Cover Reveal for Bankers' Hours

My cover reveal is over at Prism Alliance today!

This is the start of a blog tour that ends March 30th!

February 24 – Prism Book Alliance  - Why Pink & Cover reveal

March 18 - MM Good Book Reviews - Interview with Grant Adams, the Main Character in Bankers’ Hours

March 22 - Long and Short Reviews - Interview with Tristan Carr, the Love Interest in Bankers’ Hours

March 23 - My Fiction Nook - Interview with Claire Carr, the teenage daughter

March 24 - Oh My Shelves  - Where my characters come from Part I

March 25 - Divine Magazine  - Where my characters come from Part II

March 25 - Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words  - Author interview

March 28 - Love Bytes - (Still thinking on a post)

March 29 - Gay Book Reviews  - My favorite things

March 30 - The Novel Approach (Still thinking on a post)

What I could do, is answer reader question in one of these last two posts I'm trying to sort out. If you have ANY questions, please post them to me here, or email me! writerwadekelly@gmail.com    I need about 10 questions :)

With this blog tour, there will be prizes! Here is what you can expect:

I have several giveaways. Leave a comment on the DIFFERENT BLOGS for a chance to win an Amazon gift certificate. I am going to take ALL the names, from all the comments, from all the blog stops, and put them in a drawing. I have 10 stops including the cover reveal on Prism Book Alliance. The more comments you make then higher your chances of winning. I will have 3 winners of a $10 Amazon gift certificate to be announced when the tour ends! Additionally, for those who comment on ALL 10 STOPS, I will enter each of them into a grand prize drawing good for:

1 An eBook from my backlist of your choice, OR the next book I publish this year. (*Excluding Bankers’ Hours) 


2 A $10 Amazon gift certificate,


3 A Wade Kelly Spoon in the colors of your choice ☺, and


4  One autographed paperback copy of the novel of their choice, OR the next book I publish this year. (*Excluding Bankers’ Hours)

5   A special Promo Code for you to download a copy of the audiobook: Misplaced Affection

Note: I am willing to mail things to other countries so don’t let that stop you! Please, post on ALL the posts. I had fun with this last time. J

So, please, stop by EACH of these blog posts and enter to win by commenting! I'll try to list the links here on my blog in case you need direction to find them :) Thanks for stopping by!

For PRE-Order, here are the links I have at Dreamspinner: 

eBook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7556

Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7557

Gift Cards

I love GIFT CARDS. I do. Generally, when I want something I buy it anyway so when people ask "What do you want for Christmas, birthday, boxing day (lol, jk)?" I normally don't have an answer. I'm thinking, "Well, I wanted _____, but I already bought it two weeks ago." My answer is normally gifts to Kohl's, Target, or iTunes. Those are the most useful in my mind.

This year, I did tell my son about a perfume I wanted and he got it for me. YAY!! And my husband actually paid attention and bought me a few things I liked. One year, he bought me the very same earrings he bought me five years previously and that was sort of a bummer. I was thinking that he didn't pay attention to what he bought. But this year was good. I got a Perry the Platypus blanket. :D I love Perry. And he got me some DVDs of old movies I have on VHS. Singing In The Rain is a classic that I haven't seen for years because I don't have a VHS player. Now I can watch it!

Did I get any gift cards? Well, sort of……

My son asked me if I "take payments in gift cards?" I wasn't sure what he meant, but in the past I have exchanged cash for cards because I can use the cards just fine. Especially Target when I spend loads of money there. He gave me one to Olive Garden and one for iTunes, but then gave me cash to make $100 even. I thought that odd. Then he gave me another $10 and said he now owed me $100.00. To explain, he owed me $210 for something I paid for when he had no money. IN THE SUMMER! I was not going to let this particular debt go and he knew it. (explanation not necessary.) But, to be paid back in gifts cards was not what I meant. I can't pay his debt in gift cards. I DID get money from my mom for Christmas, so I will most likely exchange his gift cards with my personally money and use the cash to pay back the "family money" account for the debt I paid for him back in the summer, but this was not my plan.

All that to say, I now have some gifts cards! I am fine with it over all. I was only going to use my cash for advertising, not on other stuff. I love iTunes because I normally buy my audiobooks off there. Misplaced Affection doesn't come out in AUDIO until the spring. So if you have an iTunes gift card you can't buy my audio YET. (Hint: Save it.) But iTunes also sells eBooks! Amazon is great for eBooks. I don't own a Nook or a Kobo or Kindle Fire or anything. I read off my computer. So it got me thinking… Did you all get GIFT CARDS for Christmas? Or Hanukkah? etc… Gift Cards are great because you can pick the gift. I have several eBooks I want to get. Most of the time I go to Dreamspinner or ARe. But if I have an Amazon gift card, that is fun!

So now I have to peruse the iTunes list of audiobooks. I'm interested in:

Come Onto These Yellow Sands
A Ghost of a Chance
All Kinds of Tied Down
Morning Report
Brokenhearted: Hope Cove

Your thoughts? Good choices?

Anyway, I'm hosting MORE people over my house today. An "open house" sort of deal, but I need to have food. I cooked a turkey and made curried pumpkin soup. I need to make cookies and maybe mashed potatoes or something.

I'll be back again blogging next week as the release date for my new novel gets closer. In the meant time, there is still time to PRE-ORDER Misplace Affection and have it delivered right to your Kindle. (or so Amazon says.)

AMAZON   |   KOBO   |   iTUNES    |     BARNES & NOBLE

Blog tour starts Wednesday over on Jeff Adams' Blog WITH A VERY COOL INTERVIEW. I hope you will stop by and take a look!

RELEASE DAY  is Thursday! And I am on The Novel Approach talking about my book. I hope you will catch all the excerpts on the blog tour. I made them all different and I try to be fun!

Friend Friday - Whitley Gray

This MIGHT be the first Friend Friday post from an author whom I have not met, nor have I interacted with online. (That I really recall.) When I opened these FRIDAY guest spots, many people hopped on board who I hadn't talked to much. It is an opportunity for me to see a glimpse into new people, as well as for you.

WK: What inspires your writing?

Whitley: Sometimes it’s something I’ve read or seen. Sometimes an idea just pops into my head.

WK: When did you start writing m/m romance?

Whitley: 2010.

WK: Are you a full time author?

Whitley: Unfortunately, no. I have a dreaded day job.

WK: Who is your favorite author?

Whitley: Josh Lanyon. Josh’s books were my first introduction to M/M, and he’s got a wonderful voice.

WK: I’ve heard Josh is good. I wanted to read The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks, but alas I rarely read so I haven’t. :p

WK: How many books have you written so far?

Whitley: M/M: six. M/M and M/F: one. M/F: one. Short stories and flash fiction: numerous.

WK: Tell us a little about your novella Artistic Endeavor.

Whitley: The novella is part of the Campus Cravings collection. Here’s the blurb: When friends ask one-night stand connoisseur Michael Esteban to introduce college professor and virgin Cobey Miller to the joys of sex, Michael balks. Lust is his thing, not leading a twenty-five year old novice. But shy Cobey has problems meeting men, and their introduction fuels Michael’s decision to help Cobey become a gay-sex-loving guy. It’ll all be fun and games—unless someone falls in love.

WK: How long did it take you to complete it?

Whitley: About three months.

WK: Who is your favorite character in the novel and why?

Whitley: Cobey. He’s an anomaly—a twenty-five year old virgin. I loved showing him opening up to Michael.

WK: How much of yourself did you manifest into your favorite character?

Whitley: My artistic tendencies are part of Cobey’s makeup, but I’m not a university professor!

WK: When someone reads Artistic Endeavor, what do you hope they gain from reading it?

Whitley: I’d like readers to get caught up in the way Michael draws Cobey out, but also how Cobey has a thing or two to teach Michael, especially about love.

WK: Can you share four things you’ve learned about the business?

Whitley:  

1) It’s vital to get a firm grounding in the basics of writing before starting out.

2) Promo can be harder than writing.

3) You can’t please everyone.

4) A crit partner is your best friend—a good one is worth her weight in gold.

WK: How do you keep your creative "spark" alive?

Whitley: It’s hard sometimes. I work a lot, and sometimes the last thing I want to do when I get home is write. I try to let myself have time to do things that have nothing to do with work or writing. Experiencing real life helps supply material for books.

WK: What is your suggestion or piece of advice to new and upcoming writers?

Whitley: Take workshops in basics, and read books on craft. Make sure you know how to write before jumping in.

WK: Excellent. :)

WK: Where we can find you on the Internet?

Whitley: www.whitleygray.com

WK: Could you please share your favorite excerpt from Artistic Endeavor with us?

Whitley:

In the dimly lit bar, Michael drummed his fingers on the table. “Maybe you should have let me meet him somewhere without you two along as chaperones.”

Eli chuckled. “It took me a week to convince him to meet you. He’d never go for the blind date thing.”

“Well, he’s late. Sure he’ll show?”

“Relax.” Burke massaged Eli’s neck. “He’ll be here.”

Ordinarily Michael looked forward to sizing up a new man. In fact, he’d already taken stock of every guy in the room. If Cobey didn’t show, the bartender looked like a good prospect. Prolonged eye contact, a big grin, and a wink when serving Michael’s beer. Yep, good prospect. Someone new.

Of course, Cobey would be new. Too new. Michael sighed. How was he supposed to introduce himself? Hello. I’m the guy our mutual friends have asked to be your sex instructor. How’s it hangin’?  Yippee.

“There.” Eli nodded at the entrance. “Just coming in.”

For a moment it was too crowded to see much, but the herd of patrons parted. Michael licked his lips. Well, well, well. The picture hadn’t done Cobey justice. Nicely wide shoulders, narrow hips, hair a man could get a grip on. Dark eyes. A perfect mouth—full but not too full. How was it possible this gorgeous male specimen had never been intimate with another guy? And Michael had the opportunity to be the first one.

I can certainly sacrifice myself for the greater good by teaching him.

It has certainly been nice having you on the blog. I hope the readers enjoyed your visit and what you had to say. :)

Thanks to all the Friend Friday guests so far. Sue Brown, Jeff Adams, Gregory Payne,  Chris Shirley, Tammy Middleton, DS Kenn, Stephen del Mar, and now Whitley Gray. Come back next week when I feature Felicia Stevens.

Last Friend Friday's winner was Lee Todd. e-mail me with your e-mail address :p for the book ;)
writerwadekelly@gmail.com

…….

In other news:
A group of SUPPORTING AUTHORS who are attending GRL in October who got together and decided to support each other and promote each other starting September 1st. Follow the hop.

Date ~ Author                                   is Hosting Author

Sept 1 ~ Max Vos                              Carter Quinn

Sept 4 ~ diana.copland                       TM Smith

Sept 7 ~  JC Wallace                          Max Vos

Sept 10 ~  Jeff Adams                        Diana Copland

Sept 12 ~  le.franks                             JC Wallace

Sept 15 ~  Ethanstone                          Jeff Adams

Sept 18 ~  writerwadekelly                  LE Franks

Sept 21 ~  Morticia Knight                   Ethan Stone

Sept 23 ~  tempeste.oriley                   Wade Kelly

Sept 25 ~  rafehaze                             Morticia Knight

Sept 28 ~ Carter Quinn                       Tempeste O’Riley

Sept 30 ~ TM Smith                            Rafe Haze

PRE-ORDERS thru me:

Names Can Never Hurt Me from Dreamspinner Press is currently #10 on their Best Seller List.

If you are going to GRL, you can PRE-ORDER paperbacks of any of my books and I will bring them to you in Chicago to sign :)  I have an updated the form HERE, but it only tells me what to bring not who ordered it. Sending a payment through Paypal with a note works best. I will message you back to let you know I got the payment and I know what to bring. Thanks to Jason and Lauren for sending me a note attached :) PAYPAL: writerwadekelly@gmail.com   cost is $14.50 for any paperback of mine. See you in Chicago!

Also, Dreamspinner is having a sale right now, so if you want books, GET THEM! DSP was offering a PRE-ORDER promo code and I do not know if it works on sales, but you can try. Most likely it will. Promo code: GRL2014   order your paperback and pick them up in Chicago. No shipping and get them cheaper than most other places. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS METHOD! Plus with DSP you get the eBook free with paperback. ;)

Publishing Advice

I find it interesting when other authors, and aspiring authors, ask ME for advice on writing and publishing. HAHHAHAHHA. Like I really know all that much. But it is flattering nonetheless and I DO try to share my knowledge of the business.

The first thing I ask: Is the book written? from my experience, publishers want a finished product to review for consideration. Perhaps in the past a chapter or two was fine, or a proposal, but now it is about the ability to FINISH what you start. Is the story solid all the way through? Are the characters consistent? If you only have five chapters, how am I to know the answers to those questions? Because I can't know, you've waisted my time. Do you see my point.

Years ago when I was looking into Random House etc, it was also a MUST to have a literary agent. Most BIG MAINSTREAM publishers will not talk to the authors directly. They talk to the agent they trust. Like a middle man. The agent is the one you query and he/she passes judgment on your writing to know whether you are an author they want to represent. MANY time the agent will request only the first several chapters initially, but they WILL want the rest if the first bit is good. That's why it is important to FINISH the book first. If you get all tied up in HOW DO I GO ABOUT PUBLISHING without a finished product, you are promoting air. There's lot sod air out there. So stop. JUST STOP.

Concentrate on writing the best, CLEANEST, manuscript you are able to write. When the story is finished, then move on to the next step. (And by clean I refer to grammar etc.)

One item a publisher wants to know, or an agent if you use one, is WHO will read this book? Back in the day when I was writing Sci-Fi (still on the back burner, don't you worry) I was mixing genres. I wanted a Sci-Fi with more romance than most, and a romance with more action. So, I made my own. This was circa 2006. When I started looking for an agent, they wanted a specific category to file it in. "Um, it's a Sci-Fi Romance," I said. "Well, it needs to be one or the other because we need to know the demographics," they'd say. I found out quickly that I didn't fit. I colored outside the lines and no one wanted my book. Of course, things have changed and there are many publishers out there now, mainly Indie, who specialize in mixed genres. Publishing is always changing. But still , you do have to have an idea of who will read your book? Are you targeting men? women? both? what age group? Sometimes when you write these things are NOT on your mind. But later, when you want to sell this manuscript to a publisher and you consider it an adult audience and never use words over two syllables, that may effect your acceptance. OR if you use HUGE words out of context of the character because you learned how to use a thesaurus, it will show.

Pen-names… Are you going to use one? Many authors do. It depends often on what you are writing. Erotica authors who teach elementary school should be wary that the public will not react well. I know of a teacher in my town that was fired for it when her "style" leaked out. In the LGBT community, even gay men who write gay characters have pen-names. Why? Well, I'd say that it's their own business. Pen names simply put distance between the real you and the writer you. If you are 100% comfortable writing under your personal name, great!

I have a pen name ;)

Where do I start once I have those things? Facebook. I recommend it. Join under YOUR name OR your PEN name and seek like minded people. Join book groups. Read posts. Find reviewers, publishers, bloggers, and other authors to talk to. I NEVER understood the type of mind I had until I talked with other authors. OH MY GOSH! Talk about clarity! The way I think made total sense to other authors. I found that I was not the only one who thought about my characters 24 hours a day. Random moments took me to scenes and people I met inspired a storyline. How my ideas pop around like a pinball machine yet they are in complete harmony with my creative mind. Creative people need to know they are not odd, but special. Hearing voices in your head is normal! ;) And as far as finding publishers, read book jackets. Or poke around on Goodreads and see who books are published through.  All books on Goodreads have the publisher listed. You can even search for "lists"on Goodreads and find the genre you write in. The style you want. Find out who publishes those books and visit their websites. Read the submission guidelines. Follow the guidelines and submit your book.

You're published. What next? Go to conferences. Meet people. Readers want to connect to their authors. Especially if they LOVE your book. They want to know you. And before you go to a conference, you are only a name on a page. One diminutional. And besides readers, other authors read too! In meeting other authors and talking about your writing, you will find that people might be interested in reading your book and then you know what they do? They TALK to other people about it! I know I do. I recommend my favorite books. Now, of course, with ME I rarely read. So don't hold your breath for me to recommend your book around. But many people do. Authors are in the world together and we need to support each other. As I have said before, one reader can read WAY more books than one author is able to write. It is not a competition. I came up with Friend Friday as a way of promoting others. Some I have read, most I have not, and a few I have actually MET.

To Blog or not to Blog? I say BLOG. Readers , as I said, like to connect with their favorite authors. Even if you think you are boring, like me, someone out there is enjoying what you say. Even if it is because you make THEM feel normal. I had toast this morning with jelly on it, and a Greek yogurt. Maybe someone reading this had the SAME breakfast and it gives them a chuckle. Connection made. :) Or, in the more meaningful sense, you write about fear or pain or hurt because that is where you are right then, and someone online read it and knows they are not alone. My character Hannah Dixon says, "Alone is a horrible place to be." No one wants to be alone. Especially the ones who are pushed out or abandoned because then they are not alone by choice but by force. Help them connect. Be real.

Write believable characters. Readers want to feel that the character is a person they could meet. Even an Elf or Dwarf or a guy with tentacles coming out of his head! If the character is written well enough, it will FEEL REAL. Many readers read as an escape. If a reader is sucked into a story and feels like they are living it, not merely reading it, then you have succeeded in writing a good tale!

I think that is all I have for now. I wanted to write this morning but I'm tired because the dog woke me up at 3:30 to go out. argh.

Another note: I was on Amazon this morning because I had another "review" of JOCK so I checked it out. But the one at the top was one from January 2013. I liked what it said:

Another great book from Wade Kelly. This one is a lot more light and humor filled than the other book I read "When Love Is Not Enough"m but the writing is just as great. Wade really knows how to write characters no matter the personality and make them seem real. About 4000 locations and 19 chapters (there was a chapter 7.5 which comprised of a flashback)

This is mostly told through Cole's narration of events, but a few times we get Ellis or a secondary character's narration. Cole is just a bit (note sarcasm) of a Negative Nelly and somewhat socially awkward, but his biting sarcasm was a hoot to read. There is some seriously LOL moments throughout the story. Ellis is the not so typical jock who has learned how to manage Cole's drama queen moments. It's essentially love at first sight, but never you fear there are misunderstandings and other hurtles to clear before the HEA.

I wanted to point out, "Wade really knows how to write characters no matter the personality and make them seem real." because that makes my point. Readers notice! So write your heart out and make it real.

Friend Friday might be revamped and pushed a week because i forgot to get the interview questions out. This week has been a challenge for me personal and the brain isn't working. Sorry Whitley. But on an up note I have been writing some pretty good stuff. I strive to write emotion well, and when pushed to an extreme emotional response, I write the emotion better. That could be bad but I'll see it as good. Misplaced Affection is over 100,000 words and very fast paces and angsty. I re wrote the blurb yesterday because the original one seemed to happy. It does have happy moments and will have an HEA, but it is not a happy, fluffy book. It is a Wade Kelly Special all the way!

PRE-ORDERS thru me:

Names Can Never Hurt Me from Dreamspinner Press is currently #10 on their Best Seller List.

If you are going to GRL, you can PRE-ORDER paperbacks of any of my books and I will bring them to you in Chicago to sign :)  I have an updated the form HERE, but it only tells me what to bring not who ordered it. Sending a payment through Paypal with a note works best. I will message you back to let you know I got the payment and I know what to bring. Thanks to Jason and Lauren for sending me a note attached :) PAYPAL: writerwadekelly@gmail.com   cost is $14.50 for any paperback of mine. See you in Chicago!

Also, Dreamspinner is having a sale right now, so if you want books, GET THEM! DSP was offering a PRE-ORDER promo code and I do not know if it works on sales, but you can try. Most likely it will. Promo code: GRL2014   order your paperback and pick them up in Chicago. No shipping and get them cheaper than most other places. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS METHOD! Plus with DSP you get the eBook free with paperback. ;)