Fall for the Book & “Above the Stars”

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My wonderful family and friends at the Fall for the Book event on Sept. 18, 2014. People got to see the cover of the new book, Above the Stars, and eat some of the food that came from Ivy’s kitchen and Violette’s Magic Forest.

Phillip’s Quest, Book II: Above the Stars will be released on Nov. 25, 2014. You may pre-order now through KickStarter. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1907899413/above-the-stars

Read about Stinky’s story, meet LLamont and LLemura, and a lizard who’s a wizard. New fantastical characters–bats and a unicorn! Join Phillip as he gets closer to Winterfrost Castle. The adventure continues.

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Reviews–An Author’s Life Blood

Did you know that a review from a reader is like a million dollars to an author? Well, only of they’re good, of course.  But still, a bad review helps an author learn what needs to be fixed. After you have sold a few books, especially through Amazon, it’s always nice to check in with the customer reviews to see what’s been written.  What I’ve found out though, is some people don’t know that the option is available. And, don’t realize how valuable that review is. So, boys and girls, ladies and gents, friends and family, here is “Writing the Review, 101.”

If you’ve ever bought anything on Amazon, then you should already have an account.  If you haven’f, good for you! No, really, Amazon is a great place to shop–especially for BOOKS or ebooks!  So, I will assume that you’re not part of the 10% of people in the US who has never bought anything on Amazon.  But, lets start at the beginning so:

  1. Go to your favorite SEARCH engine and type in, Amazon or Amazon.com or http://www.amazon.com or, if you want to go right to the source, click on the link: http://www.amazon.com/Phillips-Quest-Book-Winterfrost/dp/0615886930/  There! Phillip's Quest
  2. If you DON’T use the above link, that’s fine, once you’re in Amazon, just search for my name: belinda miller or Phillip’s Quest or in the near future, The Ragworts! Voila!
  3. You should be on the book page of Winterfrost.  That’s a good thing.
  4. Now, scroll, scroll, scroll to the bottom of the page where it says “Write a Customer Review.”
  5. Don’t forget the number of STARS! Hopefully, you’ll tap 5, but I realize not everyone loves Phillip.
  6. Add your review!  It can be one word like “Great,” or two words like “Really great,” or three words like “Not so great.”  It’s okay, I’ll still love you! Or a lengthy and profound review, that’s good too!
  7. The final step is to SUBMIT, and let Amazon do its magic.
  8. And then, there’s this:Image

The best review of all.

 

The Ragwort Chronicles

A very special kind of gnome, those Ragworts are. Everything about them is a bit peculiar.  Not natural farmers, like most of the gnomes of Twistedoak, the Ragworts of Brokenfell march to a different beat. It is rumored that Poppa Ragwort fought in the Blue Azuric Wars  Can you believe, a gnome soldier? They even live is a peculiar type of house.

If the doorway was the mouth, then the windows were the eyes. Nonna Ragwort, Poppa’s wife, made curtains that made the windows look like they had eyelids. At night, candles were lit and put in the windows of the house. As the town gnomes passed by the house, they would tell stories about how the “eyes” of the house followed them. At Halloween, the little ones would dare each other to make faces at the house. Besides the carved out “eyes,” this old stone dwarf wore a helmet. The shape of the helmet made a perfectly good roof. As odd looking as the house was, it was made it warm and comfortable by Nonna Ragwort.

Those Ragworts…