Tara of Tara Sparling writes is an established writer and award-winning blogger from Ireland.
From her About pages:
Tara writes fiction and screenplays. Originally from the west of Ireland, she now lives in Dublin. She spends all of her spare time with words. The writing of them and the reading of them…
…This blog offers a reader’s perspective on traditional and indie/self-publishing, book sales and genre trends, writing and publishing follies, marketing tips, author success stories and spectacular failures.
Tara raises an excellent point in this post from June, a topic I have also blogged about. Check it out:
At last, Calmer Girls II:Calmer Secrets is finished. Yippee!
What I mean by finished is that it is out of my hands and into my first readers’ hands. Once I receive feedback and make any changes from their suggestions (and eagle eyes), the manuscript will be submitted to my editor.
Because I’ve been consumed recently with its completion, many things have fallen by the wayside around here. So I need to take a breather.
What I mean by taking a breather is not exactly a breather at all, except when it comes to my blog. I must begin getting my surroundings back in ship-shape: tackle the freakishly giant dust bunnies multiplying as I type this, start digging into the mountain of laundry piled up from neglect, and get busy on dozens of other tasks I’ve been actively ignoring.
Once I see I’m making headway, I’ll be back! In the meantime, below is the info for the upcoming Signing Event in my area. Also there’s only one week left until the Calmer Girls Paperback Giveaway ends. You can enter for your chance to win here.
Does anyone (~ GROAN ~) despise housework as much as I do? 😦
The Launch included an introduction and bio, a short author reading of an excerpt from Calmer Girls, question period, and sale and signing of books.
I wish to bestow a huge thank-you to everyone who took time out of their Saturday to attend. It meant the world to me. Several of you even drove from out of town to be there, and for that I am forever grateful. ❤
I also wish to thank Jewel S. Cousens, B.A., M.L.S., NL Librarian with the A.C. Hunter Public Library, Arts & Culture Centre, for all of her valuable assistance, as well as her insight and suggestions for future promotions. Ms. Cousens was happy to tell us that interest in Newfoundland and Labrador books has grown in recent years and continues to grow.
Special appreciation to my husband and family for everything you did to make this past weekend one I will never forget.
I hope you enjoy the photos and the slide show I’ve shared below.
Reading Intent Listeners 🙂Answering QuestionsSigning BooksCatching up after the Launch with a Scotiabank bud!
I’ve been a certified sofa spud all weekend due to a bout of illness, but I have company. Her name is Maisie.
Does this photo of her remind you of anyone?
Our Maisie in her usual nap pose
For those of you who are “old codgers”* like moi, you might be reminded of Dagwood Bumstead from Chic Young’s comic strip Blondie:
Or it might make you think of this guy, another legendary comic-strip couch potato:
Andy Capp by Reg Smythe
I think I’ll go with the latter.
“Andy Cat”
*Codger – derived from the expression: coffin dodger. You learn something new every day!
On another note, there is still time left to enter my Calmer Girls Giveaway. This one is for US only but next week I will be hosting one for everyone with Goodreads.
Check it out:
Enter my #AmazonGiveaway for Calmer Girls! Paperback version – NoPurchNecessary/US only: This event has ended.
Fellow author Lisa D. Montanino from Accidental Bohemian interviewed me a few weeks back, and yesterday she shared it on her blog. To access, click the link at the end of this post. A huge and appreciative thank you, Lisa!
I couldn’t resist snapping these photos yesterday. Yes, I fully confess it felt special, and a little surreal, to see my new books hanging out with other books at my house.
dedication 🙂
FYI: Next week I will return to my usual blogging content of photography, the adventures of Maisie & Vivian, general writing and poetry, and everything Newfoundland. Sincere thanks to those of you who did patiently bear with me through my book’s release.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone. ❤
“Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.” ~Bill Watterson
Barbara Vitelli is a book reviewer and bloggerat Book Club Momhere on WordPress. She also shares author interviews, indie author profiles and blogging advice.
In addition to all of that, Barbara is a book-clubber, an avid reviewer on GoodReads, and she has over five thousand followers on Twitter.
I chose the following post from her lovely blog, not because it is her most recent, but because I appreciate that she reviews the well-loved classics by famous authors as well as newer selections by current and lesser-known authors.
This gorgeous convertible is the vintage car 18-year-old Ben Swift drives in my YA novel, Calmer Girls. It belongs to his dad but he gets to borrow it often.
Interesting trivia: Out of 69,176 T-Birds built in 1966, 5049 were convertibles. This generation of the Thunderbird played a starring role in the TV series Highlander and was also in the 1991 movie Thelma and Louise.
By the way…good news! Calmer Girls is now available in paperback, as well as e-book, on Amazon.
What does a true-blue introvert do when her debut novel is coming out the next day?
Why, she flees the country, of course!
Yep. On Wednesday, hubs and I will fly away to a warmer, sunnier clime for a little rest and recreation. Truth is, this long-overdue vacation with family has been planned since early last fall, when I didn’t know the Calmer Girls release date yet.
Murphy’s Law took over then, making sure that out of the fifty-two weeks in a year, the release had to take place during the same week I’m missing in action, on the day after I get there!
Oh well, there isn’t a thing to do about it, only keep abreast of the event via the “interwebs” and if necessary, emails and phone calls. Smart phones are wonderful things, aren’t they? I won’t be able to take a complete holiday from technology like I usually do when I go down south, but I suppose that’s the trade-off (and a cool and understandable one at that) when one has a novel published.
There will be plenty of time to work on marketing when we return. At that time I’ll look into hosting a giveaway, and as the weather improves, there will be a book-signing to plan. It’s all good.
On another note, I’m sharing a childhood picture today.
Already a hardcore bookworm at 11 yrs. old
Yes, I know it’s only a Charlie Brown Peanuts book but (besides the fact that I consider Charles M. Schulz brilliant) it was still a book to bury my nose in so I wouldn’t have to socialize at an extended family gathering. So shy and introverted, I couldn’t even bring myself to look at my aunt, the photographer. Not much has changed; I still prefer to be on the other side of the camera. 🙂
If you knew my granddaughter, you would not believe the resemblance.
~ Hey! I just realized what my long-lost natural hair colour was! ~
See you all again when I get back. In the meantime, please check out my new Author home page, and if you are so inclined, like me on my new Author Facebook page.
Quicker than I had anticipated, Calmer Girls has been prelisted and is now available to pre-order on Amazon.
After moving to the city of St. John’s, sixteen-year-old Samantha Cross meets a boy with beautiful brown eyes—eyes that focus on her sister, Veronica. As Samantha falls in love with her sister’s boyfriend, one thing becomes clear: One of the Cross sisters is in for a broken heart.
Please note: At this time, the book is available for pre-order in e-book form only. When the book is officially released on March 24th, the paperback will then become available.
Some of you have expressed an interest in the origins of the cover art.
Award-winning Fiona Jayde Media did the beautiful artwork for Calmer Girls. I couldn’t be more pleased with my publisher for acquiring the artist, along with everything they’ve done and are still doing in working with me to bring my book to light.
And of course, many thanks again to all who gave me the moral support through this blog to continue on my writing journey. Before the book’s release, I’ll return to this topic to provide a bit more background to the setting of Calmer Girls.
Things are a little hectic here for me at the moment and I will be away from my blog for a few days, so I have closed comments for this post. And next time? There are a few new photos I’m looking forward to sharing with you. 🙂
The release date has been set for March 24th. I’m not sure exactly when, but a few weeks before that date, it will be pre-listed on Amazon. I will post an update when that happens for anyone who would like to pre-order a copy.
I love the cover art. Excited and a tad emotional! 🙂
Jennifer's Journal 