Monday, June 28, 2010

Upcoming Events

{2 July} Apologies! My website is down at the moment due to a server crash.
The crash has also knocked out some of my graphics and images.
Please bear with me and come back soon!!
In the meantime, please check out some of my Articles and visit me at Heart Shaped Stones.

I'm feeling very authorish at the moment. I get to post some upcoming events that involve me and/or my book, A Piece of My Heart!

First of all, I want to say congratulations again to both Lisa Finch and Ashley Applebee who won signed copies of A Piece of My Heart during my recent visit with Long and Short Romance Reviews. The prize package also includes a 1 square foot plot of land in Ireland, which is part of a land preservation scheme through A Piece of Ireland, as well as a surprise gift. Not saying what it is, but let's say an intimate location to read my book with some candles and something sparkly in a glass would compliment your reading pleasure!

Mark your calendars for 2 July. That's this Friday! I will be interviewed at Heroines with Hearts. This is a relatively new site which is getting a lot of attention with authors and readers. Run by Toni Lynn, Debra St. John, Paula Martin and Ana Morgan, Heroines with Hearts focuses on romance novel that feature strong heroines and great storylines. I'm honored to have been asked to be included and can't wait to chat with the ladies. Please come by to see what we chatted about, and drop a comment and let me know what you thought of A Piece of My Heart, or just to say hello!

The week of 21 July, Sidolita, Donna, Linda, Audrey, Sandi, Joyce, Karyn and Carol at the Lovely Ladies Book Club in Rhode Island will be reading A Piece of My Heart and having a follow-up discussion. I know as part of their last book discussion, the group traveled to a nearby vineyard where part of the book was set to have their discussion. Maybe I can convince them to come to Ireland for the discussion of my book! Now, that would be something! Enjoy the book ladies. I can't wait to hear what you have to say.

My adventures aren't over with Long and Short Romance Reviews. They're celebrating their 3rd anniversary in August and I'll be part of the celebrations. They're giving away not one, not two, but THREE Barnes and Noble Nook ereaders!! More details to follow toward the end of July, but you will need to bookmark my website and come back for a treasure hunt in August. How fun will that be??

Also, I've started a new blog where I'm posting articles about writing and writing life. Articles will be posted every other weekend. The first article is called Researching a Setting-Specific Story, which deals with the top five aspects of writing stories with specific settings: Location, History, Culture and Tradition, Language, and People of the region in which you're setting your story. Recently published is an article called Blowing the Curtains. This article defines what we perceive as traditional romance, erotica and pornography, and explains the changing tides of public perception, expectation and attitudes toward sex in what we read. This article is featuring in the July edition of the Scribbles newsletter at the Central Coast Writers Group, a branch of the California Writers Club, which just celebrated their 100th year anniversary! You must be a member to read their newsletters, so if you're on the Central Coast of California, or born and raised there as I was, and are a writer, this group is invaluable!

My publishing schedule for articles currently looks like this, but is subject to change:

11 July - The Importance of Senses - We'll go beyond the basic six senses we're all familiar with (sight, sound, hearing, touch, taste and intuition) and talk about some of the interoceptive senses.

25 July - W5+H+M - These are the five W's in journalism used for basic information gathering, particularly in police investigations. This formula is especially helpful for writers of all fiction genre, not just thrillers.

8 August - Shaking Your Tree - We'll talk about how using your own family tree can help you define your writing, from name gathering to events in history.

22 August - The Fallacy of Writer's Block - We'll discuss the theory behind writer's block and how it really does exist.

Bookmark this blog and come back often to read the articles. I value any and all feedback, so click on the comments section and let me know what you thought of each topic. Let's have a discussion!

Last but not least, I'll be launching a newly designed author site soon, and to celebrate I'll be hosting a contest! You'll want to come back for that. The prize will be wonderful!

I'll have some other news coming up soon, but you'll have to come back to learn about that! It's all exciting though. Promise!!

I hope you're all enjoying the summer, wherever you are.

~ Kemberlee

Monday, June 14, 2010

Congratulations to Lisa and Ashley!!

Congratulations to Lisa Finch and Ashley Applebee. During my recent visit at Long and Short Reviews this last month we ran a couple of contests and Lisa and Ashley have won a signed copy of my book, A Piece of My Heart, a certificate of ownership of a square foot of land in Ireland from A Piece of Ireland, and a surprise gift!

I'd like to say a massive thanks to all the wonderful ladies at Long and Short Reviews. I had a brilliant time participating and meeting everyone. You have a great review and interview staff there.

While my interview and author spotlight are over, I'm still working with LASR as they gear up to celebrate their 3rd anniversary this August! They'll be giving away not one, not two, but THREE B&N Nook ereaders. They'll come preloaded with some wonderful books, including A Piece of My Heart.

They'll also be hosting a two day live chat 28 & 29 August from 9am to 9pm, EST. Yours truly will be hosting Sunday the 29th from 1pm EST, or 6-7pm Irish time. Mark these dates in your calendar and drop over to their newsgroup for the chat. You must be a member of the LASR group on Yahoo Groups to attend. It's free AND easy! And it will be loads of fun.

And when the time comes, don't forget to enter the contest to win one of those fabulous B&N Nook ereaders!

As always, I love hearing from readers, so just click the contact link above and drop me a note.

~ Kemberlee

Monday, June 07, 2010

My author spotlight this week

Please join me at Long and Short Reviews, as I'm the spotlight author for this week. We're hosting a contest there where the winner will get a copy of my book, a piece of Irish land, and a surprise gift...
http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR

I'm also posting a different article each day on their blog...
http://longandshortarchives.blogspot.com/

Day 1 - Researching A Setting-Specific Story (not just historical research, but location, culture, language, regional practice, etc)

Day 2 - The Importance of Senses (using other senses besides the basic five: scent, sight, touch, hear and taste.)

Day 3 - W5+H+M (who, what, where, when, why + how + motive)

Day 4 - Romance vs. Erotica: How Much Sex? (when romance becomes erotica and the change in the romance and erotica industries)

Day 5 - Shaking Your Tree (using your family tree for character names, story ideas or researching family documents as a way to research historical facts)

And while you're on their site, check out their review of A Piece of My Heart. Reviewer Camellia said: Kemberlee Shortland’s thorough character development and the world-rocking love scenes make A Piece of My Heart captivating, but most of all it is the long-suffering love that hides but abides, cries but never dies that makes this beautiful tapestry of a tale memorable.

Please come by and say hello!

~ Kemberlee