New Releases and a New Blog

Two of my buddies have books out this week.

Krista D. Ball has Tranquility's Blaze from Mundania Press. Gorgeous cover and brilliant choice of fonts.

“What will I do? What I do best. I’ll find him and I’ll kill him. And then I’ll kill Garran’s murderer.”

Even if the killer is my sister.


A half-breed and a female, Lady Bethany clawed her way to the ranks of the Elven Service’s top military elite. They only knew her as their champion against Magic, and not the daughter of a Goddess.

She’d expected a long, rewarding life protecting those under her care. But that was before her twin sister returned from exile, addicted to brutal Magic and human sacrifice, twisted inside, and abusing ancient prophecies to overthrow their mother and destroy everything Bethany holds sacred.

The world will burn in flames and innocents will die, unless Bethany can stop it. Unless she can take the life of her own sister.

And for all you mystery fans, the fabulous Clarissa Draper is debuting with The Sholes Key.

All across London, single mothers are vanishing. Margaret Hill, mother of two, walked out of her house two months before, never seen again. A month later, Carrie-Anne Morgans takes her two-year-old son for a walk in the park and disappears, leaving him alone in his stroller. Lorna McCauley leaves her London flat in the early hours of the morning to buy medicine for her sick child and does not return.

Newly promoted Detective Inspector Theophilus Blackwell is assigned the case of Lorna McCauley, which on the outside seems to be a simple case of mid-life crisis and child abandonment. Elsewhere in London, MI5 analyst, Sophia Evans, is working undercover to catch an animal rights group responsible for targeted bombings. As Sophia's case (and her personal life) fall to pieces, she receives a strange envelope in the mail. It contains a picture of Lorna McCauley's lifeless face along with a daunting code.

Now the police and MI5 are forced to work together to stop the murders, and Sophia must find her way into the terrifying mind of a serial killer.

Can the reading season get any better than this? Congrats to Krista and Clarissa! You guys hit it out of the park.

***

Drum roll, please...

About that little world domination thing I mentioned. You know how the experts are always saying we should write about our passions? I plan to do just that.

Starting May 1st, the first post on my NEW blog will air. The blog is called Getting Back to Basics and will talk about leading a simpler and more productive life without opening a vein. It'll cover everything from saving money to saving your sanity with organizational tips and tricks. 

For the last couple of months I've been compiling blog post ideas and tweetable tips--enough to take me through a whole year.

And what comes at the end of that year?

The Frugal Way books

I've decided not to put the two completed books (on grocery shopping and garage sales) until next spring. That's because there are other books planned and I want to do multiple releases within a short period of time in 2013.

In the meantime, I hope to build up my reader base with this nifty new blog.

Getting Back to Basics will funnel through the Facebook page, The Frugal Way, Getting Back to Basics. Some of you remember my Prudent Penny posts here on this blog. Well, it'll be just like that--only better.

What you can do: 

• Become a follower at Getting Back to Basics, both on the Networked Blogs and The Water Cooler links.


• Tweet or mention the blog and Facebook page on Facebook or your blog.

Write for me. Looking for an expanded audience from your usual blog tour haunts? I plan to host a small number of authors who can write short, family-friendly posts on food, gardening, pets, and crafts. Go here for more information on that.

The big reveal is tomorrow, but feel free to visit the site today and look around. Tell me what other FAQs and links you'd like to see listed, or what kind of topics you, yourself are interested in.

It's a brand new baby blog! Suggestions welcomed!

Is this a full Monday or what?  Come back tomorrow for more intel on the new blog.

 

Comments

Sarah Ahiers said…
1st FOLLOWER!! BAM!
Woo hoo! I'm excited! And i maaaaaay be interested in guest posting for you there, since i'm experienced in all 4 of those topics!
And congrats to Clarissa and Krista on their books!
Maria Zannini said…
Sarah: You are the first! Yay for early risers. :)

Thanks, Sarah!
I am looking forward to this... I am already following you on facebook on the Frugal Way page. :)
Jennifer Shirk said…
Wow, very exciting!!

And loved the blurbs on both those books. Congrats to both authors!
Rula Sinara said…
Interesting book blurbs! And your new blog (and release plan) sounds fantastic. Congrats!
Raelyn Barclay said…
Congrats on the releases ladies. I've had Krista's on my radar for a bit but will have to check out Clarissa's.

Well, you know how WP and Blogger just love each other...not. I've got you in my reader though! Congrats on the new project Maria, though I'm a little bummed about waiting a year for the grocery book.

I'll have to look over your post requirements :)
LD Masterson said…
Well, I didn't get to be your first follower but I'm in the first few. I'll do a blog post on the new site on Friday.

And thanks for the new books info.
Maria Zannini said…
Kimber: Thanks! I think--if I'm not mistaken, that if you subscribe to the Networked blogs, it pops up automatically. At least, it seems the people I follow show up before my other friends on Facebook.

***
Jennifer: It's going to be an interesting experiment if nothing else. That's why I wanted to make sure I had enough material before I started.

***
Rula: It's been a dream of mine for a while, but I was too chicken to do it right away. :)
Maria Zannini said…
Raelyn: The GFC isn't as critical, but advertisers are going to be looking at my Networked Blogs list, so if I can get people to at least click on that, it should help my visibility a lot.

PS Look for an email from me in a minute.

***

Linda: If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have had the guts to go ahead with this. Thank you for kicking me in the butt. :)

And thank you for following!
Krista D. Ball said…
Thanks Maria!

I've been away all weekend AT A COMIC CON WITH THE ENTIRE CAST OF TNG, STAN LEE, ***AND*** ADAM WEST (not that I am excited) so just catching up on my blogs. Thanks!!

Krista
That all sounds awesome! I'm off to do what I can to help out.
Jackie said…
WOW exciting news Maria, Google+ shared, tweeted, FB shared and followed by Email, NB and GFC so I am not going to miss out.
However bummer to wait until 2013 for the tip books, oh well it will be worth it.
Maria Zannini said…
Krista: You're welcome. :o)

PS I would've loved to have met Stan Lee. I'd like to know if he's as much a character as he portrays for the camera.

***

Barbara: Thanks. All help--and suggestions are appreciated.

***

Jackie: :o) What would I do without you? Thanks, hon.
Nadja Notariani said…
That second story sounds fabulous!

Congrats on getting the new blog going, Maria. I'll be sure to stop over and cheer you on. I'll also think on any money saving/frugal ideas I use, and maybe I'll sign up to guest post.
Mark K said…
Maria,

Love the look of those book covers, and you're right about the fonts on the first cover, very nice - though the lower half font reminds me of Harry Potter font?

I've listed you on my latest post, citing you, amongst a list of others, as someone I now consider a BlogoF... Blogoverse Friend :)
Maria Zannini said…
Nadja: I'm on pins and needles. I really want to do this right.

***

Mark: I think the font is appropriate for a fantasy. Rowling doesn't have dibs on any one font, though when a book becomes popular enough it's always iffy to use anything similar to it.

I'll stop by your blog in a bit. :)
Angela Brown said…
So I'm now a follower at the baby blog and linked to the networked blogs and tweeted the new blog via my neostateofmind handle. Going to do a FB hit from my page as well. Hoping this helps to get the word out.

Big hugs!!
Angelina Rain said…
This new blog of yours sounds really awesome. I can't wait for you to start posting and for me to start reading.
Shelley Munro said…
Congrats, ladies, on your new releases. I love the covers.

Maria, the blog is loaded on my reader, and I'm good to go.
Mike Keyton said…
Interesting books. Great covers, and I particularly liked Clarissa's blurb. Ref your new project, Maria - Good luck. I'll start clicking on the right links when our garage conversion is complete. At the moment I'm hunched in a tunnel of boxes and furniture - the computer scrunched in a three foot square space - never knew a garage could hold so much nor that my family would want to keep so much : )
Maria Zannini said…
Angela: I had no idea I wasn't following you on Twitter. I have no corrected that faux pas. Thanks, hon.

***
Angelina: This week will be introductions. This will help me see if anything is not working or linking like it should. The real fun begins next week.

***
Shelley: Thank you!

***
Mike: Is that where you've been hiding? I don't envy your task. Though now that I think of it--my garage could use a bit of sprucing up.
Unknown said…
You're awesome! THanks so much for mentioning my book. I hope people like it. Now, I'm going to your links and making sure I'm a follower. Do you want me to write a blog post for you? Problem is, I'm not really good at any of those things--food, gardening, pets or crafts. Well, maybe I can do something anyways. Let me know.
Maria Zannini said…
Clarissa: You're welcome! Just mention my new Getting Back to Basics blog every so often. That would be thanks enough.

Congrats on your new book!
Sarah Allen said…
So excited for the books! And congrats on the new blog as well, it sounds like an incredibly worthwhile endeavor!


Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)