Pitch Your Story by Paranormal Romance Author C.D. Hersh...

In March of 2013, we had the best editor pitch in our careers—the one that sold our book The Turning Stone Chronicles—The Promised One to Soul Mate Publishing. It wasn’t the first time we had pitched this book, or others, and it probably won’t be the last time we have to pitch. Pitching is a constant for any writer and that face-to-face contact goes a long way. Along our journey we’ve picked up a lot of tips. Here are twelve pointers we hope you’ll find helpful. 

1 - Dress for success. Whether you realize it or not, this is a job interview. Even though you might type in your PJs, you want to make a good first impression on the editor. 

2 - Make a cheat sheet note card (small enough to fit discreetly in your hand) with your title, subgenre, book length, hook, your blurb and any contests the book finaled in. These are notes for you, not for the editor. We all get nervous and forget the simplest things. A cheat sheet comes in handy when this happens. 

3 - Smile. It makes you look confident. 

4 - Keep eye contact with the editor. This also helps you look confident. 

5 - Give her your business card. Make sure all your contact information is on your card: website, email, telephone, and any other contact information you’d like to add. We put our book blurb on the back of our business card so it’s available for her to read (should she choose) after we’ve left. It’s also a great way to keep your story in front of her since most editors don’t accept one-sheets or other papers at a conference, but they will accept your business cards. Remember, they have to carry anything they accept back with them on the plane. 

6 - Take a deep breath and talk distinctly and slowly. It’s natural to speak quickly when you’re nervous, but in a room with several other editors and writers giving their pitches it’s easy to miss words that are said too fast. 

7 - Start your pitch with your book title and book cover blurb. Don’t read it—memorize it. Do your best to make it sound like you’re telling a friend about your book, not reeling off a commercial. Practice makes perfect on this hint. After you hooked her, hopefully, with your great blurb, let her know the subgenre, length, contest wins, or other pertinent information about the book. 

8 - Be enthusiastic about your book. She’ll notice your passion and it could spark her interest. 

9 - Keep your initial presentation to about half the time allotted for the pitch. This leaves time for her to ask questions. 

10 - If you see she’s not interested, or she says she just bought something like it, or you have extra time, have another book ready to pitch. Just make sure it’s in a genre she’s accepting. Catherine actually pitched three books in one session because her initial pitch went so fast. The editor asked to see all three! 

11 - Ask her how to submit. Make sure you get her business card with contact information. There’s nothing worse than leaving the interview and realizing you didn’t find out where to send your manuscript. And, yes, Catherine has been so nervous and excited that an editor asked for her book that she walked out without her contact information. 

12 - Don’t forget to say, “Thanks” as you leave. This may seem like a given, but in tense situations it’s easy for things slip your mind, as noted by Catherine’s mistake in the hint above. If she doesn’t ask for your book, be sure to thank her for her time. You don’t want to burn any bridges. You might have another book later you’ll want to pitch to the same editor or house. 

Our chance came, not at a scheduled meeting, but at the breakfast table. When you’re at a conference you need to be ready to give your pitch at anytime. Just keep it short and to the point. 

Do you have any tips to add to this? Please insert them in the comments.

Putting words and stories on paper is second nature to co-authors C.D. Hersh. They've written separately since they were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the mid-90s. As high school sweethearts and husband and wife, Catherine and Donald believe in true love and happily ever after, and that’s why they write romance.

In addition to writing Catherine and Donald love antiquing, traveling, singing, and going to the theatre. Catherine is also an avid gardener and has drawn Donald into her garden as a day laborer. They figure the couple who plays together and works together, stays together—and that's just what they aim to do.

Second Editions Coming Soon:

Ghosts and Gardenias

The Promised One The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 1
Blood Brothers The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 2
Son of the Moonless Night The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 3
The Mercenary and the Shifters The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 4

Social Media Info:

Website

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Amazon Author Page

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Guest Post: The Curse of Continuity by Epic Fantasy Author Carol Browne...

You’ll hear writers complain about the number of typos that get missed during the editing and proofreading processes, so their work is published with errors it is too late to fix. This is something that happens to even the most well-known authors, regardless of what publisher they use.

As a proofreader who is also an author, I have seen typos in my own published work and have no idea how I missed them. There is some kind of brain glitch that sees what it expects to see, hence, for example, ‘to’ becomes ‘do’, and the meaning of an entire sentence is lost. We just have to hope that readers suffer from the same glitch or like our work enough to overlook the mistakes.

Proofreading errors are bad enough, but far worse are errors in continuity and these may be harder to spot. For example, a character may sit at a table while having already done so on the previous page; someone claims to have come by bus, yet we know he left his car in the car park; the protagonist is shown into the boss’s office by a blonde secretary who is a redhead when he comes out.

I have just finished editing a book I wrote over several years. It started as three novellas which were then glued together into one novel. Revisiting old material is a challenge anyway but more so when a book has been written in sections with not enough thought to the sequence of events. Continuity errors have been a nightmare with this particular work, and chunks of the narrative had to be rewritten to iron out the inconsistencies. Proofreading errors, conversely, have been a doddle.

While storytelling is an author’s main function, there are many other factors that must be borne in mind. An author must:

1.     Create interesting, believable characters that the readers will care about

2.     Provide them with a plotline that works

3.     Weave any necessary subplots seamlessly into the narrative

4.     Be fluent and grammatically correct in the language of their choice

5.     Avoid spelling and style errors and typos

6.     Create a consistent atmosphere to suit the genre of the work

7.     Do sufficient research to support the credibility of the work

8.     Decide if certain themes, social commentaries or observations are to be included

9.     Maintain the interest of the readers throughout, regardless of their demographic, and

10  Never disappoint their readers with weak endings and plot holes.

While juggling all of the above, continuity might slide under the radar, but an author must keep track of what their characters are doing: their movements; appearance; clothes; dialogue; relationships; backstories; ages; emotions, and so on. Added to that is the need to be aware of changes in time and place.

That’s a lot of plates to keep spinning! No wonder errors creep in.

Alas, after you’ve written and submitted your book and you’re sure you’ve created perfection, you might see one of those plates smashed on the ground when a continuity error is finally discovered—but it’s too late, because your book’s been published! A case in point is the book I am currently reading. It’s well written and compelling and the author is prolific and professionally published; however, I noted that the main character asked someone if they had any kin, to be told no, only to ask that same person the same question two pages further on, again with the same response. Given all those spinning plates the author had to keep an eye on, I’d say it happens to the best of us.

Here is a brief intro to Book One of Carol's exciting trilogy.

Banished from Elvendom and forced to seek refuge among the Saxons, young Elgiva faces a grim future - until she crosses paths with Godwin, a Briton enslaved by the people she must now call allies.

When a dark power rises to claim dominion over Elvendom, Elgiva and Godwin set off on a dangerous quest for the legendary Lorestone: the only thing that can stop the looming darkness. With a reluctant elf boy as their guide and a stubborn pony by their side, they must navigate the treacherous land and harness ancient magic before it’s too late.

As battle lines are drawn, Elgiva must embrace her true heritage, and Godwin must learn to wield the secret power he possesses. But can they find the Lorestone in time - or will Elvendom fall forever?

An historical fantasy adventure set in 6th century Britain, THE EXILE OF ELINDEL is the first book in Carol Browne's The Elwardain Chronicles series.

UNIVERSAL BOOK LINK

Once upon a time a little girl wrote a poem about a flower. Impressed, her teacher pinned it to the wall and, in doing so, showed the child which path to follow.

Over the years poems and stories flowed from her pen like magic from a wizard’s wand.

She is much older now, a little wiser too, and she lives in rural Cambridgeshire, where there are many trees to hug.

But inside her still is that little girl who loved Nature and discovered the magic of words.

She hopes to live happily ever after.

Stay connected with Carol on her website and blog, Facebook, and Twitter. 

Author in the Kitchen: Soup is On, served up by Helen Carpenter...

Now that winter has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, the human residents of Carpenter Country have started thinking about soup. And quackers too of course. My family and I are duck fans, and ducks generally show up in our neighborhood this time of year. However, much as we like both, we restrain ourselves from combining soup and quackers.

Speaking of combining things, did you know January is National Soup Month in the USA? What we don’t understand is why April is national grilled cheese sandwich month. Those two celebrations belong together. Someone should right this wrong.

We think we’ll have soup while we work up a petition.

Won’t you join us in a bowl? It’s big enough for all.

Easy Potato Soup

1 tbsp. butter
4-5 potatoes, peeled and diced
Chopped or diced onion to taste
1 tbsp. cornstarch or flour
¼ cup water
2 cups water
1 cup milk (whole, evaporated, or 2%)
1 tsp. salt
1 packet chicken bouillon
Shredded cheese optional

Melt butter in 2 quart saucepan.

Add onions and potatoes and cook until soft (5-10 minutes).

Mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with ¼ cup water (pre-mixing prevents annoying lumps). Add cornstarch mixture, water, milk, salt, and bouillon to softened potatoes and onions in saucepan.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes.

Serve with a topping of shredded cheese and a chunk of fresh bread.

Bonus goodness:
Crave added richness? Substitute ½ cup whipping cream for half of the milk.

Are you a vegetable fan? Toss in the veggie of your choice, either frozen or fresh, when you add the milk and water. We like frozen carrots and corn. They add color and they cook right along with the potatoes.

Like things meatier? Put in leftover ham or chicken.

Bland potatoes? Mix in sweet pickle juice. Six teaspoons give the soup a little zing.

Want some zest? A ½ teaspoon dry mustard provides zip.

Need more soup? Add more stuff. The converse works too.

Fighting off vampires? Switch out the regular salt for a teaspoon of garlic salt. If you have a bad infestation, add ½ teaspoon crushed garlic to the soup and serve with a wood spoon.

Once upon a time there was a mother/daughter author duo named Helen and Lorri, who wrote as HL Carpenter. the Carpenters worked from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories was unreal but not untrue. Then one day Lorri left her studio to explore the land of What-If, and like others who have lost a loved one the magical place lost much of its magic. But thanks to family, plus an amazing group of wordsmiths named Authors Moving Forward (AMF), the magic is slowly returning.

Helen Carpenter loves liking and sharing blog posts from other authors. She lives in Florida with her husband of many years and appreciates every day, especially those without hurricanes.

Stay connected on her blog and Facebook.

Author Life 2.0: Fail to Plan. Plan to Fail...

Happy New Year to all my readers out there! I’m not sure about you, but I found that 2025 was a kind of ‘expect the unexpected’ year. Unfortunately, I never did get my knee replacement surgery date last year. Sigh. BUT, I’m booked to go get my new and improved knee at the end of this January. Yay, me! I’m a little nervous and excited at the same time, so wish me luck and a fast recovery! That said, January 2025 started with an urgency to research the best publishers to query for The Last Timekeepers time travel adventure series, and Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls teen psychic mysteries, as the publisher I had been with for ten years was closing at the end of 2025. I had decided to split up my book series with two different publishers (not a lofty goal at all!), where I’d approach a Canadian publisher for my Fairy Falls series (based in Canada), and an International publisher for The Last Timekeepers. Wow, talk about kismet! I managed to find two publishers willing to take on my backlist and future books within two months. Now that’s when hard work meets luck!

While I was busy dismantling my old author life, and trying to build a new one, we were met with devastating news at the loss of our 22-week-old grandchild February 1st, who was to be born in late spring of 2025. Then, my 95-year-old mother was hospitalized a week later through a fall in the long term care facility she’s living in, and still hasn’t managed to regain her walking abilities. Yes, I’m a firm believer that there is strength through adversity, and I’ve found that you can only keep it together by understanding that we’re never in control of the narrative. The truth is we are all experiencing life in our own way, and at times, our mettle is tested to bring us to the next level of our lives, if we so choose.

So, between the grieving what was lost, and making choices that would support my new Author Life, I
made a plan to tear down my old author world, and build a better one that would serve me, my needs, and my goals. This whole process entailed resubmitting my books to the publishers who offered me contracts, doing the necessary edits and changes, approving the new book covers for The Last Timekeepers series, firing my useless web designer, and hiring a supportive, reliable one, and trying new ways to connect with my target audience via school libraries and Instagram. I managed to get my young adult time travel books and teen psychic mysteries re-released in May and June 2025. Not bad, and way ahead of schedule. Woohoo!

Moving forward in Author Life 2.0, I found that there are two things I’ve learned from coming out of this challenging year. First, to stop putting pressure on myself, and just enjoy the ride. Life goes by so fast, and if you don’t slow down to ‘smell those roses’ you’ll miss out on so many things or opportunities that were meant for you. Second, I have nothing to prove. Period. So many times we seek the approval of others: our parents, our peers, our colleagues and bosses, our spouses, even our children. That’s a lot to take on. The only approval you need is the heart-based approval you give to yourself. It’s a form of self-love that we all need in this world right now.

How was 2025 for you? Any milestones? Did you need to take a welcome break from all the craziness we’ve endured the past six years? Have you been in your comfort zone far too long like I was? Would love to read your comments! Cheers, Happy New Year, and wishing you a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2026! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate you!