My Life (this last year)... and getting back on track!

If you've been a follower of my blog (or of my Facebook page) over the last year - you are aware that on March 31st of 2011 we had a house fire. Me, Hubby, and my 3 kiddos (and 3 doggies - and our cat) were suddenly out of a home.

All of our belongings were packed away, taken from the house and put in long term storage (except for the things that we needed for our day to day living). Our insurance company helped us find a rental house, and furnished it with rental furniture. Thankfully we were able to find a rental that was just a half a mile (as the crow flies) away. This would come in handy over the following months, as it became part of our daily routine to come over to the house and keep an eye on the rebuild.

It took us a few months to decide on a company to head up the rebuild. But by June, demolition crews were tearing out all the drywall and removing anything the fire had damaged... and the damage was extensive. The smoke and heat had made its way through the entire length of the house and came down into every space it could find between the walls, melting wires and charring support beams.


While we initially thought that only the attic, roof, and a few walls needed to be demo-ed... it turned out that the entire house needed to be replaced! This was shocking, terrible, but yet wonderful news.

I live my life looking for that silver lining in every situation and my HUGE silver lining was that I was going to get a brand new house.

We now had the daunting task of designing and building a new home. You know all those little things you've said you would change about your home if you could? Well... now I had the opportunity to do that. In hind sight - we forgot a few things - but hey - I'm not complaining.


So the rebuild began. The house was taken down to the slab and then slowly (but surely) built back up again. We got to move a few walls, enlarge a few rooms, and raise the ceiling height (this might be the best part - our home was built in 1979 and I could stand on my tippy-toes and touch the ceiling in the hallways).

If you (or any of your friends) have built a house, you know that nothing ever goes as planned. The schedule is a very fluid (not concrete) thing. The builders thought they'd get us back home by Thanksgiving... and then by Christmas... and then in January... well, that's how it went until we moved back in (a week ago).

Along with the stress of never knowing when the house would be finished, we had to keep contacting the insurance agent to extend the lease on the rental house just one more month... just one more month... just one more month... I kept hoping that the owners wouldn't say, "Sorry, but we've just sold that place. You'll have to find somewhere else to live." We were lucky. That didn't happen.

So, now I have been back in my home for a little over a week. I have literally SEVERAL HUNDRED boxes packed into our garage... along with furniture that we no longer want in the house (either because we've replaced it with something newer - or we've reconfigured a room and it won't fit in anymore).  I need to find a home for all that stuff.  Question: If I haven't used it in a year, do I really need it? Yup folks, this is the time to PURGE. I've always wanted to do that!

We are home now. And it feels good!!
 
All the little things that need to be tweaked, or fixed, in the house are happening... well, some of it is happening as I type this. Electricians, cabinet guys, fix-it men, etc, etc... But soon (I hope), life will gain back its routine. After a year of chaos, routine sounds really good. Routine also means that I'll be able to concentrate more on writing. Good news, huh...

Everyone loves a Makeover!

Charity and her gang have been in need of a complete makeover... OK, technically my cover art was... so I decided it was time for a new look.

I am loving the new face of - The Immortal Ones - series.
I hope you all do to :)

Insta Love

For those who don’t like the “instant love” idea… an explanation... 
(caution: spoilers)

I think I am an old soul. I have always loved old movies; old musicals make me smile. If you haven’t watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and sang along with all the songs, and rooted for the boys after they stole the town girls, and smiled at the multiple wedding scene at the end… then maybe you and I will be forever on a different page in life. I mean, hey, Adam married Milly on the very day he met her!

Or Gigi… and watched as she blossomed from girl into woman: only to discover that she was deeply in love with an old family friend. Gigi and Gaston married as soon as they realized that they loved each other… after one date…

Or Where the Boys are… that movie takes place over college spring break. Merrit and Ryder fall “in love” over the course of one week.


Then there are my parents. They met at an Air Force dance and were married 5 months later. And the only reason they waited that long is because they each had to turn 18 first for it to happen. They just celebrated their 51^st Anniversary!


One of my friends in High School had parents that met and married all within a 3 month span of time… insta love does happen my friends.


I don’t view Charity and Link as simply an “insta love” situation. They each have a reason that they are drawn to the other. There is a familiarity and a comfort that they feel with one another, because of the bizarre link that they have in their past.


For Charity – it is Roger… Link is a part of him; she senses a connection immediately. She looks at Link and feels that love. For Link – it is his grandfather… He has great memories of sitting with his gramps and going over old photos, he has seen Charity all his life. He feels that she is a part of his life.

Of course, I realize that “love at first sight” doesn’t appeal to everyone. And I am in no way bagging on the people who viewed it negatively when they reviewed my book. Everyone, and yes, I mean everyone, is entitled to their opinion. I just thought I’d share mine.

The FREE experiment... results :D

So as I posted a few weeks ago, I was attempting to get Amazon to offer my first novel - A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) -
for FREE on Kindle. It happened pretty quickly. On Tuesday 11/15 Amazon chose to price match with Apple iBooks (which had already lowered my book to free) and within 24 hours I had over 10K downloads...

I made it up to #7 on Amazon's top 100 free Kindle book list. Downloads slowed over the next week and a half, but I was(am) amazed by the number of new potential readers I have received.

I say potential because I realize that there are many people downloading every free book available (whether it is in a genre they enjoy or not) and some may never get around to reading it and some may just not find it to their taste. But that's okay!

After 10 days free the book went back to paid...
it continued to sell - making an appearance at #2 on Amazon's Movers and Shakers list for Kindle and then reaching the spot of #251 (that is out of every single book in the entire Kindle catalog). I was a happy camper...

But that seemed to be a glitch of some sort because 3 days after being removed from the free list it was put back on the free list once again. From what I can tell, Amazon is price-matching with a site called Kobo... because that is the only place where I can find A Chance for Charity still offered for free. I haven't asked Amazon for the price to be raised (although I could email them and request it). I've just decided to see how long this lasts... how many new readers I can get. So far the response from new readers has been wonderful. I have new "Likes" on my FB page and new followers on Twitter... I have new reviews, FB comments, and emails from new readers letting me know that they enjoyed the series. It is a blessing!

So... here is the count... as of today 12/6/2011... after 3 weeks of being a FREE Kindle book... just over 35,000 copies of A Chance for Charity have been downloaded. This has led to increased sales of  My Link in Time and the companion novella Of Fire and Brimstone.

The series is growing a larger fan base and that is exactly what I had hoped for!

Trying the FREE book route...

It seems that to get the attention of new readers, in the eBook world right now, it helps to have a free title available for download. This is a no risk trial run for a new reader. He/she can try out my writing and decide whether or not they want to read my additional books. So, I've decided to give it a try. I've reduced the price of the first novel in The Immortal Ones series to $0.00 - that's as cheap as I can make it folks - on Smashwords.

Smashwords distributes my novels to iTunes, Sony, and Kobo (to name a few) ... but I've always uploaded to Barnes & Noble on my own. I've decided to let Smashwords distribute to B&N as well, because I am unable to price a novel below $0.99 when I upload directly. So soon, within the next 2 weeks, my novel will be FREE at all these outlets. My hope is that when Amazon is notified that it is free at other distributors, they will match the price. This is my only way to attempt a free book at Amazon (as they do not currently let me distribute via Smashwords).

Sound confusing? Well it is to me too. But I would love to offer my first novel to all the eBook readers out there for free (for a limited time)... and this is the path I must take to do so. I hope it works! Cross your fingers for me.

In the meantime you can download A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) for FREE @ Smashwords so CLICK HERE for your free copy!

5***** review by the Paranormal Romance Guild

A Chance for Charity - S. L. baum

5*****Stars


Book- A Chance for Charity
Author- S.L. Baum
Publisher-Amazon Digital Services
Genre- Paranormal Romance
Rating YA




So, let’s get the hard stuff out of the way. What a great YA book for young teens. The storyline was so intricate and compelling, I almost forgot the rating!!!  In doing reviews, I have read YA pieces and not many books have I loved.  S.L. Baum, step right up and take a bow!  Stephanie Meyers started the YA hysteria into the paranormal genre with Twilight. Ms Baum has written a wonderful first book for her Immortals with no sparkle but with lots of clout. 
Charity, AKA Emily, is an Immortal relocating to a small town with another Immortal couple as her “family”. During the unfold, we learn that Charity, nee Emily, is reliving her high school years, again, to keep a low profile for the ‘family’. They are not vampires, just Immortals who live long, have extra powers, and want to be left alone to live their lives. However, that’s not to be: they are being hunted by Levitcus and Ezekiel, brothers who have spent their lives hunting down immortals. 
We have Charity meeting her new High School classmates, humans/mortals, who she befriends. We meet Lincoln who arrives in town for the ski season to work at the local hardware store.  Charity/Emily is 17, and Link is 22. Their attraction is immediate.  I loved the writing, the storyline, the friendships, and the background of our characters. The story is believable, fun, and light hearted, but doesn’t deter from the underlying seriousness of the final showdown. 
Emily allows Link to know who and what she is, both past and present. There is an overall strength, love of life, and fun to the story that I had no trouble accepting.  Link knew from the moment he saw Charity...his heart was taken. The twist for this novel was, Hello Mortal...and it is a HE for a change. Link has to prove himself to Emily’s immediate and not so immediate family, and that he will be there for her. And when that happens...hold on to your seats!!!
 I read some reviews prior to reading this book and Twilight was alluded to. Is every 17 teen book a twilight story??? NOT!! But not every 17 YA novel is this good. The second Immortal book might be just out or soon to be released...If it is, I would ask the author to send me a copy.  There are some unanswered questions and parts of this story that have whetted my appetite for more. I, for one, would enjoy reading an addition to this journey and I just might be able to give it another 5 star review if it is as well written as this one!!! Thank you, S.L.  Baum, for a good read. 
Review by Gloria Lakritz
Review Chair and Senior Reviewer for The Paranormal Romance Guild

**Thanks so much - to the Paranormal Romance Guild 
for this wonderful review**

Visit the guild at ParanormalRomanceGuild.com

It is a wonderful meeting place for the lovers of
Paranormal Romance!!

I added page tabs!

I knew it was probably a very easy thing to do, but had simply never investigated it. So, today, I finally did a google search and ended up at a sight with tips for blogger (Tweak My Blogger). In a few minutes I was on my way... and now I have page tabs and posts on those pages... amazing :)

Please take a moment to click on them... cuz they work and everything !!