LUSH - a new Serial - by SL Baum

 Look for LUSH on AMAZON - 4/19/13

 

Bluebell has spent the last twelve years of her life at Training Tech, the government-run boarding school all children are required to attend. Now that she's seventeen she is fully prepared for Incorporation; a time when females and males are allowed to mingle again, for the first time since they were toddlers. It is also the day she must endure Citizen Branding - the mandatory searing of a mark into the flesh of the left wrist of all new Citizens. O for fertile, X for infertile. The fate of every Citizen, male or female, is determined by the results.

Bluebell knows that a Citizen’s duty is to live for the glory of Concord, just as she was taught. But the frantic dreams and hazy memories that haunt her make her different, and the questions she cannot deny threaten to turn her world upside down.

LUSH is the start of a Serial (not just a Series). As the beginning book it sets you up in the LUSH world and asks a lot of questions, many that are not immediately answered. The follow-up novel is due October 2013... where the story continues.

Soooooo - What does that mean... start of a Serial (not just a Series)??

Well, think of any Television Show... Can you watch it this week if you missed the last week (or two) and will it still make sense - or will you be lost because there was something last week that is vital to this week? Do story lines carry over and start on one episode, but aren't resolved for another episode or two?

Serials are series of television programs and that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arc that span entire season or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from traditional episodic television that relies on more stand-alone episodes. Serials keep the full nature of the story hidden and reveal elements episode by episode to keep viewers tuning in to learn more. (I paraphrased that from Wikipedia)

Examples of SERIAL TELEVISION
24
LOST
Heroes
True Blood

Examples of EPISODIC TELEVISION (a traditional series)
CSI
House
Fringe
E.R.

Yes the episodic shows still have continued story arcs at times - but for the most part they are wrapped up at the end of the hour (with occasional small cliff hangers).

THE IMMORTAL ONES - is a SERIES (it is episodic)
LUSH - is a SERIAL (it will be unfolding)

I am a believer in full disclaimer... the second book in the LUSH serial will be out in October of this year. If you'd rather buy the whole season of 24 on DVD than watch it a week at a time... you might want to wait (before I tangle you up in the LUSH world - C'mon - enter the web).

  

Ingtagram

 So... I'm on Instagram... Whenever I go to Telluride I'll post pictures :)

Username: slbaum

But, be warned, also lots of pictures of my day to day life...
kids
dogs
house
new shoes

You know how it is :D

My Oatmeal-Coconut-Choc.Chip-Toffee Cookies!

This was an experiment to stuff every cookie ingredient that I love into one batch of cookies... and it worked out pretty darn well (if I say so myself)!

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees...

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c butter (softened)
1/2 c butter flavor crisco (yup - just do it)
3/4 c packed brown sugar
3/4 c white sugar

Cream all of the above 4 ingredients together.

2 eggs + 1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla

Beat in the above 2 ingredients.

IN A SEPARATE BOWL (yes - again just do it)
2 c flour
1 1/2 c quick oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Mix those 4 together then add in:
1 c sweetened flaked coconut

Now... dump the dry ingredients bowl into the wet ingredients bowl and mix together
Then stir in:
1/2 c chocolate chips (in the picture I used white chocolate cuz that's all I had)
1/3 c toffee bits (I used Heath brand).

Mix again and then drop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or greased).
Bake for 15-17 minutes... just until golden. If they overcook they'll get hard as they cool :(

Makes 3+ dozen cookies.

Same Cover - Different Book

Sooooo... it seems I've joined a club. It's not very hard to get into this club. You can make yourself a member or somebody else can make you a tag along member (when they join up). I am a tag along. They forced me into it... I swear!

In March of this year - I decided to do a make-over for my series because I thought it needed a more cohesive feel. I searched through stock photo websites looking for images that I would just fall in love with... and I found one particular photographer that I kept coming back to. I'd see a photo (that had a license I could purchase), click on it, and it was almost always from the same person... it was meant to be! I did an internet search to see if the photos were used elsewhere (google has a very cool search feature and it will actually look for similar images), and I found no other books with those images. I decided to go with it... and the new cover for A Chance for Charity came to be. I was so happy with it (I still am)... so I immediately started to work on My Link in Time and then Of Fire and Brimstone.

Over the weekend an author/friend pointed this out to me...

"Is that Charity?" you ask. No... no, it's not. Well, the top one is... but the bottom one is Victoria (I did some investigating). We (Emily and I) both chose this girl to go on the front of our YA Paranormal stories about 17 year old girls... Victoria is 17... Charity is just masquerading as a 17 year old... (so I guess that means I chose a fitting picture - at least I know Emily agrees with my choice... cuz she made it too). I changed the eyes (to match Charity's startlingly pale blue ones). I also chose to keep the photo darker (she lightened it up)... I chose to photoshop the bird poo from the tree above the girl's hand (she kept it there)... I do like Emily's swirly things though... they're kinda cool. I also noticed that another cover on Emily's website is from the same photographer (I haven't used it - I just remember seeing it)... now I've got to keep up with her cover choices (so I don't willingly put myself in the Same Cover - Different Book club - again - but all by myself next time). 

So here's to my new club membership! I hope I don't get a bad reputation from being in it... you know like those ones in HS that nobody wanted to join... at least I have some company... there are lots of members.

And the Winners are...

First... THANK YOU - to all the people that entered the Giveaway. In anticipation of the release of the third full length novel in The Immortal Ones, I thought, I should host a giveaway!

So I went in search of some Swag... and found some cool stuff to offer up to the readers of my series.

Thank you for following The Immortal Ones.
Thank you for your interest in the series.
Thank you for supporting an Indie Writer!

If you left me a name - then I listed your name. If you only left an email - then you are listed with your email address. Congrats to the winners!

Package #3 - 5 winners
* Jerrilynn Atherton
* oxangel2003@gmail.com
* Mindy Shea
* l-d-davis@hotmail.com
* Jennifer Catz

Package #2
* Jamie Norton

Package #1
* Diana Santiago

Grand Prize
* Brittany Rice

* You will all need to email me with a mailing address
   so I can get your prizes to you ASAP
* You all have 2 days to email me - I must hear from you
   by noon (AZ time) Monday (or you will forfeit your prize
   and I will notify the next random person drawn)
* I will email the code for a free Smashwords.com download
   of Our Summer of Discontent as soon as the title is
   available on Smashwords - the code will only be
   valid for 48 hrs - if you do not redeem within the 48hrs
   then the prize is lost (forfeit).

Again... Thank you!
SL Baum
s.l.baum.novel(at)gmail(dot)com

*I will be emailing the winners with a copy of this information

Who doesn't love a GIVEAWAY ?!?

In celebration of the release of my new novel

Our Summer of Discontent (The Immortal Ones - Book Three)

I'm giving a nod to Charity (the girl who started it all). 

It's time to thank you... the readers... 

who love her as much as I do :)

Leave a comment on this post in the blog (you can choose to leave your email or wait until winners are announced) and then check back on August 25th to see who the winners are...

If you choose not to leave an email address in the comment section, and I do not hear from any of the winner(s) by August 27th - a new name will be drawn at random - and your prize will be forfeit.

Grand Prize

1 T-shirt (Men's Medium)

1 signed paperback (A Chance for Charity)

1 signed paperback (My Link in Time)

1 spiral notebook (Charity)

1 notepad (Charity)

1 key-chain (Charity)

2 Rubber Bracelets (The Immortal Ones)

1 e-copy of Our Summer of Discontent (upon release)

Package #1

1 signed paperback (A Chance for Charity)

1 signed paperback (My Link in Time)

1 spiral notebook (Charity)

1 notepad (Charity)

1 key-chain (Charity)

2 Rubber Bracelets (The Immortal Ones)

1 e-copy of Our Summer of Discontent (upon release)

Package #2

1 signed paperback (A Chance for Charity)

1 signed paperback (My Link in Time)

1 key-chain (Charity)

2 Rubber Bracelets (The Immortal Ones)

1 e-copy of Our Summer of Discontent (upon release)

Package #3 - FIVE winners will be chosen for this package

1 key-chain (Charity)

2 Rubber Bracelets (The Immortal Ones)

1 e-copy of Our Summer of Discontent (upon release)

**e-copy will be from Smashwords.com
and the download will expire 2 days after
the link is sent out to each winner**

The Scattered Thoughts that need to escape my head!

I am in the process of finishing the third book in my YA Paranormal series ... and I just got back from a family vacation. During the 9 days away I kept hoping that no good ideas would come to me while we were on vacation. Because I didn't want to lose the ideas and I didn't want to spend family time writing. But, about 7 days into it I woke up at 6:30 in the morning... while on vacation... in Key West... when I had been up quite late the night before... and all I could think about was the book.

The characters were talking in my head and going places and doing things and someone new even came into the story... all this was happening as I lay groggy in the hotel bed at 6:30. I think I lay there for at least an hour with all these thoughts running around my head before I fell back asleep. HORROR. I fell asleep before getting any of it down on paper. These thoughts are lost sometimes. But that day, thankfully, they weren't.

When I woke up again and the kids and I were getting ready to go down to the beach, I grabbed the hotel notepad and pen and then I shoved them down into the beach bag. As soon as we were settled into our chairs, hubby settled himself at the poolside bar (for lunch without battling the seagulls), I pulled out the pad and started short-handing everything that I could remember... everything that had kept me from sleeping early that morning.

Now I am back home and I am trying to translate all these notes into interesting and readable chapters of my book. I hope it works :D