The Carus Chronicles

Today I'm going to share the TOP 5 supporting documents I  MUST HAVE for my writing process. They've helped keep my mind sane, when really I should've cracked. 5. Character tracking Excel spreadsheet I use an Excel spreadsheet to keep all my characters' names, nicknames, job titles, supernatural type, parents' names/lineage, physical description, personal tics, etc straight. Excel's sorting feature makes it super convenient to find characters and to also ensure I don't double up on my names. 4. Book Timeline:   Keep a timeline for your book(s), this is especially important for series. For example, if the first book is set for the beginning of May and the story spans about a month of time, the ending occurs around June. If book 2 picks up 6 months later, that means it starts at the beginning of December, and probably shouldn't have any heat waves (unless you're in the southern hemisphere) 3. Backstory Timeline:  It's als...

Remember last Tuesday when I did a surprise interview with Karilyn Bentley ? Well, today, I review her latest book, Devil Take Me . A demon attack… Reeling from a personal tragedy and abandoned by all she loves, the world's newest demon huntress, Gin Crawford, sinks into a deep despair. She’s forced back to reality by news of a large number of people committing suicide, all on the same night. Suspecting demon involvement, Gin must work with her sexy but estranged mentor Aidan Smythe to track who, or what, is behind the deaths. Leads to a new discovery… As they come closer to finding the culprit, they realize their employer, the Agency, is hiding its own secret, one which threatens Gin's very existence. New discoveries reveal that even those dedicated to eradicating evil can be bought. Can Gin and Smythe forgive each other and work together or will they fall under the demon's thrall? My Review! It's hard to review the fourth book of a series without gi...

By Beth Caudill When my friend Melissa Snark started the Zodiac Shifters series, I couldn’t wait to write an Aquarius story.  I have a February birthday and as a teenager, I read my horoscope religiously.  Sometimes for a good laugh and sometimes because I needed my life explained. Aquarius, an air sign despite being the Water Bearer, inspired me to write a shifter with wings.  Not dragons. I know everyone likes them, and I did bring one to my town of Willows Haven, but I wanted to play with some avian friends. I’ve always wanted to fly, more so through space but still flying is my ultimate dream. I can’t do it in real life, so writing about it is the next best thing. There are lots of predatory birds to choose from: eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls. After flipping through some books and a few youtube videos, I settled on the fastest bird—the Peregrine Falcon. The peregrine falcon can reach amazing speeds on a dive but is hampered in its maneuverability. Check ou...

First, we need to clarify the difference between boosting a post and creating an ad Boosting : Boosting is when you click the little blue button on an already published post on your page. It says, "Boost Post" like the image below. To boost or not to boost... PROS: * It's easier and quicker to set up. You make a FB post as you normally would (no fiddling with pixel dimensions and creating visuals with canva, paint, picaso or bannerfans). After the post is published on your page, you can choose to boost it. This requires you to click the boost button and complete a one page clickable form. I consider boosting to be "FB Marketing LITE." * After you boost your post, it will show up under your page's ads as well as your ad manager * If you've connected your instagram account to your ads manager, it will share it on your Instagram as well once boosted. CONS: * It has serious limitations when it comes to targeting, placement and scheduli...

I have a special treat today! ...AND her name is... Karilyn Bentley. Whenever this amazing author asks me to read her latest manuscript in her Demon Huntress Series, I drop everything to find out what Gindan  (Gin + Aidan) are up to next. I'm excited to have Karilyn on my blog today. Enjoy! KB: Hi J.C.! Thank you for having me on today! It's always a good time at your blog! I'm excited about the release of Devil Take Me, Gin Crawford's fourth adventure. Read on for some fun interview answers (featuring yours truly) as well as the blurb and excerpt. Enjoy! JC: Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from, what are your interests, how did you start writing?  KB: I'm originally from Texas, but now live in Colorado. I like to read, take my dogs for walks, hike in nature, play the piano, and occasionally paint. JC: Tell us about your upcoming/latest/new book.  KB: Devil Take Me is the fourth book in the urban fantasy Demon Huntress series and features ...

While finishing the edits on my third book in the Demon’s Witch Series, A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance, I noticed a comment in the margin of my manuscript. My editor asked what happened to Synn and Gavin? I’d left them swinging in the breeze, so as to speak. I decided to tie up the loose ends later. Right now, I had to run to the store to get baking potatoes for dinner. Trip to the store was uneventful. I bagged the potatoes and headed to the checkout counter. That’s where all hell broke loose. Synn careened around the edges of my mind, squealing to a stop. In my mind’s eye, I saw her petite body, hands fisted on hips, pixie face scrunched up and eyes blazing. “I’m not done.  My story has just begun.  You can’t end me with a few strokes of the keyboard.  I won’t stand for it.” She stamped her little foot.  Gavin with a grin on his face stood slightly behind her.  I shook my head in disbelief.  Oh, boy, bad timing. Wow, had I been at my keyboard this reve...

PART 1: GET THE EMBED CODE FROM AMAZON Step 1 : Go to Amazon.com and find your book's page.  Note: If you want to use Amazon Affiliate links, make sure you're logged into Amazon with the account associated with the Amazon Affiliate Program.  Step 2:  Click the <Embed> link. On the right hand side of the screen, under the buy now options, there's a little link that says, <Embed>.  Here it is a little closer. Step 3: Select "Embed on your site (HTML) You will get a screen that looks like the one below. You don't want the link, you want to embed the preview on your website. Click the second option (it defaults to the link option, so you have to click on the embed option every time). Step 4: Copy the embed code from the window. You can either use "CTRL + C" or right click on your mouse and select "COPY." If you're a Mac user, use "APPLE + C". PART 2: EMBED THE CODE ...