Books for LDS Readers. Tips for LDS Writers.
Unless I change my mind in the future, this site has retired for good.
However, I’m keeping it up because of the many resources and information found in the posts. I may index the site at some future date to make it easier for readers to find what they’re interested in, but I have no definite plans to do that soon.
Please visit NewLDSFiction.com where I will continue to spotlight new releases by LDS authors.
Congratulations! It will be on its way to you in just a few minutes.
Thanks to everyone who played and who have supported this site over the years. I really appreciate you.
My name is Karlene Browning.
I was the owner, operator and chief bottle washer of Rosehaven Publishing & Distribution, Inc. from 2000 through 2006.
I am still in the industry, doing freelance editing, typesetting, cover design, web design and e-book creation for self-publishers and small presses. My company is LibrisPro. (Go check out my newly designed website.)
And yes, I am the LDS Book Geek over at NewLDSFiction.com.
I also am Miles Ahead Learning Resources, which sells educational curriculum products and games. And I’m LDSeBookstore.com where I sell some of the e-books I’ve coded.
Or did you really think I was Angela Eschler? Or maybe you thought I was Stacy Whitman? Or Lisa Mangum? (Those were the three women I was most often mis-guessed as over the years.)
No matter who you thought I was, I hope you’ll still be my friend over on NewLDSFiction.com.
And for those of you who don’t really care who I am but wanted to win the $25 Amazon Gift Card, I’ll be announcing that first thing in the morning. Today is the last day to enter to win!
Quite possibly.
I’d estimate I know more than half of the regular commenters on this site in real life or via Facebook friendship under my real name.
And sometimes it’s really hard not to slip and mention something you’ve only told LDS Publisher when I’m talking to you in real life.
It’s even harder when some of you frequent commenters only know me as LDS Publisher, and then I see you in person—and I want to come up and give you a big hug like we’re old friends. Which is how I feel about you. But you would have no clue who that strange woman was who was suddenly hugging you. And I really, really don’t want to be arrested for stalking you.
Today’s hint: Go look at your list of Facebook friends. Compare what you know about them with the info on my About Page.
I’ll bet most of you will figure it out from this one clue, but if you do, keep it quiet for just a bit longer.
Remember, you can earn more points for the $25 Amazon Gift Card by spreading the word every day!
If you’ve ever been to a LDStorymakers Conference, you’ve probably passed me in the hall.
Or attended a class I was in.
Or sat next to me for a meal.
The very first time I went to Storymaker’s, I wore my work uniform—the one from my day job, way back when I worked at a publishing company.
I’ve been to every Storymaker’s Conference since then, except for one year when I was indisposed.
And I’ve attended every single Whitney Awards Banquet. Yes, every one. So if you attended any of them, I was there.
Are you suspicious? Do you think you’ve figured it out?
Here are a few more hints:
There are photos of me in the 2012 Conference Album here.
And at the most recent conference, I attended classes taught by John Brown, Sheralynn Pratt, and Jaime Theler (among others).
Oh, and before you forget, go enter to win the $25 Amazon Gift Card!
…that’s me.
As long as the word “Book” goes in front of it, I’m okay with it.
And that is today’s hint.
I read. A lot.
As a child, my goal was to read every book in the library before I graduated from elementary school. I didn’t achieve that goal, but it was sure fun trying.
As a young teen, I’d sometimes read a book a day. No, I did not have much of a social life until high school. Once the teenage hormones struck, I dropped to 3 books a week.
As an adult, it depends on what else is going on in my life. Sometimes I go weeks without cracking a book, and sometimes I read like a crazy lady!
My favorite genres are YA, Speculative and Mystery (not necessarily in that order).
I do not have one favorite book. I have 100. Way to many to list here.
My all-time favorites from childhood are: Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle, The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron, and The Silver Crown by Robert C. O’Brien.
I have purposely not listed any of my favorite LDS authors, nor any of the books I’ve loved as an adult. Don’t want to give away everything with this very first hint!
Before you forget, go enter to win the $25 Amazon Gift Card!
Dear LDS Publisher,
Did you know that some of your posts are disappearing? Most specifically, the post about MY book? And also other book spotlight posts? What’s up with that?
Why, yes, I did know that. Thank you for noticing.
They’ve all moved over to the New LDS Fiction site at www.newldsfiction.com.
Most of them moved over smoothly, with comments and star ratings intact. I’m in the process of making sure they all made it over and that even the earliest posts have the newer post format with the ability to click a star rating for them. Currently, I’m in 2011 and working backwards in time.
Go check and see if your post is there. If it’s not or if it needs updating, send an email.
The Whitney Awards Banquet is this weekend! And after working with hundreds of top-notch, internationally renowned, elite fashion designers, I’ve narrowed it down to three.
I like this one because blue definitely sets off my hair, which is my best feature. And I already have glasses frames to match. I would wear this outfit exactly as is, but with my hair flowing down below the absolutely striking hat.
I like this one because my eyes are green. And also it has a fashion-forward feel to it. Plus, if anyone annoys me, I can turn my head quickly and smack them with my hat—then pretend it was an accident.
This is the one I’m sort of leaning toward because I lurve the colors. Plus I have trouble with my blood sugar so if I get hungry, I can have a snack.
But I’d wear these shoes.
So what do you think??? Please give feedback and tell me which one to pick in the comments below. I NEED your help because the last thing I want is to look like a fashion fool at the banquet!
…right this very minute! *
Okay, maybe not THIS exact minute but very soon.
There are going to be some MAJOR changes here on LDS Publisher over the next month. (Lots of changes that may even change the course of history.) I’ll be making announcements every couple of days but the first one is:
So, remember that Christmas story contest I held last year that I’ve never gotten around to posting comments on or sending out promised evaluations? Yeh, that one.
Well, it was the last one. We won’t be doing those here anymore. Sorry. And I can’t even say I’ll eventually get those evals to you. It just takes a lot of time and my day job is keeping me pretty busy. So if any of you want to go back and offer your own evals and comments on those stories, go right ahead. (The authors will appreciate it—and so will I.)
Okay, so even though I’m admitting to being a major slacker, I do want to create a THIRD AND FINAL Christmas story anthology for release this fall. The winners of the contest are automatically in this new anthology. But I need about 10 more stories. A few I’ll pull from the contest but I’m open to looking at new stories for inclusion. They won’t be posted here on the website and they won’t be voted on, but I will read them and get back to you by the end of the summer.
If you’re interested, here are the details:
Please follow these guidelines to the letter! For best practices, you can read through this post and follow those very detailed guidelines. Just remember, no posting, no winners announced, no evals.
*To help get you in the mood: We Need a Little Christmas
I have no idea what happened to all the images of the book covers…
Hopefully, the Internet gremlins will return them soon.
I know you’re waiting to hear about the winners of the book cover contest and who won the monthly book giveaway prizes.
I’m sorry. An issue popped up suddenly in another part of my life and this is honestly the first time I’ve had even a minute to sit down and put my fingers to a keyboard in the past 48 hours.
I think I will be able find some time later this afternoon, but for sure on Saturday, to count the votes and announce the winners.
Thank you for being patient and understanding.
LDSP
I didn’t realize this before but the free Survey Monkey tops out at 100 votes and we’re already at 103. Unfortunately, it will cost over $200 to upgrade to their lowest priced option.
NOT.
I’m closing the voting link. Give me a few minutes to come up with another option.
Update at 3:17 p.m.: New polling widget installed. Voting resumed. If you’ve already voted using the Survey Monkey poll, please do not vote again.
Update at 5:13 p.m.: We’ll try this one more time. The blogpoll widget disappeared into the ether somewhere. Fortunately, I did have it up on my screen and had refreshed it 2 minutes before it disappeared so I have the vote counts. Nothing lost. No need to vote again. I have a new pollcode widget now and it should work better because it actually has you create an account with a dashboard and everything where it stores you widget code.
Hunter, the sixth book of the Silver Series, is about Dray, a werewolf who feels trapped and alone in his small farming town. Dray’s world is shaken when a cute girl shows up the same time as a vengeful wild werewolf pack. With Jaze’s help, Dray fights to protect his town, but when Jaze is in trouble, Dray puts everything on the line to help the werewolves who changed his life.
Hunter is about finding the courage to step into the unknown. It is a story of risking life for love, and discovering the truth about one’s self in the heart of adversity.
Title: Hunter (Silver Series #6)
Author: Cheree Alsop
Publisher: CreateSpace (Self)
Release Date: January 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1482009361
Size: 204 pages, 5×8, softcover
Genre: YA Paranormal
Silver Series: Silver (bk 1), Black (bk 2), Crimson (bk 3), Violet (bk 4), Azure (bk 5)
Friends, some of you may know that I converted from a Facebook profile to a Facebook fan page a few months ago. My lovely assistant told me I should do that.
I didn’t realize (nor did she) that this step would not allow me to follow you on a news feed. 🙁
Please, if you were my Facebook friend before, come back and be my friend again. Even though I don’t comment much, I do enjoy seeing your writing news. Following you as a friend also helps me know when you have a new book out so I can add it to my site. I will try not to post too much crossover info between my profile and my page, so follow me in both places.
Also, I’m just a little bit challenged technically so please be patient if it seems to take a long time for me to respond to you on Facebook. I will try to respond to your messages, your friend requests, and any requests for me to like your fan page but it may not be immediate.
My new Facebook profile is here: http://www.facebook.com/lds.publisher.1?ref=tn_tnmn
…I’m having a bit of a personal apocalypse right now and it’s affecting my ability to get to the computer for any length of time.
I know I promised to post the story contest winners TODAY, and I will.
Please be patient. It likely won’t be until late afternoon.
Sorry.
Voting for the 2012 Christmas Story Contest ended at midnight last night. Thank you to everyone who voted.
You may still leave comments about what you liked and what worked for you in the stories. All comments enter you to win one of the books in the sidebar.
(I apologize ahead of time if the Mayan’s nix that. I didn’t plan it that way but I need a full day to tally the votes, make my final decisions, and prepare the post.)
P.S. The winners of the Spread the Word contest were Jane D. and Michael Y. Check your email!
Just a few more weeks left to 2012—and it’s time to double check and make sure I have your book on my list here at ldspublisher.com.
Then I want to make sure your book has a spotlight post here on this website.
Go check the sidebar under “2012 FICTION.” Yes, you’ll have to scroll down a bit. There are still a few titles that will be released between today and the end of this year. They won’t be on the list yet. But with that exception, this listing is as complete as I can get it on my own.
If not, click this link to see what I need to create your spotlight post.
(Or use the menu tabs: ABOUT > HOW-TO EXTRAS > LIST YOUR BOOK)
If your book is coming out in the next three weeks, send me an email about that too.
Just in case it’s not on my list already.
And send me an email if your book is coming out in the first quarter of 2013,
so I can get a jump-start on next year’s posts.
You can also send an email if there’s a typo, or your book’s link is broken.
And while you’re doing all that emailing, don’t forget to send in your Whitney Award nominations. The clock is ticking on that, as well.
I ran across this article, 11 Things Not to Do Before Your Book Launch by M.J. Rose, last month. I’m not promoting her book because I haven’t read it, but these 11 tips are pretty good. Go read them, then come back here. I’ll wait.
One of the tips that I feel strongly about and regularly expound from a soapbox is this one:
10. Don’t put the “buy the book” links on an inside page of your website where no one can see them or hide them in a corner — it should never take more than 2 seconds for someone to figure out how to buy your book. It is not crass to make it clear how to buy the book that no one has ever heard of before and that you are trying to sell.
I spend a lot of time tracking down fiction by LDS authors for this site and trying to find links to author websites or blogs. When I do finally find a site, often there is NO—as in zip, zilch, nada— information about their book(s) on it!
That just makes my brain stutter.
I know I mention this a lot, but seriously, from the number of authors who are doing this wrong, I need to mention it AGAIN.
Put cover images in the sidebar.
Add links to Amazon or Deseret Book or some place where the books can be purchased.
Make a post or a page with a large cover image, backliner text and other information to intrigue your reader, and put a link to it prominently in the sidebar or menu tab!
Seriously, with the ease of ebooks and self-publishing now, it’s a crowded field, and even more important that you do the minimal requirements to let people know that your book exists.
Hope you’re enjoying your day with good food, good friends & family.
Checkin’ It Twice & Other Heartwarming Holiday Tales—volume two from our Christmas Story Contests—is “officially” being released tomorrow, November 15th. I say “officially” because it’s been available for a couple of weeks now. But we really want to get the word out for our Release Day tomorrow.
Sixteen short stories by LDS authors, submitted to this site as part of previous Christmas Story contests. It’s 153 pages of holiday goodness! Some stories are sweet, some are funny. All help you get into the holiday spirit.
Checkin’ It Twice eBook
Available in five popular ebook formats (epub, mobi, prc, lrf, pdb) bundled into one zipped file.
Give the print book as a gift and keep the ebook for yourself!
Stolen Christmas eBook
The first of LDS Publisher’s Christmas anthologies (see details here).
Available in five popular ebook formats (epub, mobi, prc, lrf, pdb) bundled into one zipped file.
Santa Bingo
Get ready for the holidays with this Santa-themed Print & Play bingo game.
Also includes instructions for playing Memory & Go Fish.
This family edition comes as a printable, full-color .pdf file, and includes 12 Playing Sheets and 50 Image Cards.
Nativity Bingo
This nativity-themed Print & Play bingo game is a great Christmas Eve activity for the entire family.
The family edition comes as a printable, full-color .pdf file with 12 Playing Sheets and 50 Image Cards.
Also includes instructions for playing Memory and Go Fish, as well as an information sheet on the meanings behind the symbols of Christmas.
Holiday Word Puzzles
(Cover Image coming soon) Keep the kids entertained during Christmas break with this Christmas-themed Print & Play collection of word puzzles and games for the whole family.
Includes word searches, fallen phrases, double puzzles, crypt-o-grams, and more!
Venus has become immortal, just as she always wanted. In the process she hurt Zaren, lost Michael, and destroyed her family.
At least that’s what she believed.
Turns out Ramien, the god of her planets’ underworld, has her parents, and Michael.
To save them, Venus makes a deal. She must complete three trials. They seem impossible. They certainly won’t be easy. Worst of all, someone she loves won’t make it out alive.
Title: Beguiled *
Author: RaShelle Workman
Publisher: Polished Pen Press
Release Date: October 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0985318802
Size: 204 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, softcover
Genre: YA Sci-fi Romance
Immortal Essence Series: Exiled (book 1)
Caution: This book may contain objectionable language. Author says PG-13.
*Note: This book has multiple covers (as does the first book in the series), which is really confusing. This is the one for the ebook. I used it because I liked it better. Also, it’s the one posted on the author website. Just be aware that if you follow the Amazon link, the cover may look different.
LDSP: I love to support short story contests. Jolly Fish Press is hosting a contest for their authors. Go vote for your favorite story—and you might win a B&N Gift Card!
The season of horror-flicks, eccentric costumes, and rotting teeth is here. What better way to top it off than with spooky short stories from high caliber authors?
For your enjoyment, we’ve mustered our authors together to participate in our 2012 CREATIVE FRIGHTING CONTEST. Each author has written a short story that will either give you nightmares for months, or will have you laughing out loud as you flip on every light in your house. We only need you to read the stories then decide which one you think is best.
The author of the winning story will be given a gift card to Barnes & Noble. A randomly chosen voter (could be YOU!) will also be given a gift card to Barnes & Noble. Now isn’t that fun? Visit Jolly Fish Press to get reading and soak up the exhilarating (and terrifying) Halloween spirit.