The Masquerade Crew

Buffer Tell everyone a little bit about yourself. I live with two cats and love live music. I’d love to start a collection of skulls, but it would take too much space. I need a dose of chocolate, coffee, and reading, in no specific order, every day. Who are some of your favorite authors? Books? In no specific order:  Jane Timm Baxter, Elyse Draper, Alice Walker, Elizabeth A. Lynn, Manda Scott, Patricia Cornwell, Kelley Armstrong, Sarah Dreher.  Books: ‘In The Darkness, Hunting’ by Janrae Frank; ‘Daughters of Copper Woman’ by Anne Cameron; ‘The Colour Purple’ by Alice Walker; ‘Sunshine’ by Robin McKinney; ‘The Historian’ by Elizabeth Kostova; ‘The Northern Girl’ by Elizabeth A. Lynn; ‘I Am Morte’ (short story) by Elyse Draper. What are your favorite genres of books to read? I read many genres, but the addition of a vampire, a werewolf, some mind-reading or some extraordinary beings, is likely to increase my interest. Over the years, I learnt that the...

Buffer ILLUMINATE-ALIVE, SHE CRIED By Jamie Haden Synopsis: Some say the concept of rebirth is simply a metaphor for living a better life, a holier life. For seventeen-year old Talisa Santiago, such a resurrection is anything but a metaphor. It is her reality.

Buffer What if one of your tweets could be seen by 10,000 people or more? Since most of our traffic here at The Masquerade Crew comes from tweets and retweets, I hope I don't have to convince you of the power of a tweet. Some people have the power to reach an audience with one tweet. For others, it takes a host of retweets. In either case, there is power behind that little bird.

Buffer Night Sighs By Emma Meade Genre: Paranormal Romance Book Synopsis It's good to be alive...when you're dead! Meet Alex & Tristan, modern star-crossed lovers of the supernatural variety. Alex is running-on-empty, one year on from the death of her fiancé, and the only thing that keeps her going is her romance with the young vampire Tristan. Tristan, meanwhile has a serious obsession with Bruce Springsteen, and is battling a 'can't live without you' sort of love for Alex. He's trying to persuade her to come over to the dark side but so far she's resisting his efforts. So come and sing along to Tristan's band, The Dead Beats, the hottest group in London right now, and walk with Alex as she teeters between this life and the next. Because when you're around Tristan, you'll see, how much fun it is to be alive when you're dead.... Night Sighs is an adult paranormal romance, following the relationship & advent...

Buffer TWIN SPIES and the Destiny of Earth Genre : Juvenile Fiction Book Synopsis : This is an Action and Adventure story of a 14 year old twin Brother and Sister spies, who save the world from Martians. As twin spies try to stop the chaos caused by Martians, a deadly countdown is ticking. Can they save the human race? Will they even have time to save themselves? Read this intriguing and romantic mystery to find out.

Buffer A lot of writers dread the thought of marketing their book, but in this new age of publishing, all writers need to market their books (unless your name is Stephen King). Whether you're traditionally published, self-published, or somewhere in between in one of the various levels of Indie, you will most likely have to market your book. Otherwise, it will not sell. But how?

Buffer The following is syndicated from ilanawaters.com and is posted here with permission. Stanley Delacourt’s First Interview! Stanley: “Um, is this thing on?” Recently, character interviews have become very popular on blogs and websites. This concept is exactly what it sounds like–a character from a work of fiction holds a question-and-answer session, hosted by a professional. So imagine how excited Stanley (from The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt: Book I of Hartlandia ) was when he got invited on the “Tomorrow Show” with host Philbus Phil! I know, I know–I couldn’t believe it either. So without further ado, here is a transcript of Stanley’s interview about his MG fantasy book: The Tomorrow Show with host Philbus Phil

Buffer The New Death and others Written by James Hutchings Genre: Flash Fiction, Fantasy Book Synopsis Death gets a roommate... An electronic Pope faces a difficult theological question... A wicked vizier makes a terrible bargain... 44 stories. 19 poems. No sparkly vampires. There's a thin line between genius and insanity, and James Hutchings has just crossed it—but from which direction?

Buffer Usually we read the differences between Indie and Traditional Publishing, and there are some very stark differences. But that doesn't mean we as Indies can't learn from the big guys. They do some things right. Otherwise they wouldn't have lasted as long as they have. Perhaps this isn't a revolutionary idea, but it was kind of a brainstorm for me, and I don't think I've read this tip quite expressed like how I'm about to put it.

Buffer Tell everyone a little bit about yourself. I’m a 31-year-old blind individual. I graduated from college in 2012 with a degree in English and a minor in history. I’m an aspiring writer and naturally would love to be published one day. And on top of being a wannabe writer, I enjoy books. I probably read more than a hundred books each year. It’s one of the reasons why I started reviewing books. I figured I read so many, I might as well share my opinion about them!

Buffer OMAR Written by Craig O. Thompson Genre: Suspense Thriller Book Synopsis Unknown to all but a secret, select few, in 1995 two early 20th Century icons collided with a world reaching into the new millennium--and the beginning of a wave of world-wide terrorism was set into motion. Oceanographer, Dr. Cary Parker, challenged the terrorists on his own turf--and what followed was an adventure of legendary proportions.

Buffer Tell everyone a little bit about yourself. Hi, I am a married mum to two gorgeous little girls, Hayley age 5, and Leah age 1. I have been married to my husband Peter for 8 years. I enjoy reading and am a proper book worm, and I also enjoy spending time with my family and also watching movies, preferably horror movies as they are my fave.

Buffer Like Clockwork A GODSPEED Giveaway February Grace here…and I am thankful to the Masquerade Crew for the opportunity to guest post. Recently I wrote a post on my own blog about my decision to roll the price on my first novel, a literary romance/steampunk hybrid called GODSPEED, back to 99 cents and my reasons for doing so. They were very personal reasons, and if you’re interested you can check out the whole post there.

Buffer We're working on an anthology of short stories based upon a certain theme. My goal is to have them published on Amazon by the end of the year. We'll see if we can finish it. There's no charge to submit a story, and if your story is picked up, there's still no charge. A team of volunteers will provide a wide range of services: beta reading, developmental editing, copy editing, ebook formatting, cover design, and marketing. These services will be compensated by a share of the royalties and/or promotion via The Masquerade Crew.

Buffer If all I had to do was assign a number (1 - 5) and not actually write something constructive, I could rate several books a week. Rating is the easy part. Reviewing is more difficult. That's what I've learned from doing book reviews for a year now.

Buffer Tell everyone a little bit about yourself. I am a 27-year-old mom of two amateur nail artists who lives in Atlanta, GA. I did attend GA State for Journalism but I realized that life was meant to be artistic, so nails became my canvas. I also write for a Harry Potter news website  HPSupporters.com  and I love it!!!

Buffer Tell everyone a little bit about yourself. Ever since I picked up a book and realized what it was, I've loved to read. From Enid Blyton and the St Claire and Mallory Towers series, to RL Stine's more gruesome tales, I've had a love affair with books since before I can even remember.  It seems only correct that I'm a fledgling writer, trying to make my own stamp in the literary world. But no matter what I write, I'll always love the bliss of a good story. Of sinking into the tale and feeling as though -and sometimes wishing it was- reality! Especially where hunky werewolves are concerned! Lol. 

Buffer The following is syndicated from The Mad Reviewer and is posted here with permission. Follow Carrie on Twitter: @TheMadReviewer

Buffer Last month I asked for volunteers to edit my short story, The Watch . Starting with this post, I'm going to display the results of the edits. Afterwards I want to compare the edits, adding my own personal comments. I would love to hear your thoughts about these edits. Do you agree with them? Are there some missing? (There are more edits to come, so other volunteer editors may have picked up different things.) May this be a learning experience for all of us.

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. OK, I'm completely changing gears. Back in the spring I blogged about a short story writing contest that would lead to the publishing of an anthology, and there was prize money involved. To read about it, click HERE . The ultimate goal was always to publish. The contest was simply a way to make it fun. And the prize money was put forth in order to attract attention and get people moving.

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. Outsystem An Aeon 14 Novel (Volume 1) By Michael Cooper

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. Squirrelly A Short Story By Sharon Flood Twitter: @moonwalker3 Website: HERE

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. A Dollar Makes a Difference By Melissa McEntee

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. Old Bones Written by Ian Roberts Genre: Historical Romance Book Synopsis Old Bones' is a historical romance within a tale of political struggle, and celebrates the determination, organisation and victory of the communities that united to prevent Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists marching through the East End of London, in 1936.

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The Funeral by JeanNicole Rivers Twitter: @JeanNicole19 Website: HERE For the first time in this house, the mood was somber after a funeral. In this family funerals were usually a bittersweet occasion. Beloved elders passed on and the family embraced the grieving process necessary to nurse the earthly loss, but celebrated the transcendence into something far more exquisite than anything in this realm. Aunts, cousins, uncles, nephews, sisters, brother and nieces would come together, coordinating trips to the airport to extract multiple family members in one journey. Despite the death, funerals were a time for family to come together and wash away the time and distance that individual endeavors had put between them. They laughed and ate and drank and poured over good memories. Happy to be together and sad to part ways, was the recurring theme of these reunions, but this funeral was different. Lou...

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. POSSUM by Eric Laing Twitter: @JEricLaing Website: HERE I moved South, against the grain. Against the oncoming and fast-moving front of life, the tide of weathered hopefuls as thick as wet wind lapping off the sea. With each passing they clung to my coat. Bright beads, I shook them off. Such hope was for the living. I pressed on.

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The following is syndicated from the blog of JeanNicole Rivers and is posted here with permission. If you are a writer?an actor, a painter or even a teacher for that matter you know how it feels to be frustrated with your work, everyone does. I can?t speak for everyone else but as a writer I feel even more frustrated because there are no screaming kids, no condescending director, absolutely no one to be frustrated with except yourself and an inanimate object, the computer. Usually, frustration sets in at those times when it is just you and the computer and you are staring at a page full of words that do not make sense or a page of no words while you wrestle with your brain in an attempt for it to string together one relatively cognizant thought. There are many solutions, drink a bottle of scotch, eat an entire pint of cookies and cream (both of these are personal favorites, just don?t do them at the s...

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The following is syndicated from WriteBackwards and is posted here with permission. I learned a long time ago to surround myself with positive people. If you are negative, full of anger, mean or just downright pessimistic, I don’t need you in my life! Hub’s Living Conditions In Albania

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The following is syndicated from Jonathan C. Gillespie's Blog and is posted here with permission. I wrestled with the key term in this post, but the word “partnership” struck me as the most appropriate. Simply put, as a start-up independent publisher I have been reminded again and again the advantages of outsourcing some of the heavy lifting. So I’m going to encourage you to do the same thing, and explain why. From a business standpoint, the term applied to the many competent folks I’m working with might be “contractor”, but I don’t view the relationships I’ve established in such detached terms. “Contractor” suggests that I will buy their services, get what I need, then go my merry way. That’s not the extent of my involvement. I want them to achieve success, too, and I want them to be as fired-up about my work as I am.

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The following is syndicated from Janet Wrenn's Blog and is posted here with permission. Aspire and Inspire - Meet Mark Rice, Author of Metallic Dreams Meet Mark Rice, author of Metallic Dreams . Born and bred in Scotland, he grew up immersed in reading, writing, music, swimming and fighting (sometimes in dojos and rings, but often elsewhere). It has come to be legend that he sold his soul to the devil at a Scottish crossroads in 2006, in exchange for literary flair. Or he just worked long and hard at the craft of writing stories. One of those statements is true, which do you believe?

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The following is syndicated from Writer Off The Leash and is posted here with permission. " Sneaking up on it sometimes helps: I've found I can be very productive for an hour before dinner, because there obviously isn't enough time to really do anything, so I can tell myself I'm just screwing around. " ~ Michael Crichton

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. How To Blog A Book Written by Nina Amir Genre: Non-Fiction Book Synopsis How to Blog a Book teaches you how to create a blogged book with a well-honed and uniquely angled subject and targeted posts--and how to build the audience necessary to convince agents and publishers to make your blog into a book. Inside you'll find: Basic information on how to set up your blog and the essential plug-ins and other options necessary to get the most out of each post Steps for writing a book easily from scratch using blog posts Advice on how to write blog posts Tips on gaining visibility and promoting your work both online and off Tools for driving traffic to your blog Information on how to monetize an existing blog into a book or other types of products Profiles with authors who received blog-to-book deals Author Nina Amir explains how writing a book in cyberspace allows you to get your b...

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. Dark Steps Written by Martin Pond Genre: Horror, Short Stories Book Synopsis A collection of short stories, a series of twist endings, and one author's dark steps back into writing... A teenage boy waits to take a sinister test he may or may not pass; a new father hears a strange voice on his daughter's baby monitor; a poisoner's best-laid plans go terribly astray; an enigmatic man gets as close to death as he can; a young boy wonders why Christmas just doesn't feel right this year; after the year from hell, a man is driven to extreme measures; a dying man reveals a black secret to his son; and, after four years in limbo, a man's life starts to unravel... These dark tales of the unexpected are for fans of the short fiction of Stephen King, David Morrell and Dean Koontz. Step outside of the every day and take dark steps into a shadowy place...

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. I wish I could sit around all day and read. There are various reasons why this isn't the case, some of them totally in my control. Others not so much. What I can do most days is listen to an audio book for several hours. Whether it be while doing chores around the home, or at my night job—I work at a hotel. Multi-tasking is one way to get your books read. However, most Indies don't have audio versions of their books. What am I to do? Well, there's a fairly inexpensive option.

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The following is syndicated from the blog of JeanNicole Rivers and is posted here with permission. The brave author is not afraid to allow their characters to speak their minds regardless of how bigoted, prejudice, psychopathic, sadistic or self-righteous that mind is in the moment. I am not a brave author, not yet. Our most beloved characters are always the strongest characters. Some are strong with good and love and some are strong with bad and hate and any variety of concepts and emotions in between, nonetheless they are strong. The brave author is not afraid of letting his character call people n*gg*rs or fatties or any other long list of derogatory names that we hear bestowed upon a particular group of people. The brave author is not afraid of allowing her characters to trample the name of God or partake in heinous activity that the average person would shun outright and completely. I am not...

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. This is a continuation of the series of posts that started with THIS ONE . Check it out if you haven't. The previous post in this series officially announced the name and URL of the new site, Indie Book Exchange . I hope everyone's had a chance to take a look.

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The following is syndicated from Writing Off the Rails and is posted here with permission. Yes, this is the glory of my GMail inbox. There’s no mail, it takes up no space and I’m free to focus on real tasks instead of e-mail inertia.

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. This is a continuation of the series of posts that started with THIS ONE . Check it out if you haven't. After many days and hours at my computer, I'm finally ready to publicly release the new site (though it's far from complete—let's call it public beta). Without further ado ...

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Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. Destiny Unveiled By Laura Deluca Genre: YA Paranormal Synopsis : Gabriella and Darron thought their magickal battle was over when they defeated the evil warlock, Richard. When her Aunt Donna seeks Gabriella's help in rescuing her catatonic daughter from the Dark Coven, Gabriella discovers that her cousin holds a power within her that would be catastrophic in the hands of the evil witches. Gabriella's coven sets out on a journey that may be their last. Along the way, they meet new allies, face devastating treachery, and battle not only the Dark Coven, but the darkness within themselves. When Gabriella finally comes face to face with the cousin she never knew existed, her true destiny is unveiled, and the fate of the mortal world is in her hands.