EBOOK GIVEAWAY - AHA! Contest

Celebrating the release of my first non-fiction book - ONE AUTHOR'S AHA MOMENTS - Writing Revelations with a Focus on the Young Adult Market - I am holding a contest to giveaway FIVE FREE EBOOKS.

LOGIN on the form below to see how you can enter.  There are many ways so you get more than one chance. The form calls for your email so winners will be notified. Your emails won't be used for ANY other reason.

Good luck to the entrants!

ABOUT THE BOOK
One Author’s Aha Moments by Jordan Dane is a 92-page book geared toward aspiring authors and has an emphasis on the Young Adult genre. These writing tips may also be helpful to experienced authors and those who write other genres. Jordan’s advice comes from her personal experiences on writing fiction for adult and teen markets and what has worked for her. Jordan hopes her book will kindle a fire in you to write—a passion worth pursuing.

Amazon (Kindle)
Barnes& Noble (Nook)

Bio:
Jordan Dane's gritty plots weave a tapestry of vivid settings, intrigue, and dark humor. Publishers Weekly named her debut thriller, No One Heard Her Scream, as a Best Book of 2008. This national bestseller and critically acclaimed author also writes Young Adult novels for Harlequin Teen. Jordan and her husband share their Texas residence with several lucky rescue animals.

Praise for Jordan Dane’s Young Adult Novels

"Adult thriller writer Jordan Dane pens a macabre and thoroughly eerie plot for In the Arms of Stone Angels. Dane's well-developed characters provide an authentic young adult exploration of guilt, loyalty, and belonging."
—Publishers Weekly

"Dane's On a Dark Wing is a great new young adult tale about death, love and starting over. It's an exciting mix that will remind readers of Bree Despain's The Lost Saint and Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers. Paranormal fans will love this. A compelling page turner."
—RT Magazine

ABOUT THE CONTEST
The contest will run from Tuesday, May 22nd to Saturday, June 30th. Deadline times, rules, and ways to enter are on the Rafflecopter form below. Winners will be selected using random.org. There are many ways to enter on this form.

This is a contest giveaway for EBOOKS ONLY. NO PRINT BOOKS will be awarded or shipped.

Entrants must have the ability to download the digital format onto an e-reader, their computer, or smart phone via AMAZON or B&N NOOK.

The apps for digital downloads are free at these online retailer sites if an entrant does not have an e-reader device. It is the entrant's responsibility to have the digital capability to download the prize if they win, otherwise they will be ineligible and the prize will be awarded to another entrant.

International entrants must have the ability to transact on the AMAZON or NOOK site wherever the digital e-book prize is being sold. The author will not be held responsible for any limitations of the AMAZON or NOOK global online system.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One Author's Aha Moments - My First Non-fiction Book

When I first sold in 2006 to HarperCollins in auction with my debut book and two others coming out in 2008, I've been excited about realizing my passion to write. Over the years I've shared my thoughts on blog posts, workshops (online and in person), magazine/newsletter articles, speaking engagements, local writers' groups, and through people who have contacted me directly through my website. This has been my way of "paying it forward" for all the kindnesses that other authors and the publishing industry has shown me. I feel truly blessed to be living my dream and found another way to enable other authors to hopefully do the same.

I've put together a collection of my writing epiphanies, my "Aha!" moments of things that have worked for me when writing for the adult thriller and YA markets. These thoughts come from my blog posts, handouts, magazine/newsletter articles, and various other sources over the years. My hope is that aspiring authors, with the dream to write, can find nuggets in this book that will help them take a step further in achieving their goal to get published.

Here is the cover reveal. The book should be out later in May 2012. Details to come soon!

Author Affirmations with Stuart Smalley

by Jordan Dane

“Because I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggoneit, people like me.”

Stuart Smalley, Saturday Night Live (Al Franken)

I’ll be on a panel at the Romance Writers of America annual conference in Anaheim in July – “The Care and Feeding of the Writer’s Soul.” Ever since I committed to doing it, I’ve been pondering my contribution and examining my own practices when it comes to nurturing my writer’s spirit.

But I wanted to open the topic up for discussion here to get your input. If you could create a box of affirmations for the writer, what would be your personal contribution?

On my computer I have been collecting sayings that have meant something to me over the years. These have come from author speaking engagements, emails, or things I’ve found online that inspired me enough to post it where I could see them every day. Affirmations can be reminders of author craft you want to repeat or they can be a way to keep a positive attitude or make progress in your career.

Here are a few sayings on my computer that mostly deal with author craft:

“Stick with the action.” Romance author Dana Taylor
When I muddled an intro action scene with back story, Dana wrote these words in an email after she critiqued the scene.

“Be there.” James Patterson
Patterson was a speaker at am RWA conference in 2004. He filled a ballroom, standing room only. By these two words he meant to put your reader into the scene using all their senses. He also said that he puts as much care into the first sentence of each chapter as he does the first line in any book. (I wonder if all the James Patterson(s) do this?)

“Trust the talent.” Robert Crais
I heard Crais present this on a video he sent via email in one of his newsletters. He talked at length about how he writes in constant fear, but that he trusts the talent that has brought him his success. It reminded me that all people have doubts. That’s human nature, but when you have a natural storyteller inside you, you should trust it.

“Get in, make your point, then get the hell out.” Robert Gregory Browne
Rob spelled this out when he explained ELLE on a blog post. Enter Late, Leave Early. The method is best explained by the TV show “Law & Order” where the scenes are sharp, concise, and don’t over-explain to slow pacing. The barest essentials of the scenes are captured to move the story along and a viewer’s mind fills in the gaps in action. The same works for books.

Here are a few that would be my contribution to keep a positive mental attitude:

“The next pair of eyeballs to see this proposal will be the ones to say, Yes!”

“I strive to be better with every book. My best story is always my next one.”

“I touch new readers with every story.”

“My books are unique because they are filtered through me and my personal experiences. I’m not in competition with anyone, except me, to be the best author I can be.”

Here are a few silly ones:

“I never get my page numbers wrong. I must be good at math.”

“When I kill people on paper, they stay dead. Booya!”

As for practices to keep me positive, I have a shredding ritual for any rejection to expel the negativity from my house. Try it. It’s liberating. When I complete any project, I also treat myself with something that isn’t food—time off, vacation, fun evening with friends or family, attend a book signing, buy a new outfit. I used to think that each positive step in my quest to become a published author was only a small part of a longer future—that celebrating too much is a distraction that can swell your head. But now I celebrate everything. Life’s too short not to cherish even the smallest of pleasures.

Please share your thoughts. What would you write and contribute to an author’s affirmation box? What practices do you have to keep your mind positive and your writer’s soul nourished?