Promo: Wrong Place, Right Time by Brooke Williams

 

Wrong Place, Right Time

by Brooke Williams

A Novella

 

Release Date: December 9 , 2014

Published by: The Writers Coffee Shop

Genre: Fiction: Romance/General

ISBN e-book: 978-1-61213-289-1

Available from: Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and TWCS PH

~~SUMMARY~~

Wrong Place, Right Time is a humorous, light romance about TV traffic reporter, Kate Covington.  After admitting she is in love with her best friend, Brian, Kate barges into a Las Vegas wedding chapel to stop him from getting married.  When the bride storms out, Kate sees that she interrupted the wrong wedding.  The groom, Chad Leida, who needs to marry before turning 30 in order to inherit his family fortune, has an intriguing offer for Kate.  Marry him and spend a year as his wife for a million dollars. 

Kate, who is greatly in debt and believes her friend has already married, considers the offer.

Once Kate makes her spontaneous decision, her life is on the fast track and the real adventure begins.  Caught between two men, she begins to realize that though she turned up in the Wrong Place, she might have arrived just at the Right Time.

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~~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~~

Brooke Williams is an award-winning author and freelance writer. She has written hundreds of articles as well as several novels, including Someone Always Loved You and Beyond the Bars. Brooke has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morningside College, with a double major in Mass Communications and Religious Studies. She has twelve years of experience in radio broadcasting, both behind the scenes and on-air. She was also a television traffic reporter for a brief time. Brooke and her husband Sean married in 2002 and have two daughters, Kaelyn and Sadie.   

~~CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR~~

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Praise for Wrong Place, Right Time

“Really really fantastic book! I had a very hard time putting my kindle down when my work breaks were over. Loved everything..the plot, the characters, the romance. Definitely recommend.This won’t be the only Brooke Williams book I read.” – Carrie Goodreads Review

Texas and Goth Weekend

As many of you may know, I recently attempted two weekends away in a row. It may not sound like much, but when one weekend ends on the Tuesday and the other starts Thursday that same week, and one involves two ten hour flights, it can get a bit much.

My first weekend was the Texas Book Festival. So I woke up at 1 in the morning, unable to sleep through a combination of nerves and excitement. I got in a taxi at 6 in the morning. Checked in. Flew to London, and then ran through Heathrow airport to catch my connecting flight to Austin, Texas. By the time I got to sleep that evening, I had been awake since 1am through until 4am the next day. Tired would be a huge understatement. Exhausted and barely conscious would be about right. However, here are some pictures from the awesome first weekend away!

This is my tiny companion for the weekend having a drink with me on the first flight. Breakfast on the first day.

Lunch on the Friday, and a pic of me in the sun!My books all set up at the festival!A slightly blurry pic of me at my first signing slot.

Squigglybug met a very nice State trooper! Dinner and drinks! The sauce was spicy, and the drink was limited to two! (It’s a Purple Rita)My first and second sold out signs of the weekend! And yes, I did bring them home, either to use again or to stick in my scrapbook!

And lastly from Texas, a shot of Squigglybug on her way home with three new friends.  So that was Texas. Mainly books and fabric shopping and new teddies. I did very little sight seeing, because the festival was both Saturday and Sunday, and I flew home Monday evening. Once I got home, I slept. From 6pm on Tuesday evening all the way through to 8am the next day.

Come Thursday, I got up and prepared to do it all again. Not as many flights (no flights in fact, just a couple of trains), and not as much ‘work’. At least, not as much promoting of the books. The outfits for Goth Weekend are an art form, and getting in to them should be considered work.

This outfit, for example, has a bustle that isn’t shown in the picture, and in order to get into it, there is a process. Underwear on first, leggings and shoes next. Petticoats and skirt after that. Then the bustle, followed by the corset. After that it is hair and make up (though that can be done beforehand), and any jackets and handbags. But you have to remember, once that corset is on, everything you need has to be up off the floor, otherwise bending down to get it can get… interesting.

So Goth Weekend was a whole load of other work, and enough walking that I could barely stand when I got home. The steps you can see in the picture above are 199 in number, and I walked up them 6 times and down them 6 times in two days. Not to mention the other side of the river where there are a whole load more steps.

Safe to say, I had a fantastic time at both events, but now I am enjoying being at home. So have one more pic courtesy of Paul Greathead of my new tattoo.

 

On my way to the Texas Book Festival

I am currently sitting in the lounge at Newcastle Airport waiting on my first of two flights to get to Texas. I have been up since 1am, with lounging around until 3am, and I have another 21 hours of being awake to go.
It’s currently 7.30am.
I am going to be shattered. However, it is all going to be worth it. Not only do I get to go to freaking Texas,home of cowboys and Southern American accents, but I get to go to a book festival, and I get to meet a whole bunch of awesome people!
So if you happen to be in Texas, come find me! Ask the staff for TWCS publishing house, and there I will be!

TWCS Publishing House 4th Birthday celebrations!

From their very first book, Blind Faith by Michael Schneider, to their most recent release, Twelve by T.M. Franklin, The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House has been dedicated to giving their readers the best stories they can. Their books have hit The New York Times Best Sellers List, Amazon Best Sellers List, and Amazon Hot 100. After four years of success, The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House wants to celebrate and you all are invited.

Join TWCS from October 12th to the 17th on their Facebook event page for daily giveaways. Answer the question of the day to enter for a chance to win print books, eBooks, and Amazon gift cards. Join the party on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/events/310622705807547/?sid_reminder=7322495596990824448

You could win books like

And there are many more to come!

My musie has come back!

Of course, that’s not to say the wonderful darling has abandoned me completely in the last couple of years, but she has been, shall we say… resting.

Two years ago I wrote a book called The Stars Are Falling. I wrote that book start to finish in ten days. Prep, research, planning, writing, and even the first round of editing.

But then I stopped. It is natural to need a break after such a mammoth task, but for the past two years I haven’t written anything over a couple of thousand words. I have tried. And I have failed.

At first I thought my musie has simply gone away on a well needed holiday and would be back. At the end of year one, I wondered if that holiday was a permanent one.

It wasn’t until earlier this year that I realised what the problem was. Stress. Now, my life is pretty easy, in my mind. I look after my husband, I cook, I clean, I read, I write. I sit at home a lot of the time with nothing more to do than watch the TV and write. Which is how this writing thing got started again: because I was sick of doing the housework and having a spotless house.

So what exactly happened?

I had a guest in my spare room. The first one moved in when I was writing The Stars Are Falling. And I was fine for a bit. Then she moved out, and six months later, my friend moved over from Germany and stayed with me for a while as she got herself sorted. Then over Christmas last year a friend of mine was made homeless, and so stayed with us until he got himself sorted.

The problem wasn’t that there were extra people in my house, it was that they were in my writing space. I recently moved from a three bedroom to a two bedroom house. So my husband lives under the stairs. (Before you consider calling the police on me, he has a desk in there and a chair and a whole bunch of teddies, there are no locks on the door, and he is free to come and go as he pleases. I mention this because in the past saying my husband lives under the stairs has caused some issues and earned me something of a reputation where I live.)

So I no longer have a dedicated writing spare where I am surrounded by books and an endless selection of wine. At least, I HAD no dedicated writing space. Not whilst I was living in one bedroom and someone was in the other. All of the writing was done in the living room, under the watchful eyes of whoever was in the house.

But it’s been about a month now since our homeless friend became not so homeless. This evening, something beautiful happened. I had inspiration. Nothing big (lord knows I have enough ideas in the ideas folder begging to be written!), but something.

Someone asked me to what mulled wine was. So I described it. Not just what was in it, but what it tastes like: it tastes like snuggling up under a warm duvet on a cold winter morning when you don’t have to get up.

And just like that it hit me: my mind was working again. It was alive with colours and descriptions and a way of looking at the world that I have sorely missed lately. And all without going off the wonderful medication that keeps me going and stops my mind from wandering too much.

So after almost two years of my musie being in a huff at the invasion of people, she finally has her space, I have my writing room back, and there is a whole trove of ideas that are begging for attention again.

Why I’m not dumping ice water on my head.

It seems like everyone I know is being challenged to dump water on their heads and give money to charity. My whole time line is filled with videos ranging from half a bucket of luke warm water with a bit of ice thrown in, to entire bath tubs full of icy liquid. And it has come to that time where someone has nominated me.

Now, I will admit that for a short time it looked like something fun to do, and is absolutely a great way to raise money for charity. And for a short time I thought that maybe I wouldn’t mind being nominated and giving it a go.

A few things have changed since then.

The main one being that I spoke with my husband and he reminded me of one very important fact: I have hypothyroidism. So my metabolism isn’t what it should be. As such, it can take me hours upon hours even after a hot bath to warm up again. I’ve been known to start shaking and go some pretty shades of blue just because I’ve out too early on a cold morning before my tablets have had time to kick in properly. Not many people know that about me, and it isn’t something I advertise; I just get on with things and use the workarounds that I have. However, dumping ice water over my head isn’t going to be a good thing. Of course, I’m not saying I won’t do the challenge. I’m just not doing it by dumping freezing water over my head.

I have a couple of other issues with the challenge that are my own personal preference and opinions. But I will say this; If you want to donate to a charity, go do it. If you don’t have the money to donate, then give your time if you can, or buy something from a charity shop. You don’t have to give money to help a charity. Time is equally as important.

Why I will always do some work for free.

You’ve probably heard the saying ‘if you love something never do it for free.’ And the various renditions of said quote. Well, I disagree. Pretty much entirely.

I love my job. I get to wake up in the morning, put my jammies on, sit down on my couch, load up my laptop and go to “work.” I make stuff up for a living. What’s not to love about that?

So why exactly do I do it for free?

It’s no secret that not everyone makes the huge figures by writing. There are hundreds of books released every day, and only a small percentage of those ever make it onto the best sellers lists. So in theory, I should be charging for every piece of work I do no matter who it is for. But that’s not the case.

I have three short ebooks that are free. I recently gave a short story to an anthology for free. I have given numerous short pieces to charity anthologies, and all for free. I will never see a penny in royalties for those pieces of work. And these aren’t shorts that took me ten minutes to write, didn’t get any editing, and don’t have covers or formatting. These are short stories between 1000 and 4000 words that have been edited, the free ebooks have covers and have been formatted. I have put hours of work into each of those pieces. All for nothing.

And that’s what isn’t true. they have not all been for nothing. What many people seem to think is that if you aren’t getting paid you aren’t getting anything out of it. That is not true.

People are far more likely to give my other works a try if they have enjoyed one of my free short stories. My name is out further about in the world due to the anthologies, and my shorts being included in charity anthologies has helped raised money for people in need.

So far from getting nothing out of working for free, I am getting exposure, the chance to reach new readers, the opportunity to help others when I perhaps don’t have the money to just give to charity. Not to mention the feel good factor of helping others.

Which is all why when people say if you love something never do it for free, I would like to remind them all that just because you don’t get any money out of it doesn’t mean you didn’t get something out of it.

Tuesday Teaser, Playthings

It’s that time of the week again, time for teasers.
This week’s teaser is from my latest short horror story: Playthings.

My heart was no longer trying to escape through my chest. Instead it was beating steadily, pumping in an even rhythm that was ready for excitement at a moment’s notice. Ready for the thrill, for the need to rise up and show my heart what it was really like to want to escape. And what it was like to be given the chance.

And currently, Playthings is free if you buy it through Smashwords through until the end of this month.

Check out more Tuesday Teasers at http://sherri-hayes.blogspot.com/2014/07/tuesday-teasers-readshare-excerpts.html

Why I have a love/hate relationship with Amazon

Everyone has their reasons for either loving or hating Amazon, and those reasons number in the thousands upon thousands. I only have a couple of reasons on both sides.
The main reason I love them, despite their tendency to run out local bookshops, is because I have no local bookshop. The closest night I have in my home town is WH Smiths, which is and lays has been a glorified newsagents.
Now the decline of real bookshops in my home town is nothing to do with Amazin. That happened long before every house had a computer and the Internet was the new high street. It happened where I live because very few people read, and there was never any need for a real bookshop.
So for that reason, I love Amazon. They deliver to my door, stop it off through my letter box, and give me new releases on time and for cheaper than the 3 hour bus ride or two hours on a train it would take me to get to my other nearest Waterstones.
But on the other hand, I hate Amazon with a passion sometimes.
As an author, I have seen everything on Amazon from them selling my boos when they are not even out (and not just pre-orders, but sending them to people a month before the release date) to their most recent escapades of disputing the copyright on Plaything and delaying the ebook release of The Stars Are falling by almost 27 hours.
I still, over a month after Playthings was as released have no idea why they disputed the copyright. They never told me. All their customer service would tell me s to resubmit it. I did that, and it took three tries for them to get the message that I wore the book, therefore I owned it.
And as for why they delayed the release for The Stars Are Falling, causing me to flounder just as my online release party was starting and people were clamouring for the kindle copy, I have no idea.
For some reason they took it upon themselves to screw it up.
In essence they remind me of a child. They are either ahead of everything because they are too excited to sit down, shut up, and wait. Or they are throwing a tantrum and annoying everyone within hearing distance.
Unfortunately, for us authors especially, there is little option but to publish with Amazon. Kindle and ebook are synonymous, and will be for a while.
Feel free to share your thoughts!

Opening Weekend Update

I’ve got good news and I’ve got better news.

In the US The Stars Are Falling spent the whole of its opening weekend in the top 100 on Amazon.

The better news is that The Stars Are Falling opened at number 5 and spent its entire first weekend in the top 20 on Amazon UK!

It’s always exciting when a book sits happily in any of the best sellers charts, and I have done many a happy dance with my short stories when they are released, but with The Stars Are Falling it was all that much better. Number 5 is the highest I have ever been in the charts. And after the disaster of a release day (thanks to Amazon for that mess!), to see my baby book so close to the top was fantastic! Top that off with a fantastic release party on the evening and more books sold there than I had hoped, and I had a fantastic weekend last week.

So what can possibly top the opening weekend? Well, I have a second release party at the start of next week, two more signings this month, two signings next month as well as a couple of possible conventions, and a trip to Texas later in the year. And I am booking things in for Christmas and 2015 already! So it promises to be a long ride between now and my next book release, but an enjoyable one!

If you haven’t got The Stars Are Falling yet, here are the links.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Stars-Falling-Michelle-Birbeck

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-stars-are-falling

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-stars-are-falling-michelle-birbeck