Christmas Journal for Kids

 

 

Christmas Journal for Kids!

Created by Melissa Bastow & Made Amazing By You!

Genre: Kids Holiday Journal & Activity Book 

This cute self-exploration Christmas journal and activity book will help your little holiday lover enjoy even more of their favorite season while stretching their creativity, reading, and writing skills!

Each daily journal entry will help them focus on the positive parts of their day while also grounding them through observation and mood identification. The coloring pages and activity section of the journal will provide hours of fun while also engaging critical thinking skills, planning, and creating!

Some activities include:
• coloring pages
• plan a holiday party
• interview with a reindeer
• write a Christmas movie
• puzzle games
• draw a Santa wanted poster
• LOTS MORE!

This journal is for children who can read, but would also be fun to do as a parent/child activity!

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Melissa is a mom to 5 kids, 1 husband, and 42 piles of laundry. She hates making dinner. She loves that she gets to sit in her comfy pants and doodle for a living.

Sometimes Melissa wakes up in the middle of the night with silly story ideas in her brain, because the middle of the night is no time for rational thoughts.

She hopes to have more kids stories coming soon, and if you want to check out the rest of her doodlings you can visit her website at www.dorkydoodles.com

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How to Write a Great Book Description

 

How to Write a Great Book Description

 

It’s a challenge. We know it is, but we want to make it easier for you. This is the marketing part of writing. This is not a two paragraph synopsis of your book. It’s not a two sentence blurb. It’s not a tag line, although sometimes using the first sentence of your book description can be used as a tag line.

As an Indie author, you need to do these things yourself.

Your book description is an advertisement and you have to look at it that way. It’s the second thing a reader sees when searching on a website. You’ve grabbed them with an awesome book cover, now you need to entice the reader to purchase your book. It determines the genre, sub-genre (marketing), and uses colorful descriptions, back-cover copy, to help make it click worthy.

First, use adjectives and adverbs. Think about how the movies promote their stories. Listen to the way the commercials are done on television, radio, and the internet.

Ever wonder how the book descriptions on Amazon are bold or have colors?

As an example, I’m going to use Mary Burton’s Never Look Back. I’m going to break it down for you.

 

 

Expect the unexpected in this gritty, tense, and page-turning thriller from New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton.

After multiple women go missing, Agent Melina Shepard of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation makes the impulsive decision to go undercover as a prostitute. While working the street, she narrowly avoids becoming a serial killer’s latest victim; as much as it pains her to admit, she needs backup.

Enter lone wolf FBI agent Jerrod Ramsey. Stonewalled by a lack of leads, he and Melina investigate a scene where a little girl has been found abandoned in a crashed vehicle. They open the trunk to reveal a horror show and quickly realize they’re dealing with two serial killers with very different MOs. The whole situation brings back memories for Melina—why does this particular case feel so connected to her painful past?

Before time runs out, Melina must catch not one but two serial killers, both ready to claim another victim—and both with their sights set on her.

 

 

The following commands are used on most websites in the html building section, or on Amazon in the KDP section when entering your book description.

First paragraph: Tell the reader what to expect, and what they want to read. And, in bold print so it stands out. The strong command makes it bold. The <BR> command (html) gives you a space in between paragraphs.

 

<strong> Expect the unexpected in this gritty, tense, and page-turning thriller from New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton. </strong><BR>

The body of the description doesn’t tell the story, it isn’t a synopsis. It hints at the plot line and daggles intrigue for the reader. The question in the body of the description engages the reader: —why does this particular case feel so connected to her painful past?  

 

After multiple women go missing, Agent Melina Shepard of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation makes the impulsive decision to go undercover as a prostitute. While working the street, she narrowly avoids becoming a serial killer’s latest victim; as much as it pains her to admit, she needs backup.

Enter lone wolf FBI agent Jerrod Ramsey. Stonewalled by a lack of leads, he and Melina investigate a scene where a little girl has been found abandoned in a crashed vehicle. They open the trunk to reveal a horror show and quickly realize they’re dealing with two serial killers with very different MOs. The whole situation brings back memories for Melina—why does this particular case feel so connected to her painful past?

Before time runs out, Melina must catch not one but two serial killers, both ready to claim another victim—and both with their sights set on her.

 

If you want a space between paragraphs put the html command <BR> at the end of the paragraph. The last paragraph leaves the reader wanting more…the cliff hanger catches the readers interest. It’s an excellent way to get the reader to want more. Regardless of whether the book has cliffhangers or not, you want to entice the reader to click on the buy button. The best way to do that is to instill curiosity.

And it never hurts to add a call-to-action.

<strong> Grab your copy today.</strong>

Want a jump on marketing and advertising?

This book’s for you. My whole point of writing it is to help all authors. I’ve had many established authors, aspiring authors, and WIP authors ask me a multitude of questions and I was more than happy to help. (WIP-work in progress) I took the most commonly asked questions and solutions and put them in a nifty, absolutely priceless book.

What you’ll find in Be More Successful with Marketing and AdvertiZING:

 

Social Media Marketing and AdvertiZING for Books or Any Business

Becoming a Bestseller

Saying NO and Being the Bad Guy

How to Write Incredible Click Enticing Promotions

Promoting Your Book With or Without a Publisher

How Much is That Advertisement in the Window?

Self-publishing Doesn’t Have to be a Disaster

How to Make Your Website Awesome

Taking the Plunge into Publishing Audio Books

How to Make More Sales at Book Signings

The Uniform of Success

 

Purchase Be More Successful with Marketing and AdvertiZING at your favorite bookstore or on Amazon.

E-Book $4.99

Paperback $9.99

 

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

You can find me:

PamelaAckerson.net

PamAckerson@AdCMagazine.com

Twitter.com/PamAckerson

Facebook.com/pam.ackerson.7

Amazon.com/Pamela-Ackerson/e/B00QY1ARI4

 

Wondering what my qualifications are? Don't want to get any advice from someone who doesn't know what they're talking about? I understand! There are too many people out there giving bad advice. 

The first thing I'm going to tell you is that the book industry is constantly changing and even the "experts" have to keep their ears to the ground to stay in the game!

Okay, so...Here goes.

I'm President of Marketing and Advertising for AdC Magazine. Affaire de Coeur Book Review Magazine has been in business since 1980. No small potatoes there! We've managed to survive all the ups and downs in the industry. www.adcmagazine.com

I've been a published author since 1972. Yup, you read that right. My 10th grade high school teacher entered my sci-fi short story in the Science Fiction Reader's Digest Contest and I took first place. I continued to write and publish short stories for several years after that. 

A short break--which felt like forever--in 1996 I finished my first novel. I was picked up by a publisher two years later and I haven't stopped since.

 

The Twleve Systems Chronicles

 

 

**Celebrate the 10^th Anniversary of the Twelve Systems Chronicles with an epic Sale!**

The Twelve Systems Trio: The Cartel, Bright Star & Transgressions

The Apprentice, Volumes 1-3

Volumes 1-3 of The Twelve Systems Chronicles

by EG Manetti

Genre: Science Fiction Romance, Space Opera 

Where duty and passion collide.

The first three volumes of the awarding winning Twelve Systems Chronicles.

Life within the Serengeti Cartel is perilous, riddled with malice and intrigue that can threaten the mightiest of warriors. For Lilian – brilliant, despised, and one misstep away from execution for her father’s crimes – all that stands between her and destruction is the powerful warrior Lucius Mercio.

THE CARTEL: The Apprentice, Volume 1

Lucius Mercio commands one of the most powerful Cartels in the Twelve Systems. As clever and ambitious as he is ruthless, Lucius' wealth, influence, and power place him among the elite of the warrior caste. It is not enough. Lucius intends to take his Cartel to unimaginable heights with the aid of Lilian's brilliance. He faces only one obstacle. Lucius must keep Lilian alive.

BRIGHT STAR: The Apprentice, Volume 2

Lilian’s enemies are more determined than ever to see her destroyed. A visitor from her past will endanger her future and threaten to destroy Lucius’ slowly developing trust. To survive the next set of challenges Lilian will need to find new reserves of courage, wit, and determination.

TRANSGRESSIONS: The Apprentice, Volume 3

Determined to raise Serengeti to the pinnacle of power in the Twelve Systems, Lucius has ruthlessly exploited Lilian’s brilliance to achieve his ambitions. Within seasons, he will lead Serengeti to new heights with the launch of Bright Star, the first stellar exploration venture in over two centuries. With each new success, Lucius’ rivals multiply while a traitor stalks the halls of Serengeti, determined to thwart Lucius by any means. As the viciousness of her enemies escalates, Lilian is forced to confront the past and choose between betraying her oath of loyalty to Lucius and protecting the deadly secrets of her father's dark acts.

**On Sale for Only .99 cents!**

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Fortuna

The Apprentice, Volume 4

The Twelve Systems Chronicles Volume 4

For a year and a half, Lilian has endured the hostility, spite, and deadly violence of those who despise her for her father’s crimes. If not for the protection of the powerful warrior Lucius Mercio, Lilian might not have survived. Without Lilian’s courage and brilliance, Lucius might have lost the Serengeti Cartel to a vicious traitor. Instead, Lucius has total control of his Cartel, and few within Serengeti will risk his wrath to torment his apprentice.
Determined to advance his ambitions and reward Lilian for her role in his success, Lucius prepares for the voyage to Fortuna in the Fourth System. There, they will oversee the next phase of the first interstellar space exploration in two centuries. Lilian’s anticipation soon turns to dread as dark dreams haunt her nights, increasing in frequency and force as they journey to Fortuna. On a distant world, cut off from her few friends, Lilian will face dangerous intrigues as her nightmares take form.

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Serengeti Valor

The Apprentice, Volume 5

The Twelve Systems Chronicles Volume 5

Where passion and duty collide - The Twelve Systems Chronicles.

Ruthless, devious, and ambitious, Lucius Mercio has elevated the Serengeti Group to the third wealthiest cartel in the Twelve Systems, cementing his place among the twelve most powerful members of the ruling warrior class. With Lucius’ rise, his enemies increase in both number and subtlety. Few will dare to attack Lucius directly, instead they will move in secret, targeting the most vulnerable aspects of his empire including his disgraced and reviled apprentice, Lilian.

As Lilian begins the third and final year of her trial by ordeal, she is more determined than ever to survive and repay Lucius’ protection and trust with loyalty and diligence. Expecting only the meager assignments reserved for apprentices, Lilian was stunned to receive the conservatorship of a valuable Vistrite Crevasse—an honor reserved for proven and trusted warriors. When a lethal disaster strikes Desperation Mine and Refinery and imperils Lilian’s conservatorship, hidden adversaries seize the opportunity to plot the downfall of Serengeti.

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Nightingale

The Apprentice, Volume 6

The Twelve Systems Chronicles Volume 6

~ Where duty and passion collide~

With only a season and half left to her bond, Lilian's enemies are becoming desperate, and those who would see her fail seek any infraction, no matter how minor, to deny her bond proof. Haunted by the memory of the Serengeti fallen and her actions in eradicating the Despoilers, Lilian struggles to retain her discipline for the final five months of her apprenticeship. With her actions in the battle of Serengeti proving her valor and loyalty beyond doubt, only the honor proof remains – adherence to the rigid and complex Apprentice Protocol. Although few within Serengeti will challenge her bond proof, throughout the Twelve Systems, those who wagered against her are facing penury and will stop at nothing to keep her from surviving.

With Damocles and Despoilers defeated, Lucius' power with Serengeti and the Third System is uncontested. Determined to advance his ambitions, Lucius lays plans for a triumphant launch of his revolutionary stellar exploration vehicle, the Nightingale. As he prepares to depart for Fortuna, a new threat appears in the form of a charismatic prelate who rouses the populace against Bright Star and Lilian’s role the venture. The prelate will prove but the first among many determined to thwart him through any means, including his notorious apprentice.

When thousands gather on Fortuna for the historical launch of the Nightingale into orbit, Lilian finds herself treading a blade’s edge as she attempts to adhere to the Apprentice Protocol among adversaries who are increasingly desperate and bold. Planned as a celebration of Serengeti achievement, the Fortuna voyage becomes a nightmare where she is faced with deadly opponents intent on her destruction.

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Bond Proof

The Apprentice, Volume 7

The Twelve Systems Chronicles Volume 7

In defiance of the odds, Lilian is within a month of proving her bond, driving desperate Odds Managers to ever increasing bounties on her life—every step beyond the security of the cartel is perilous. Within the cartel, she must put aside her fear, giving all her attention to her duty and the decorum demanded of an apprentice.

The success of the Nightingale launch has brought Lucius and Serengeti into the center of Twelve Systems commerce. As the Nightingale Command Crew is gathers on Metricelli Prime to prepare for the dangerous voyage to the Thirteenth System, whispers of pirates emerge from the Eleventh and Twelfth Systems. A decade before, pirates almost to toppled Serengeti, their reemergence so close to the Nightingale launch endangers all Lucius has achieved. When a group of free-traders arrive from those distant systems, they threaten to resurrect an ancient Mercio scandal that could undermine the honor of Blooded Dagger and Serengeti, and imperil all Lucius' values.

In the final days of Lilian’s apprenticeship, danger lurks in every shadow. It will require all Lucius’ power and Lilian’s courage to achieve her bond proof.

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Chalice Bearer

Thornraven Volume 1

The Twelve Systems Chronicles Volume 8

After three years of trial, Lilian is free and Monsignor Lucius Mercio's protege. Her triumph comes at cost. Fearful of Lady Estella's wrath, Lilian has refused to continue her liaison with Lucius, breaking her heart and straining her relationship with Lucius. She is stunned to discover that Estella is entering her final days and wishes Lilian to return to Lucius and help him through his grief.

Lilian and Lucius' relationship has only begun to repair, when duty demands she travel to the distant planet Desperation. There, she will confront her deepest fears when the theft of dangerous technology forces her to descend into the depths of Desperation Crevasse. In the frigid wastes at the bottom of the Crevasse, Lilian will discover an ancient legacy of the Five Warriors and Adelaide.

The worst of Lucius' grief at Estella's loss has barely passed when his world shatters again. Lilian has disappeared into Desperation Crevasse. He cannot lose them both. Determined to rescue Lilian, no matter the cost, he races toward the Sixth System and deadly danger.

Author's note: This is the eighth book in the Twelve Systems Chronicles and a continuation of the story that begins in The Cartel: The Apprentice, Volume 1.

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Shield Bearer

Thornraven Volume 2

The Twelve Systems Chronicles Volume 9

~ Where duty and passion collide. ~

Within days of being rescued from Desperation Crevasse, Lilian must return at Lucius’ side as his shield bearer. Together with their guild allies, they will confront the Despoilers and end their threat to Blooded Dagger and the cartel. In the savage battle, Lucius is injured leaving Lilian to protect him, Blooded Dagger, and the cartel.

Stranded on Desperation until he recovers, Lucius gathers his allies to protect his interests from rivals determined to exploit his weakness. With the aid of ancient guild lore, he and Lilian will seek to uncover the remaining Despoilers and penetrate the mystery of an ancient prophecy. Before he can return to Crevasse City and his center of power, one if his inner circle will challenge his preeminence and threaten Lilian’s survival. It will take all his cunning and Lilian’s courage to counter the betrayal before it endangers the Nightingale’s voyage to the Thirteenth System.
Across the Twelve Systems, from Desperation to Metricelli Prime, and Fortuna, Lilian and Lucius will battle to protect their love and forge a future for themselves, Blooded Dagger, Serengeti, and the Twelve Systems.

Author's note: This is the ninth book in the Twelve Systems Chronicles and a continuation of the story that begins in The Cartel: The Apprentice, Volume 1.

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Thorn Bearer

Thornraven Volume 3

The Twelve Systems Chronicles Volume 10

Four years ago, Lilian left the First System ruined, indentured, and in peril of execution. Now as the Nightingale flies toward the Thirteenth System, she returns to the glittering spires of Pinnacle City, triumphant and soon to be consort to the ruthless and powerful Lucius Mercio. With her dreams within reach, she discovers disturbing clues to the identities of the Despoilers, a vile sect bent on returning the Twelve Systems to bloody anarchy. Beset by ominous prophecy and dire Guild revelations, Lilian must set aside her desires to accept a thorn bearer's duty—a quest to uncover the leaders of these ancient adversaries of order.

With his cartouche and cartel weakened by his kinsman's betrayal, Lucius must let Lilian complete her quest alone. Resolved to protect her from afar, Lucius will utilize every resource at his command. But even his considerable shadow may be too small to save her from a web of deceit and corruption that exceeds their worst imaginings. With their enemy's reach far greater than they feared, Lucius must race to forge new alliances and exploit old ones before the Despoilers lay waste to the Twelve Systems.

In the uncharted expanse of the Thirteenth System, Lucius and Lilian will risk all to defeat the forces of darkness.

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Award winning author, EG Manetti has always enjoyed a vivid imagination and occasional scribbling. In 2010 she was struck by the inspiration for The Twelve Systems Chronicles. The draft of a single novel soon became three, and then more. In 2012, after several hundred thousand words, The Cartel: The Apprentice, Volume 1 was published, followed by nine other volumes. The tenth and final volume of The Twelve Systems Chronicles, Thorn Bearer, released September 21, 2021. To date, the four volumes and the series have received Reviewers’ Choice Awards from the Paranormal Romance Guild, and volumes three and five, and seven, and nine were finalists for the prestigious InD’tale RONE Award (Reward for Novel Excellence), and Shield Bearer (Volume 9) received the 2021 RONE for Science Fiction.

A former information technology project manager, EG writes as often as possible, cooks exceptionally, and gardens adequately. She resides in Florida with her beloved (and often confounded) husband and their severely OCD Jack Russell Terrier.

The Twelve Systems Chronicles are epic science fiction romance that blends elements of space opera with the intrigue and suspense of a political thriller. 

“With characters that jump off the page, love that is forbidden yet unstoppable mixed with top-notch worlds and technology, sci-fi has never looked so good or become so addictive!” ~ InD'Tale Magazine, February 2018.

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Coffee Mug – 2 winners, US only

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Farm to Fabre

 

 

Farm to Fabre

by Dahlia Donovan

Genre: Contemporary Second-Chance Romance 

When Andriana Milne-Marchetti kisses an old family friend under an apple tree, she never imagines he’ll run halfway around the world and stay gone for three years.

Thirty-five-year-old asexual Andie runs a small remote family farm in Scotland. She’s happy with her fruit trees and berries. Her Airedale terrier, Rupert, provides all the companionship she needs.

But her heart longs for one man, who probably never felt more than friendship for her.

Silver fox Docherty Fabre returns home to Scotland, hoping to break through a year-long battle with writer’s block. He’s taking up residence in a tiny cottage on the Milne-Marchetti farm. Now, if he can avoid embarrassing himself for a second time in front of Andie, everything will be fine.

Their second chance at romance comes from a year-long lockdown that prevents them from running away from their feelings.

With no one else around, can they find love in the orchard one more time?

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Dahlia Donovan wrote her first romance series after a crazy dream about shifters and damsels in distress. She prefers irreverent humour and unconventional characters. An autistic and occasional hermit, her life wouldn’t be complete without her husband and her massive collection of books and video games.

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Orphans of Canland

 

Orphans of Canland

by Daniel Vitale

Genre: Climate Apocalypse, SciFi Dystopian

A complicated, rich, and challenging work ... An impressive debut that goes beneath surface issues of climate-apocalypse fiction. - Kirkus

It’s 2088, and the dust has settled on America, decades after an environmental collapse. The eco-totalitarian organization, WORLD, has reconfigured society with the intention of restoring nature. Twelve-year-old eternal optimist Tristan Weekes lives in what he believes must be paradise: Canland, an agrarian California desert-greening project. However, Tristan’s life-defining medical condition, analgesia, prevents him from feeling physical pain, leaving his brain’s stress centers unresponsive to everything from ego-blows to heatwaves.

Well-intended, curious, and wielding a stunning vocabulary, Tristan loves to listen to the subversive theories spouted by his older brother, Dylan, a drug-addicted satellite hacker. He also wants to prove his independence to his mother, Helena, a powerful population control-extremist. Meanwhile, all around him, the survivors of the environmental collapse are just working toward a better tomorrow. But when a slew of violent acts befalls Canland, Tristan must confront certain truths about the community he loves—including his family’s secrets, his own involvement in the horrors enacted by WORLD, and the debts that are owed to the orphans of Canland.

In this work of literary fiction, set against the backdrop of a frighteningly plausible dystopia, Daniel Vitale explores the fate of our planet, the nature of family, and the duty of science, as Orphans of Canland asks: What does it mean to belong on Earth?

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DANIEL VITALE is a Jewish-American writer and a graduate of Amherst College. Originally from New York, he now lives in Los Angeles, where he spent his first year working in TV before writing fiction; he has also written screenplays, poetry, and songs. Former goalie of his college hockey team, Daniel now owns a hockey goalie coaching business and works with players of all ages and skill levels. His experience coaching children with autism has been particularly influential in the writing of his first novel Orphans of Canland, as has his interest in the relationship between climate change and the development of the American west. He is currently working on his second novel.

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While the Baby Sleeps

 

While the Baby Sleeps

by Stephanie Hazeltine

Genre: Thriller 

Four mothers.
One body.
Many secrets.

Marnie is a first-time mum in a new town, paralysed by anxiety and pushing away her police-officer husband.

Peyton is a teen mum, living with her parents and longing to behave like other teenagers her age.

Fleur looks like the perfect picture of a mum who is coping and loving motherhood, but no one knows that under her beautiful dress, her body is covered in bruises caused by her husband.

Amalia, a single mum, lost her parents in tragic circumstances and will do anything to honour her mother’s dying wish and protect the family she has.

When these women meet at mothers’ group, they bond over feeding schedules and baby products, but when a local is found murdered, they discover it’s not their babies who will tie them to one another forever.

Each woman has a motive to kill and secrets to hide, but do they know who the real enemy is?

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Stephanie Hazeltine is a contemporary fiction author who writes about fearless females as they fall in love, navigate motherhood or tackle mysteries. 

She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, two kids and two cavoodles. 

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