards. One prize will be awarded.

Available on Amazon

CurbChek is a finalist for best non-fiction/true crime in the Readers' Favorite International 2013 Awards

Love Thriller, Suspense & Mystery? Then be sure to enter this week's genre giveaway & win some awesome prizes!

Enter July 22nd through midnight July 27th

Winner will be announced at noon on Sunday, July 28th

One person will win all of these prizes in our Thriller, Suspense & Mystery genre prize pack giveaway:

• an autographed print copy of Crossing The Line by Rebecka Vigus
• an autographed print copy of Thorns of an Innocent Soul by Barbara Watkins
• an autographed print copy of Eviscerating The Snake—The Complete Trilogy (three-books-in-one—receive Accountable to None, Zero Balance, and Adjusting Journal Entries) by Ashley Fontainne
• an autographed print copy of CurbChek by Zach Fortier
• an eBook of Number Seventy-Five by Ashley Fontainne
• an eBook of Street Creds (new edition) by Zach Fortier
• a $10 Starbucks gift card and a set of BHC author trading cards (courtesy of Blue Harvest Creative)

*Please note due to the amount of trading card and gift card prizes being given, they will all be mailed to the winners on August 5th. ENTER this week's genre giveaway by clicking HERE

Enter our GRAND PRIZE DRAWING that runs from midnight July 1st until midnight August 2nd

One person will win all of these prizes:

• A $50 Amazon Gift Card and an exclusive set of BHC Author Trading Cards (courtesy of Blue Harvest Creative)
• 18 autographed print books by our featured authors this month
• an eBook of Oswald and I (available after September 2013)
• an eBook of Minstrel (available November 2013)
• an exclusive set of BHC author trading cards

ENTER OUR CONTESTS BY VISITING OUR WEBSITE AT: http://www.blueharvestcreative.com/Contests_Events.html Who is Blue Harvest Creative? We Are Your Book Design & Self-publishing Experts Need a book designed or interested in self-publishing? Not sure where to begin? We have over twenty years experience in the book design, publishing, writing, marketing, and printing industries. Blue Harvest Creative was created to offer the best design and author services at affordable prices. We're proud to be named the official book designers for many of the indie authors we work with. Our goal is to be your partner for life. Contact us and find out why everything is better when you just add blue. We've designed over 500 books! Everything we create is custom-designed and we do not use templates. Ask about our complete book design package that includes a print cover wrap, interior, and matching eBook. Connect with Blue Harvest Creative: Website Blog Facebook Twitter Our Services Include:

• Cover Design
• Interior Book Design
• eBook Design
• Book Trailers
• Author Branding
• Graphic Design
• Marketing Collateral
• Websites
• Web Ads
• Facebook Banners
• Twitter Backgrounds
• Press Releases
• Book Blurbs & Taglines
• & Much More

Need something printed or promotional items? Our printing prices and quality can’t be beat! From bookmarks to posters to business cards and everything in-between, we have you covered.

Celebrate #INDIEpendence: Week Two—Horror and Sci-Fi

Welcome to week two of our Celebrate #INDIEpendence With Everyone at Blue Harvest Creative event

5 weeks, 14 genres, 18 authors—one awesome event!

All month-long we’ll be celebrating some of the best and brightest of the indie author world, offering awesome prizes, as well as fascinating insights into why it rocks to be an indie author. It's an exciting time to self-publish! Join us for live author chats, genre prize packs, trivia, games, and more. Each week we'll focus on specific genres and highlight some of the best authors who write it while giving back to our community of readers. We'll also be sharing blogs featuring our authors and Blue Harvest Creative—from inspirational blogs to learning about our authors and their genres to tips from Blue Harvest Creative—you'll find lots of interesting stuff to read.

WEEK TWO IS DEVOTED TO HORROR AND SCI-FI

If terror is your thing or if you love travelling to different dimensions and other worlds then this week is for you—the always gripping, thought-provoking, and groundbreaking genres of Horror and Science Fiction! Everything takes place at our Facebook Event so be sure to stop by and join us for some fun. Here is this week's schedule: Monday, July 8th: Live author chat and author focus with Natalie Gibson

Get to know Natalie and learn about her book Hateful Burden, play some games, learn some trivia and have an author Q&A.

Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST

Everyone who joins Natalie for her author chat will be entered to win an eBook of Hateful Burden and a set of *BHC author trading cards. One prize will be awarded.

Game Day: Join Natalie for a fun game and win prizes. All prize winners will receive an eBook of Hateful Burden.

Available on Amazon

Tuesday, July 9th:

Live author chat with Shane KP O'Neill

Get to know Shane and learn about his books Orchid and Bound By Blood, Volumes I and II plus have a Q&A session with the author.

Time: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST

Everyone who joins Shane will be entered to win an eBook of Orchid and a set of *BHC author trading cards. One prize will be awarded.

Available On Amazon

Available on Amazon

Wednesday, July 10th Every Wednesday is Blue Harvest Creative day. We'll be on hand to highlight different services and answer questions. This week's topic is author marketing materials. Time: Noon until 1 p.m. EST Every Wednesday is also inspirational blog post day featuring blogs from our authors as they discuss self-publishing, tips, and other informative information. Thursday, July 11th

Live author chat and author focus with Jeff LaFerney.

Get to know Jeff as he discuses his book Jumper plus have a Q&A session with the author.

Time: 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. EST

Everyone who joins Jeff will be entered to win an eBook of Jumper and a set of *BHC author trading cards. One prize will be awarded.

Available On Amazon

Friday, July 12th Game day! Time: TBA Win prizes based on this week's genre.

Saturday, July 13th

This week's Genre Prize Winner will be announced at noon

Prizes for this week are:

• an autographed print copy of Hateful Burden by Natalie Gibson
• an autographed print copy of The Dracula Chronicles: Bound By Blood, Volume I by Shane KP O'Neill
• an autographed print copy of Jumper by Jeff LaFerney
• a $10 Starbucks gift card and an exclusive set of BHC author trading cards (courtesy of Blue Harvest Creative)

*Please note due to the amount of trading card prizes and Starbucks gift cards being given, they will all be mailed to the winners the week of August 5th.

And be sure to enter our GRAND PRIZE DRAWING that runs from midnight July 1st until midnight August 2nd

One person will win:

• A $50 Amazon Gift Card and an exclusive set of BHC Author Trading Cards (courtesy of Blue Harvest Creative)
• 18 autographed print books by our featured authors this month

ENTER OUR CONTESTS BY VISITING OUR WEBSITE AT: http://www.blueharvestcreative.com/Contests_Events.html Who is Blue Harvest Creative? We Are Your Book Design & Self-publishing Experts Need a book designed or interested in self-publishing? Not sure where to begin? We have over twenty years experience in the book design, publishing, writing, marketing, and printing industries. Blue Harvest Creative was created to offer the best design and author services at affordable prices. We've designed over 500 books! Everything we create is custom-designed and we do not use templates. Ask about our complete book design package that includes a print cover wrap, interior, and matching eBook. We're proud to be named the official book designers for many of the indie authors we work with. Our goal is to be your partner for life. Contact us and find out why everything is better when you just add blue.

Connect with Blue Harvest Creative:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Our Services Include:

• Cover Design
• Interior Book Design
• eBook Design
• Book Trailers
• Author Branding
• Graphic Design
• Marketing Collateral
• Websites
• Web Ads
• Facebook Banners
• Twitter Backgrounds
• Press Releases
• Book Blurbs & Taglines
• & Much More

Need something printed or promotional items? Our printing prices and quality can’t be beat! From bookmarks to posters to business cards and everything in-between, we have you covered.

Riding the roller coaster

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I never intended to become a writer. It sort of just happened. Writing poetry and short stories was a personal, private release for me. Occasionally, I would share with family and friends but that was it. However, while attending college (as a 40+ year old woman--talk about feeling out of place!) in hopes of graduating with a degree in science, the writing volcano erupted from its dormant state.

Spurred on by the gauntlet of challenge to "write a book" thrown down by my Creative Writing II instructor (Melody Berning--thank you) I wrote Accountable to None as my semester project and turned it in as part of my writing portfolio in March of 2011.

Things haven't been the same since!

Tens of thousands of book sales later, over 300+ reviews on Amazon/Amazon UK (for all of my novels combined) I am pleased to announce that my latest offering, the suspense novella Number Seventy-Five is a finalist for the 2013 Readers' Favorite International Book Contest for Fiction/Suspense.

The novella is less than 20,000 words but apparently, packs quite the punch (at least according to the majority of reviews) and is the only non-full length work that made the final cut in this tough category. Reviewer Dianna Skowera from Readers' Favorite wrote a glowing 5-star review:

“Number Seventy-Five” by Ashley Fontainne is a chilling suspense from the moment you learn the reasoning behind the title. Seconds after meeting Mandy Russell you discover that she is slapped with the realization she is about to become the seventy-fifth victim in an eerie killing rampage. Mandy recovers from a bitter divorce with the courage to test the waters of internet dating that ultimately seals her fate in ways she never imagined possible. Licking the old wounds of heartache, Mandy learns that only her two close friends, Shawna and Samuel, were not likely enough to inform of her decision to forge into the world of finding new love in such a low-key manner. Rendezvousing out of the spotlight may have saved her from the embarrassment of failed romantic success, but may just contribute to Mandy’s lack of chance in escaping death. 

Think you don’t have time to read a book? Each page of this short work pulls you towards the end like a magnet! Anyone looking to compile stories about God-fearing women should get a hold of Ashley Fontainne. Fontainne has created a new genre of scary stories to tell in the dark…and on vacation. The most creative use of description I have read in nearly any work of fiction, “Number Seventy-Five” is guaranteed to pull you into the characters’ senses. There are more emotions and action in these seventy-two pages than one may find in works twice as long. If you think Lifetime Movie Network women are scary, then check out “Number Seventy-Five”. This could happen in your small town, so read this book and be prepared!

I had already entered Number Seventy-Five into the 2013 contest but didn't think it stood a chance since it is barely a novella. Then, on June 30, 2013, the email notifying me that the finalists had been picked beeped on my phone. When I clicked on the link and scrolled down to Fiction/Suspense, my heart skipped a beat. (Really, it did. Then I dropped my phone and ran to the kitchen to find my husband, tripping over my cat along the way. Surprised I didn't break something important!)

Because there was my name. One of the final six.

I have been riding this roller coaster called "writing" for just over two years now and am honored to have my work recognized by such a prestigious organization as Readers' Favorite, and to have my work included alongside such other fabulous authors! 

Stay tuned because the winners in each category will be announced on September 1, 2013. 

Validation. Yeah baby!