Stephanie Humphreys has been a great friend for nearly all of my writing career. We became blog buddies when we were both just starting out, and met in person at my first LDStorymakers conference.

A couple of years later, we exchanged manuscripts and gave each other critiques. She had many great recommendations for Bumpy Landings, and I gave her some suggestions for her exciting romantic suspense novel, Double Deceit.

Someone is watching.

As a young widow, all Elaina Bryant wants is a fresh start. Determined to put ten painful years behind her, she returns to her hometown and moves in with her sister, Natalie. Elaina soon accepts a job working at a small bookstore owned by the handsome Ryan Hill and his mother. Despite her reluctance to become romantically involved with anyone, she is drawn to Ryan and finds herself falling in love.

But someone isn’t happy with Elaina’s new life and is watching her every move. Her tormentor seems determined to destroy her sanity and her future, but Elaina can’t convince anyone the threat is real. Natalie is preoccupied with her own blossoming romance, and Ryan and Elaina’s friend Peter seem to believe the threat has been manufactured in her own mind a result of her guilt and grief.

Now Elaina’s plans for a new start are crashing down around her. She knows she will have to find the answers on her own before she can ever overcome the past and enjoy love and happiness again. But how can she protect those she loves when she doesn’t know whom to trust?

I’m glad Stephanie found a home for Double Deceit, and asked me to take part in the blog tour. This is an exciting story, with several unexpected twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. The characters are interesting and well-written, and I especially enjoyed the details of life in small-town Canada and Writing-on-Stone Park. The story of a young woman tormented into questioning her own sanity is tight, believable, and sufficiently disturbing.

I’m sure you’ll enjoy Double Deceit by Stephanie Humphreys.

Visit Stephanie’s blog for information on her blog tour contest, and check out all of the stops on the Double Deceit blog tour:

August 15 – Maria Hoagland   http://mariahoagland.blogspot.com
August 16 – Heather Gardner  http://fireandice.blogspot.com
August 17 – Rachelle Christensen  http://rachellewrites.blogspot.com
August 18 – Jane Still  http://janeisfeldstill.blogspot.com/
August 19 – Deborah Davis  http://debbiesinkspectations.blogspot.com
August 22 – Renae Mackley  http://renaeswritespot.blogspot.com
August 23 -  Cindy Hogan  http://cindymhogan.blogspot.com
August 24 – Matthew Tandy  http://matthewtandy.blogspot.com
August 25 – Taffy Lovell  http://sweeterthantaffy.blogspot.com/
August 26 – Kathy Habel  http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com
August 29 – Don Carey  http://donaldjcarey.com
August 30 – Teri Rodeman  http://terirodeman.blogspot.com
August 31 – Cathy Witbeck  http://cathywitbeck-storypainter.blogspot.com/
Sept. 1 – Shelly Seele  http://seeshelwrites.blogspot.com
Sept. 2 – Tristi Pinkston  http://tristipinkston.blogspot.com

NOTE: I originally posted this on the Writing Fortress blog a few weeks ago, and I thought I had reposted it here, but I guess not–until now!

Four debut authors. Three book signings. Three states. Twenty-four hours. What a trip!

This past weekend I had an excellent opportunity to take Bumpy Landings on a summer book tour with Tamara Heiner (Perilous), Lynn Parsons (disAbilities in the Gospel), and Cheri Chesley (Peasant Queen).

Tamara and Cheri came to Dallas on Friday, where Lynn and I met them for an evening signing at Moon’s LDS Bookstore. Then, bright and early Saturday morning, we drove to Hastings in Duncan, Oklahoma, where Cheri is visiting family. After our morning signing there, we zipped across the state to Springdale, Arkansas and Beehive Mercantile, which is Tamara’s hometown bookstore.

The tour was fun and extremely valuable, although maybe not financially profitable. Was a trip this size worth the time, cost, and effort? I think so, if only because of the people met and lessons learned.

As we sat down to breakfast yesterday, we talked about what worked, what didn’t, and what advice we would give to someone else planning a similar tour. Here are some of the things we came up with:

• Two of our stores had several months to prepare, although only one actually put together an “event”. This was a much better signing.
• One of the stores was a last-minute replacement, with only a week of preparation time. This signing was good, but could have been so much better with a month or more to prepare and promote.
• Signing with other authors is awesome! When the signing is slow, there is good conversation to be had. Travel time conversations are great, and it’s nice to split the gas costs.
• Two to four authors is a good number. It’s not so many that it intimidates customers, and “unknown” authors still get some attention (unlike, perhaps, mega-signings with dozens of other writers).
• Summer is a convenient time for authors to travel, but may not be the most optimum time for bringing in customers. Check with the bookstores to find out when their busy times are.
• Traveling to multiple locations in a day is fun and would seem to be an efficient way to work. However, it forces compromise on the schedule. Our morning Oklahoma signing would have been much better in the early afternoon, but then we would not have had time to make it to the signing in Arkansas.
• This kind of signing is like a business trip, and the planning and coordination need to be professional.
• This kind of signing is like a vacation (or writing conference), in that (especially for 4 debut authors) the only thing you can really count on is meeting new people and getting to know the other authors really well. Most vacations don’t turn a financial profit, either. The real value is time spent with others, learning and growing.
• Get the word out! Relying on walk-in traffic is courting failure. The most valuable customers are the ones the authors bring in themselves. Also, this kind of book event is an opportunity for you to crow about something. The publicity the tour itself generates may be the most valuable return you get.

Have you done a big multi-store, multi-author tour? What have you seen that works (or didn’t work) and what things have you learned from taking your book on the road?

(dis)Abilities and the Gospel

I am so excited to be a part of the (dis)Abilities and the Gospel blog tour.

As the father of a girl with a chromosome disorder, I am acutely aware of the special needs these children have. While my daughter has had some fantastic teachers and church leaders, most people–especially in a volunteer church environment–simply lack the knowledge and skills that could really help them connect with and teach her. To be honest, as a parent I often felt I shared that lack of knowledge and skills, and didn’t really know how to help the teachers help my child.

(dis)Abilities and the Gospel gives me the tools I need to help my child’s teachers and leaders.

The book is very well organized, with Danyelle and Lynn each writing to their strengths, and providing insights, experiences, and guidance that really speak to the heart of teaching the gospel to special needs individuals. There are sections with chapters on General Information and Teaching Strategies, as well as age-specific sections for children, youth, adults, and families. I especially appreciated the chapter on Baptism, as this is something that my wife and I have discussed frequently, and this chapter helped confirm the feelings that we have had.

Within the next few weeks, my daughter will turn twelve and transition from Primary to the Young Women’s program. Today I showed (dis)Abilities and the Gospel to several of her future leaders, and they were all very excited about the book and the information it contains. I am grateful that I can share the wonderful information in this book with them.

About the Authors

I have known Danyelle Ferguson for quite a few years. Her son has autism, and she draws on her experiences to offer fantastic advice for parents, teachers, and leaders.

Danyelle Ferguson and Don Carey

Lynn Parsons lives right here in Texas, and is an Education Diagnostician at a nearby school district. She has a master’s degree in Education and Technology, and has been tremendously helpful to us and our daughter.

Earl Parsons, Lynn Parsons, Daron Fraley, and Don Carey

Book Tour Giveaway

Danyelle and Lynn are giving away two $25 Amazon gift cards! One name will be drawn for a $25 Amazon gift card on June 30th. Another name will be drawn for a $25 Amazon gift card on July 22nd. Winners will be announced on www.QueenOfTheClan.com They have many ways to enter. Danyelle and Lynn will be keeping track of the entries and picking a winner from ALL of the reviews on this book tour. Leave A comment on the reviewer’s blog letting us know what you’ve done. Include your email address.

1 Entries Each:
- Leave a comment about the blogger’s review.
- Add the book to your “to-read” list on GoodReads
- Follow Danyelle’s blog
- Follow Lynn’s blog
- Follow Danyelle on FB
- Follow Lynn on FB
- Follow Danyelle on Twitter
- Follow Lynn on Twitter

2 Entries Each:
- Tell your friends about (dis)Abilities and the Gospel on Facebook with a person links to Danyelle Ferguson & Lynn Parsons
- Tell your friends about (dis)Abilities and the Gospel on Twitter with links to @DanyelleTweets

5 Entries:
- Interview Danyelle or Lynn for your blog or write a blog post about why you’re excited about (dis)Abilities and the Gospel. Be sure to leave a direct link to your post in your comment so we can visit and say hello!

Sorry this post is a little late. Funny how being home after a trip can be such a crazy, schedule-busting thing.

Friday’s stop on the Bumpy Landings blog tour is actually a “vlog” post–a video blog by Alexes over at One Cluttered Brain.

I had an interesting conversation with my wife yesterday. As you may know, carving out a space for writing time is a bit of a challenge for me, what with a full-time job and being a full-time dad. I’ve broached the subject of trying to make more time for writing during the week, but as I’ve explained the responsibilities my family would need to pick up from my schedule in order to make this happen, their buy-in has been lukewarm at best.

Yesterday, however, I explained that my goal is to have Into the Wind ready for submission by the end of this year so it can be out by early 2013. My wife said, “That’s too long. People are telling me they want the sequel now. You need to write faster.”

“To do that, I need more writing hours per week,” I said.

“Well, then do it.”

And then she left for the clinic in Kansas. But when she gets back, we’ll have that “Writing is a job/Need more hours” discussion again. Maybe this time I’ll get the hours I need.

17-Jan Braden Bell
18-Jan LDSWomen’s Book Review
19-Jan Michael Knudsen
20-Jan Krista Jensen
21-Jan Fire and Ice
24-Jan Tamara Heiner
25-Jan Keith Fisher
26-Jan Queen of the Clan
27-Jan Stephanie Humphreys
28-Jan So Many Books, So Little Time
1-Feb Cranberryfries
3-Feb Write Stuff
4-Feb Gamila’s Review
7-Feb Rambles and Ruminations
8-Feb Pink Ink
10-Feb Queen of Chaos
11-Feb I am a Pistachio
16-Feb Temporary? Insanity
17-Feb Why Not? Because I Said So!
18-Feb Elizabeth Mueller
21-Feb Cranberry Corner
22-Feb Tristi Pinkston
24-Feb M. E. Cunningham
25-Feb One Cluttered Brain
28-Feb A Wise Man Once Said…

Today’s post will be a short one, as I’ve had to hit the ground running. So much to catch up with after a wonderful book trip. Isn’t that how it always goes?

I learned my lesson about sending things Media Mail to Hawaii–don’t do it if time is of the essence. It took over a month for Iwa to get her copy of Bumpy Landings, and it didn’t arrive until last Friday. So I’ve moved her to the 28th.

For today, I would like to link over to a review on The Hawaii Book Blog. I was a little nervous sending this blog a copy of Bumpy Landings. I had a pretty good idea how my book fit into the LDS book market, but I really didn’t know how it would be received in the Hawaiian book market. Go on over and read the review to find out if my fears were justified. And even though this site is not officially on the blog tour, your comments will still count as an entry in the Blog Tour Giveaway.

17-Jan Braden Bell
18-Jan LDSWomen’s Book Review
19-Jan Michael Knudsen
20-Jan Krista Jensen
21-Jan Fire and Ice
24-Jan Tamara Heiner
25-Jan Keith Fisher
26-Jan Queen of the Clan
27-Jan Stephanie Humphreys
28-Jan So Many Books, So Little Time
1-Feb Cranberryfries
3-Feb Write Stuff
4-Feb Gamila’s Review
7-Feb Rambles and Ruminations
8-Feb Pink Ink
10-Feb Queen of Chaos
11-Feb I am a Pistachio
16-Feb Temporary? Insanity
17-Feb Why Not? Because I Said So!
18-Feb Elizabeth Mueller
21-Feb Cranberry Corner
22-Feb Tristi Pinkston
24-Feb M. E. Cunningham
25-Feb One Cluttered Brain
28-Feb A Wise Man Once Said…

Several years ago, I took part in a month-long writing challenge, and I look at that as a turning point where I really got serious about writing. That challenge was hosted by my friend Tristi Pinkston, and I am excited to have Tristi hosting today’s stop on the blog tour.

I’m writing this post Monday night at the Honolulu airport, waiting for my red-eye flight. I am sitting in the corner, three electronic devices plugged in and charging. With luck, I won’t need any of them, as I’ll hopefully be sleeping between here and Salt Lake, and maybe even all the way to Dallas.

As I’ve already mentioned, this has been a very productive trip. I wish I could have brought my family with my, as I’m sure they would have enjoyed being in Hawaii. However, being alone has allowed me to keep a schedule that probably would not have been very popular. My goal is to bring them back in two years, when the Polynesian Cultural Center celebrates its 50th anniversary. I’ve been invited to participate in the Alumni Brass Band, and with any luck Into the Wind will be written, published, and ready to be marketed. It should be a fun trip, so I need to start saving my quarters now!

I posted on Twitter earlier today that I came with 45 books, and was returning with 8. That number is now 7. On my way to the airport, I felt impressed to drop a book by George’s Aviation, the flight school where I took my one and only flying lesson and that served loosely as a model for La’aloa.

They seemed very excited to have served as inspiration for someone’s novel. I still get a little nervous putting Bumpy Landings out there for new groups of readers, but hopefully they will like it as well as everyone else does.

17-Jan Braden Bell
18-Jan LDSWomen’s Book Review
19-Jan Michael Knudsen
20-Jan Krista Jensen
21-Jan Fire and Ice
24-Jan Tamara Heiner
25-Jan Keith Fisher
26-Jan Queen of the Clan
27-Jan Stephanie Humphreys
28-Jan So Many Books, So Little Time
1-Feb Cranberryfries
3-Feb Write Stuff
4-Feb Gamila’s Review
7-Feb Rambles and Ruminations
8-Feb Pink Ink
10-Feb Queen of Chaos
11-Feb I am a Pistachio
16-Feb Temporary? Insanity
17-Feb Why Not? Because I Said So!
18-Feb Elizabeth Mueller
21-Feb Cranberry Corner
22-Feb Tristi Pinkston
23-Feb A Wise Man Once Said…
24-Feb M. E. Cunningham
25-Feb One Cluttered Brain

Today’s stop on the Bumpy Landings blog tour is by Sheila over at Why Not? Because I Said So.

Can I just say, Wow! What a day. Yesterday was really, really great. I started out with breakfast at Hukilau Cafe, a great little restaurant on the north side of town, near the famous Hukilau Beach.

Readers of Bumpy Landings will recognize this as the site of an important scene in the book. And yes, I had the banana pancakes. Fans of the movie 50 First Dates will probably not recognize this shot, but the interior was used to film the diner scenes.

After breakfast, I went to BYU-Hawaii to drop off posters at the bookstore for my signing with Whitney finalist Susan Corpany. How can you not just love this place?

Later in the morning, Susan and I presented to the creative writing class. It was my first ever presentation as an author, and I think it went okay. Nobody snored or threw rotten fruit, and people laughed at the appropriate places.

Later in the afternoon and evening, I had two research stops for Into the Wind. The first was the La’ie McDonald’s for some dinner. The second stop was the Polynesian Cultural Center, where I was privileged to spend the evening backstage in the Pacific Theater, watching the preparations and production of the night show, Ha: Breath of Life.

My friends, this is an amazing group of people working very hard, and I am very honored to have been allowed access. I didn’t take any pictures, but I took notes. Lots and lots of notes, and I am so very excited to finally write the three scenes that I have identified as taking place backstage.

I’ve been told that the authentic feel of the setting is one of the strong points in Bumpy Landings. Thanks to the fine, generous folks at the PCC, I will be able to continue that authenticity with Into the Wind.

Write what you know. Research what you don’t. And then when you know it, write.

17-Jan Braden Bell
18-Jan LDSWomen’s Book Review
19-Jan Michael Knudsen
20-Jan Krista Jensen
21-Jan Fire and Ice
24-Jan Tamara Heiner
25-Jan Keith Fisher
26-Jan Queen of the Clan
27-Jan Stephanie Humphreys
28-Jan So Many Books, So Little Time
1-Feb Cranberryfries
3-Feb Write Stuff
4-Feb Gamila’s Review
7-Feb Rambles and Ruminations
8-Feb Pink Ink
10-Feb Queen of Chaos
11-Feb I am a Pistachio
16-Feb Temporary? Insanity
17-Feb Why Not? Because I Said So!
18-Feb Elizabeth Mueller
21-Feb Cranberry Corner
22-Feb Tristi Pinkston
23-Feb A Wise Man Once Said…
24-Feb M. E. Cunningham
25-Feb One Cluttered Brain

Today’s stop on the blog tour is over at Gamila’s Review. Don’t forget to leave a comment there for your entry into the Blog Tour Contest!

It’s a good thing I like Utah, because I’m stuck here for an extra day. The snow in Dallas means I get a few more hours on my work project and another half-day with my parents and siblings. If it weren’t for keeping me from my wife and kids, I’d say it was a pretty good deal. But I miss my girls.

When originally writing Bumpy Landings, I tried to strike a balance between authentic Hawaiian names and names the general public would find easy to pronounce.

One of the main characters is named Kehau. I’m finding out that her name isn’t quite as easy to figure out as I originally thought. So for those of you wondering, it’s pronounced “kay-HOW” or “keh-HOW”.  (It’s not “KEE-haw” as one southern belle originally thought.) The name is often short for Kehaulani, which means “Dew of Heaven.”

For those of you who’ve read Bumpy Landings, what other names need to go into a pronunciation guide?

17-Jan Braden Bell
18-Jan LDSWomen’s Book Review
19-Jan Michael Knudsen
20-Jan Krista Jensen
21-Jan Fire and Ice
24-Jan Tamara Heiner
25-Jan Keith Fisher
26-Jan Queen of the Clan
27-Jan Stephanie Humphreys
28-Jan So Many Books, So Little Time
1-Feb Cranberryfries
3-Feb Write Stuff
4-Feb Gamila’s Review
7-Feb Rambles and Ruminations
8-Feb Pink Ink
9-Feb A Wise Man Once Said…
10-Feb Queen of Chaos
11-Feb I am a Pistachio
15-Feb Summerill Surf
16-Feb Temporary? Insanity
17-Feb Why Not? Because I Said So!
18-Feb Elizabeth Mueller
21-Feb Cranberry Corner
22-Feb Tristi Pinkston
24-Feb M. E. Cunningham
25-Feb One Cluttered Brain

Today’s blog stop is a two-fer, with reviews from both AlisonWonderland and her daughter Sugar Plum at So Many Books, So Little Time. Go read the reviews and leave a comment as your entry in the Blog Tour Contest.

Also, don’t forget to spread the Bumpy Landings Book Trailer for your entry into the Book Trailer Contest!

Last night falls into the “What a Night” category, but mostly in a good way. Our friends Marc and Isaura offered to host a book party for Bumpy Landings at their home, and they went all out with a cake and treats.

I brought the panipopo and mini haupia pies there in the front. I also got to use my big banner again–ain’t it cool?

The Bumpy Landings paper airplanes were a hit!

I asked my photographer/daughter to get a picture of me signing books, but she didn’t. Just me standing around, having a good time.

She also didn’t get a picture of the keys, which she managed to lock in the car. Or a picture of her friend–who’s parents are locksmiths–coming to our rescue.

In short, the party was great, even if the after-party went a bit longer than expected.

17-Jan Braden Bell
18-Jan LDSWomen’s Book Review
19-Jan Michael Knudsen
20-Jan Krista Jensen
21-Jan Fire and Ice
24-Jan Tamara Heiner
25-Jan Keith Fisher
26-Jan Queen of the Clan
27-Jan Stephanie Humphreys
28-Jan So Many Books, So Little Time
1-Feb Cranberryfries
2-Feb Summerill Surf
3-Feb Write Stuff
4-Feb Gamila’s Review
7-Feb Rambles and Ruminations
8-Feb Pink Ink
9-Feb A Wise Man Once Said…
10-Feb Queen of Chaos
11-Feb I am a Pistachio
16-Feb Temporary? Insanity
17-Feb Why Not? Because I Said So!
18-Feb Elizabeth Mueller
21-Feb Cranberry Corner
22-Feb Tristi Pinkston
24-Feb M. E. Cunningham
25-Feb One Cluttered Brain

Head on over to Write Bravely to read Stephanie Humphrey’s thoughts on Bumpy Landings.

Yesterday’s post on pitching the MS that would eventually become Bumpy Landings generated a couple of interesting comments, essentially summed up as, “Pitch a novel? No way!”

I have to admit, sitting in the same room as an editor and trying to describe my book was a very uncomfortable experience–never mind that Kirk is a great guy and worked hard to reassure me during the pitch. It was an experience that fell way-way-WAY outside my comfort zone.

So why do it? Because signing up for the pitch gave me a deadline; a commitment. I had to have my book ready in time, and having that deadline worked wonders at making sure I did the work. Self-imposed deadlines can be pretty soft, which is why the word count on Into the Wind hasn’t changed since November. But a pitch session? That kind of deadline is hard and fast–very difficult to ignore.

Would I pitch again? You bet. My future plans include branching out into YA SciFi, so don’t be surprised to hear me stressing about a pitch session at Storymakers 2013.

17-Jan Braden Bell
18-Jan LDSWomen’s Book Review
19-Jan Michael Knudsen
20-Jan Krista Jensen
21-Jan Fire and Ice
24-Jan Tamara Heiner
25-Jan Keith Fisher
26-Jan Queen of the Clan
27-Jan Stephanie Humphreys
28-Jan So Many Books, So Little Time
1-Feb Cranberryfries
2-Feb Summerill Surf
3-Feb Write Stuff
4-Feb Gamila’s Review
7-Feb Rambles and Ruminations
8-Feb Pink Ink
9-Feb A Wise Man Once Said…
10-Feb Queen of Chaos
11-Feb I am a Pistachio
16-Feb Temporary? Insanity
17-Feb Why Not? Because I Said So!
18-Feb Elizabeth Mueller
21-Feb Cranberry Corner
22-Feb Tristi Pinkston
24-Feb M. E. Cunningham
25-Feb One Cluttered Brain