Free Book!

To celebrate Thanksgiving, Screwing Up Babylon is FREE on Amazon through Saturday, November 29! Click here.

Babylon, one of the most powerful and notorious empires ever, is the last place Mark wants to go. But when he discovers his girlfriend Miranda has been kidnapped and given to the king as a concubine, he travels through the colors of time to rescue her. It won’t be easy, not when the Hanging Gardens are a trap, his life is the prize in a game, and time is a prison. It will take all Mark’s cunning, the help of his friends, and a crazed chimp to free Miranda. When he does, time itself begins to unravel, and a life must be sacrificed or no one will survive.

FREE BOOK

Today and tomorrow, Screwing Up Babylon is free at Amazon! Click here to get the free e-book.

  

Also today, Screwing Up Babylon is being featured at Kindle Books and Tips. If you haven’t heard of KBT, check out their website for great free and inexpensive e-books. Click here.

Smashwords Summer Sale

It's one of those weeks.

1. My computer is back in the shop. The techs failed to fix it. Grr.

2. My dog is really sick again. (Scavengers are not supposed to get sick.)

3. Both my parents might need surgery.

4. I have to start sewing a Shakespeare costume. (Actually, it's fun and I get to listen to audio books, but it's a lot of work.)

5. I have to drive down to Atlanta. (Also fun because I'm going to help my daughter check out apartments--she's starting a PhD program at Emory in August. But I hate driving.)

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's having a rough week. So we all need to celebrate and have some fun. And Smashwords is providing it.




Smashwords is having a big sale. Lots of books are heavily discounted, some are free. Both Screwing Up Time and Screwing Up Babylon are on sale. The only thing you need to do is use a coupon code at check out. Use the code SSW50 to get 50% off of Screwing Up Babylon. And use SW100 to get Screwing Up Time for free.

Sandstorm!

If you’ve read Screwing Up Babylon, you know that a sandstorm figures in the plot. I loved writing it, but it was a stretch because I’ve never been in a sandstorm. I did a lot of research, Googling sandstorms and watching them online. I watched Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol—amazing movie which features a sandstorm (though that type of sandstorm is highly unlikely in Dubai due to the climate and geography).

My dad watched the movie with me. He used to live in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. (My dad has been everywhere. His travel advice is “don’t ask what you’re being served—it’s hard to eat sheep eyes in sauce when you know that’s what they are.”) In any case, when we saw the movie together, my dad pointed out various spots and gave me all the gossip about them. And the discussion morphed into his experience with sandstorms in other areas. There’s nothing like getting the details from someone who knows what a sandstorm smells like, sounds like, and even tastes like. Even more fun, he didn’t know I was asking him questions for my novel. Then, when he read it later, he found out how much he helped me—it’s like a gift I can give to him. And it’s a gift he gives to my readers.

  

BTW, the other day, I was reading an article that suggested that readers like to read about the personal lives of the authors they enjoy. To that end, if you’re interested, check out my blog, A Merry Heart, where I talk about the craziness that is everyday life. (For some reason that only the imps who run blogger know, my post on the wolf beater purse got posted here last week as well as on A Merry Heart. So, I guess that’s a sample for you.)

 Here’s a sandstorm.

Celebration Book Sale

I finished the first major edit of book three in the Screwing Up Time series. Yay! *Throws confetti*

In celebration, this Friday, April 19 through April 26, I’ll be putting Screwing Up Babylon on sale for 99 cents at Amazon! So, if you’ve been waiting to buy the book or know someone who has, Friday’s the day to buy it (or gift it). The price will return to $2.99 on the 27^th.

(Sorry the post is so short today, but I’ve got a terrible cold.)

Babylon's Ancient Waterslide

One of the things that intrigues me about time travel fiction is the dual viewpoint it provides. You can present an historical culture, artifact, or place and see it from an ancient perspective and a modern one.

For example, in Screwing Up Babylon, several scenes take place in the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Besides the tremendous fun of figuring out how the garden was build and watered, I was able to look at it through the eyes of everyday Babylonians, who’d see it as a gorgeous but private place. Because Nebuchadnezzar II built the Hanging Gardens for his wife Amytis who was homesick for Media, it’s unlikely that an everyday Babylonian ever got to visit it. So when I wrote the scenes in the Gardens, I brought a servant there, which allowed the reader to experience the servant’s stunned impressions of the jungle of plants and flowers in the middle of an oasis in the desert. But I could also share with the reader the Garden’s impact on Henry with his modern sensibilities. He realizes that ancient technology was every bit as impressive as his own time. Yet, everything has its cost. And Henry sees the demands of the Gardens—it wouldn’t exist without the slaves turning the Archimedean Screw that waters the Gardens.

But Henry’s experience of the Gardens as an interesting artifact or technological achievement isn’t the end. He brings to the Gardens his modern experiences. So later when he and Miranda need to escape, Henry realizes that the man-made river, which waters the Gardens, is pretty much a functional ancient waterslide.  And then, I got to write one of the most crazy action scenes I’ve ever written.

The waterslide escape allowed me to show the fun side of time travel’s duality, which is its genius. We visit history without romanticizing it or feeling superior to it. And we realize that although cultures may change, people—both for good and evil—stay the same.

A 16th-century hand-colored engraving of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon by Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck, with the Tower of Babel in the background.

iTunes

Screwing Up Time and Screwing Up Babylon are both available at iTunes!

(I know, it's about time.)

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards 2013

In case you didn't know, Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award 2013 has begun. The entry period started yesterday and runs through January 27, or until they receive 10,000 entries. This year they have five categories: General Fiction, Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror and Young Adult Fiction . 

Last year I entered Screwing Up Time and it was a Quarter-finalist. It was a wonderful experience. (Though not everyone has had positive experiences, a lot depends on the reviewers you get.) This year I debated whether to enter or not. I'm not sure whether books in a series like Screwing Up Babylon have a chance, especially since SUB is the second book in a series not the first. (I mentioned that it was a book in a series in the pitch paragraph, so there's no confusion later.)

In the end, I have nothing to lose by entering, assuming I'm not too discouraged if the book doesn't do well. (For those of you who are considering entering--read the small print regarding exclusivity, agents, etc.)

In the meantime, good luck to everyone entering! And if you're entering, leave me a note in the comments section--I want to cheer for you!

Now Available on Kobo!

Screwing Up Time and Screwing Up Babylon are now available on Kobo!

Here's the link for Screwing Up Time. Click here.

Here's the link for Screwing Up Babylon. Click here.

Smashwords

Screwing Up Time and Screwing Up Babylon are now available at Smashwords!! So now they're available for any format e-reader!

Here's Screwing Up Time.

Here's Screwing Up Babylon.

Merry Christmas!!

Books for Teenage Guys

A few weeks ago, I came across a posting on Google plus about my Screwing Up Time books. The teenager guy who wrote the post commented that my books were “written for them.”

That made my day. When I first started thinking about Screwing Up Time, I focused on who Mark was. I wanted him to be like all the teen guys that I knew. When I started writing, my three sons were teens. So I knew a lot of teenage guys. And they were great people. I could say, “Okay, guys, old Capt. Kirk vs. new Capt. Kirk. Who wins?” And we’d discuss it. (New Capt. Kirk takes the old one, in case you’re wondering.)

I wanted Mark (Henry) to be like one of these guys. So Mark couldn’t be perfect. He had to be a real person with real problems. In fact, Mark’s far from perfect—he’s a slacker who has been getting by in life based on the gifts he’s been born with. I wanted him to face huge obstacles and decide who he was. And what kind of man he wanted to be. And I still wanted it to be like real life. A series of small decisions (sometimes bad ones) leading to bigger ones—should Mark believe the unbelievable story Miranda told him? Because if he does, then he’s got to break into the locked ward of a psych hospital to meet his crazy grandfather who tried to kill him. And if he believes Miranda and his grandfather, then he has to travel through time. And if he travels through time, then he has to deal with a murderer, who’s out for his blood too.

And maybe it’s not just Mark who’s there. We’re all trying to make decisions—trying to choose what’s right over what’s easy. And I think that’s what appeals to us about books—we see ourselves, for better and for worse, in someone else.

Quick note: I’m more than halfway through the first draft of book 3! And Screwing Up Time and Screwing Up Babylon should be available at Barnes & Noble.com for Nook by the end of the week. 

And the winner is...

Congrats to Jo who won the Screwing Up Babylon giveaway!  Thanks to everyone who entered!!

Holiday Blog Hop

This week I'm participating in the 2012 Holiday Blog Hop sponsored by Indie Writers Unite. There are lots of great prizes! Just below, you can use the Rafflecopter widget for a chance to win an e-copy of Screwing Up Babylon. But there are scads more prizes, including two Kindle Fires!! So after signing up to win a copy of Screwing Up Babylon, visit the main Holiday Blog Hop site. Click HERE.

One more bit of excitement. If you're an early bird and you're hopping on Monday, you can get a
FREE copy of my young adult time travel, Screwing Up Time. Click HERE.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here's more information about the Grand Prizes.

Welcome to the 2012 Holiday Blog Hop, brought to you by the writers of Indie Writers Unite. There's all kinds of swag to be won as well as some amazing grand prizes!

Each writer will be hosting their own giveaway on their blogs and offering their own prizes in addition to the grand prizes. Click HERE to start hopping the author pages.

As the for the grand prizes, there are five. What are they?

PRIZES ONE AND TWO

NOT ONE BUT TWO 7" KINDLE FIRES
WITH HD, 16 GB, WI-FI, AND DOLBY AUDIO.
$199 VALUE

PRIZE 3

$25 AMAZON GIFT CARD

PRIZE 4

18 SIGNED BOOKS THAT WILL BE MAILED RIGHT TO YOUR DOORSTEP.

PRIZE 5

36 DIGITAL BOOKS THAT WILL BE DELIVERED TO YOUR KINDLE

GOOD LUCK AND START HOPPING!!

Screwing Up Time for FREE!

Thursday is not a normal posting day for me, but I have some exciting news. In celebration of the release of Screwing Up Babylon and the release of "Screwing Up Mongolia" in the anthology Winter Wonders, I decided to give away Screwing Up Time for free from Dec. 6 through Dec. 10. Click here. Enjoy!!



Screwing Up Time is a 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Quarterfinalist.

Screwing Up Babylon Thanks

In case you missed Friday’s blog post (not my normal blogging day), the big news is that Screwing Up Babylon is available at Amazon!! Click here.

I’m very excited! We had a book release party at home with all the trimmings. And let me just say that the Wensleydale cheese with cranberries was amazing, smoked salmon with cream cheese and lemon-pepper on crackers will make you drool, and blackberry-Cabernet dark chocolate is the ultimate dessert.

I want to thank to my beta readers Sharmon Gazaway, Ariel Keller, and Melissa Pearl (who just released a new book too—Betwixt—it’s great). And another big thanks to Kirsten Walker for proofreading. And a how-did-you-read-my-mind thank you to Tara Rimondi, graphic artist extraordinaire.

To all my readers, thank you for making writing worthwhile and I hope you enjoy Screwing Up Babylon.

One more thing, I’m already well into writing book three. Squee!!

Screwing Up Babylon Release!

Screwing Up Babylon is now available at Amazon! Click here.

Screwing Up Babylon, release date

Assuming my proofreader makes it through the confluence of storms without being flooded out, Screwing Up Babylon should be available by next Tuesday! (Probably sooner.)

As soon as the book is live on Amazon, I'll post it here.

It's getting exciting. I've bought a bottle of champagne, smoked salmon, gourmet crackers, and Wensleydale cheese with cranberries. (And, of course, chocolate--dark chocolate with blackberries and Cabernet.) So we'll be celebrating soon. I'll post photos.

In the meantime, here's a photo of my office wall.

Monkey Madness Blog Hop and Excerpt

With the release of Screwing Up Babylon coming quickly, I’ve been trying think of ways to promote the book that support other writers too.

One idea that caught my attention is doing a themed blog hop. (I’ve seen this done once before, and fellow blogger Katie from Creepy Query Girl mentioned it in one of her posts.) In Screwing Up Babylon, Mark meets a monkey who becomes his friend and nemesis. (And in a hint to future things, Mark has a bizarre experience with a peacock in the Screwing Up Time short story, "Screwing Up Mongolia," which will be coming out in December.) So I thought it might be fun to share strange animal experiences--funny, scary, or odd. In the hop, everyone who participates would write a post about an unusual animal experience. 

If you’re interested in participating, contact me at connie (dot)m(dot) keller (at)gmail.com (or just leave me a comment). If there’s enough interest, I’ll set everything up and get the details to you.

Here's an excerpt from Mark's experience with Charlie the Chimp:

The monkey grabbed a lime off a platter and threw it. It grazed my temple. If I hadn’t ducked, it would’ve hit me smack in the face. If the Yankees needed a new starting pitcher, Charlie the Crazed Chimp would fit the bill.

He grabbed another lime.

I’d had enough of this. The Crazed Chimp was going down. I would—

Hailey put an arm in front of me.

“What?”

She pulled a strip of candied orange peel from a pocket in her tunic. Charlie lowered his arm. Slowly, Hailey waggled the candy back and forth. The lime rolled from Charlie’s hand. He stepped toward us. 

“Come on, Charlie,” I encouraged. “You know you want the candy.”

He scurried toward us. His nostrils twitched, and his hand reached for the orange peel. The note fell to the floor.

I snatched it, trying not to gloat. After all, he was only a monkey, and Hailey was the one who outsmarted him, not me. Still, I couldn’t resist saying, “Man over monkey any day.”

Screwing Up Babylon, Chapter One

For everyone who's been waiting, here's Screwing Up Babylon, Chapter One. Click here: Read Chapter One.

My amazing web guru has placed the excerpt on a separate page under "My Books" so that the excerpt is easy to find for anyone who visits the page whether it's today or next year. The link above will take you directly there. If you ever want to read it again, just look under "My Books" (it's one of the tabs in the blog header).

I have three chapters to proofread and then it will be time to format the book. I don't have a final publishing date, but it will be out this month baring any last minutes disasters like computer malfunctions. Next Tuesday, I hope to be able to give you a release date.

Cover Art Reveal for Screwing Up Babylon

My wonderful graphic designer Tara Rimondi finished the cover art for Screwing Up Babylon. It always amazes me that she can take my book blurb/description and come up with a design that completely captures the tone and feel of the novel.

Here's the blurb: Babylon, one of the most powerful and notorious empires ever, is the last place Mark wants to go. But when he discovers his girlfriend Miranda has been kidnapped and given to the king as a concubine, he travels through the colors of time to rescue her. It won’t be easy, not when the Hanging Gardens are a trap, his life is the prize in a game, and time is a prison. It will take all Mark’s cunning, the help of his friends, and a crazed chimp to free Miranda. When he does, time itself begins to unravel, and a life must be sacrificed or no one will survive.

And here's the cover.

The art on the bottom of the cover is an illustration of the Hanging Gardens done by Maerten van Heemskerck (1498-1574).

Next week Tuesday, I'll be posting the first chapter of the novel.