Congratulations to Pembroke Sinclair

Its a great honor to announce Life After the Undead has been nominated for the Preditors and Editors readers' poll.  You can vote for it here (http://critters.org/predpoll/novelyoungadult.shtml) and for the cover here (http://critters.org/predpoll/bookart.shtml).  I didn't know if you wanted to put this on the blog or other spots where people can vote.  I posted the links in the group sites.

Merry Christmas Wishes!

Merry Christmas to all the eTreasures authors, staff and readers!
May the Christmas season fill your home with joy, your heart with love & your life with laughter.
Martha

eTreasures Twelve Days Blog #8: Love for Christmas!

Can we tempt you with a book of Love? Cupid Gone Wild is a collection of Valentine tales but Love is wonderful year round and very special at Christmas.

Cupid Gone Wild

Sometimes true love needs help. Five Cupids take on a challenge this Valentine's season: To match the most unlikely couple they can find.

Love Transposed by Pepper O'Neal and Chelsy Day - Free Read One arrow straight through two chests was all it took for carpenter/painter Dan, and trust fund baby Jane to go from making each other crazy, to being crazy about each other.

Love Potion 2-14 by Pepper O'Neal White witch Kole Trillion has a successful business, customers who swear by her potions and spells. Unfortunately, she also has the bad luck to fall in love with a man who doesn't believe in magic, Police Detective Gage Corwin.

The Bachelor by Heather Hiestand Abbie Harper didn’t mean to buy the date, but one look at Jake Cordalys and she’s ready for red-hot romance. Jake is not looking for something complicated, but when Cupid is involved, all plans go out the window and romance flies in.

The Boss Wore Red by Delle Jacobs and SamMarie Ashe Alexandria Bergstrom was chosen because she desperately needed to alter the course of her life. Clint Riordan doesn’t know what will make him completely happy until he meets Alexandria. By giving Alexandria this opportunity to discover her true past, the pairing of Alexandria and Clint will repair past mistakes and produce a new brighter future.

The Wrong Target by Sherry Gloag Headmistress, Tina Blackberry and businessman Ryan Thomas can't control events after Ryan's daughter steals his coveted golden arrow and takes it to school, But put Cupid on the job and nothing can go wrong, or can it? 

The Hollywood Hookup by Chelsy Day Actor Casey Jones and Stunt Woman Sandra Benson have a history. Can Cupid get them past the animosity and prove that true love in Hollywood is NOT impossible? 

 Comment on this post for an entry to win an eBook copy of Cupid Gone Wild.

[Treasure Chest #8] 

Winner will be picked from all comments.

Individual giveaway ends December 26, 2011 at 10 pm.
See the "Twelve Days Blog Tour" post for two other chances to win.

Winner of Twelve Days #6 Giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS to HOTCHA12 who won Twelve Days Giveaway #5:

An eBook copy of Silicon Self by Kirtimaya Varma.

Thanks for commenting hotcah12.  Hope to see you again during the week!

Winner of Twelve Days #5 Giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS to DONNAS who won Twelve Days Giveaway #5:

An eBook copy of Desperate Measures by Cindy Cromer.

Thanks for commenting Donnas.  Hope to see you again during the week!

Winner of Twelve Days #4 Giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS to MARIA D. who won Twelve Days Giveaway #4:

An eBook copy of  the A Christmas Wish Joy Brook's new novella.

Thanks again for commenting Maria. Looks like you are going to be a big winner this week!

Winner of Twelve Days #3 Giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS to MARIA D. who won Twelve Days Giveaway #3:

An eBook copy of  the Sweetheart's in Bloom Anthology which includes Cher Green's novella Escape to Love.

Thanks for commenting Maria. Looks like you are going to be a winner this week!

eTreasures Twelve Days Blog #7: A Holiday Gift

Check out my release for a last minute holiday idea for a friend.

Her Dreams Come True

by Miranda Heart
Shunning all that is holy, Annabelle’s soul now hangs in the balance. A gift  from a witch seals her fate and thrusts her into the waiting arms of an incubus.  The incubus, not being quite as evil as his Master gives Annabelle a way out.  She now has one night to save her family and her  soul.

Rediscovering love and finding his soul is the last thing  Roshan has on his mind. Out of curiosity he’s worn the gifted necklace for  months with no sign of his intended bride. So it was nothing for him to offer  shelter during a terrible storm to a beautiful maiden. How surprising that the  poor orphaned girl would turn out to be the one that would bring light into his  soul. He has only one night to find the love he thought he’d lost all those  years ago.
Genre: Historical, paranormal
Pages: 66, Novella;    eBook $1.49

Sincerely,
Miranda Heart
Comment on this post for an entry to win an eBook copy of Her Dream Come True.

Open Worldwide. Winner will be picked from all comments.

Individual giveaway ends December 26, 2011 at 10 pm.
[Treasure Chest #7]

 

See the "Twelve Days Blog Tour" post for two other chances to win.

New Release: Part of PROM NIGHT SUMMER ANTHOLOGY A Tale of Two Prom Dates by Evie Alexis

Product Description

Part of PROM NIGHT SUMMER ANTHOLOGY

A Tale of Two Prom Dates

by Evie Alexis

Victoria Reynolds is getting ready for prom. She has the dress, the shoes, even the beautician. The problem is: she has one too many dates.

One second, Victoria accepts the invitation from the star basketball player Randy Calhoun. After running into philosophic thinker, Scott Feldman, on a quick walk, she agrees to be his prom date.

Will Victoria be able to make up her mind in time, or will she hurt both boys as she struggles with “The Carmen Curse”?

La-la-la-la!

Genre: YA
pages: 70, Novella
eBook: $1.49

Winner of Twelve Days #2 Giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS to MARIA D. who won Twelve Days Giveaway #2:

An print copy of The Spaces Between Your Screamsby Author Christopher Hivner

Thanks for commenting Maria. 

eTreasures Twelve Days Blog Post #6: When Silicon is The Spirit

When Silicon Is the Spirit
By Kirtimaya Varma

Computer addiction, computer-mediated lives, and solitary Internet habits of those who never let normal human living come between themselves and their computers have become hallmarks of our age.

While we continue to advance technology, we are also falling under the spell of the “rhetoric of the technological sublime” and unable to see the illusory capabilities of technology. The virtual world of cyberspace has many attractions. But it is also a dirge-like ode to the seclusion of people hardly aware of themselves, their family, and their society. Think of those who fall down dead of exhaustion while playing computer games for days together. Think of those absorbed endlessly into web surfing, email exchange, downloads, and other computing paraphernalia. Think of those who have given themselves up 24/7 to meet the professional challenges of technology and market. The elemental urges of an increasing number of IT zealots seem to be computation and competitive advantages rather than self preservation and sociability.

Is the insatiate human hunger for computing similar to the one that began in the Garden of Eden? A recent Stanford University study found that fourteen percent of computer users neglected work, family, food, and sleep in order to remain online. The American Medical Association wants to classify Internet obsession as a psychiatric disease. Chinese psychologists recognize Internet addiction as a condition similar to compulsive gambling or alcoholic dependence, and camps are held to treat Internet addicts. In South Korea counselors wean children away from spending long hours on the Internet. Meanwhile, the online world continues to expand unabated. Virtual reality mongers could not have been happier, if they still know what happiness is!

The hiding places computer leads to is the antithesis of what IT utopians glamorously call “the global village” and “the society of the spectacle,” predicted in the 1960s. The computer has redefined the traditional relationship between humans and humans, and humans and machines, while humans adjust their evolution to the machine. In the book iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind neuropsychiatrist Dr Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan say that digital technology is altering the human neural circuitry. “This evolutionary brain process has rapidly emerged over a single generation . . . . Although the science behind the way technology affects behavior and mental state is only in its infancy, initial observations indicate important links between extensive brain exposure to new technology and mental disorders.”

In Ape and Essence Huxley depicts mankind as concerned only with war and technology and so removed from reality that humans have become unintelligent animals spiraling toward World War III. Faust warns that certain kinds of power come at a price of what we hold most uniquely human. Are we paying too high a price for the power of technology? Perhaps. We need to steer the course of technology to create a human-centric community rather than passively experience the power of technology in a technology-centric community. 

And if we don’t do so? We shall end up caught in situations I have tried to capture in my Science Fiction novel SILICON SELF, recently published by eTreasures Publishing.

Anderson is passionately developing software to speedily reach the leading edge of IT. His wife Nora wonders how dangerously close to the edge can he go, and whether the folly of ignorance is less dangerous than that of too advanced technologies? She tries to wean him away, determined to save her family and the world from at least one technology leader.

In the blinding rush to be ahead in technology, Anderson and his peers build up an expensive IT solution, but only to find there is no problem needing it. To discover or invent a problem for a ready solution is known as “solving the solution.” While striving to solve the solution, their ISP breaks down and they lose Internet connectivity. They struggle to find their worlds outside the Internet. Cut off from virtual reality, they cannot cope up with any reality, and are constantly in conflict with themselves, their colleagues, and their environment. Their encounters create comical situations.

I believe the story of SILICON SELF touches the lives of all of us in a way that is at once comic and tragic. How much comical can our computing environment be? And how much tragic can our computing environment be? Where is our obsession with computers leading us?

It would be interesting to share our experiences and views. While I have shared mine with readers through my novel SILICON SELF, I cordially invite readers to comment on what I have said, and also enlighten me with their experiences and views.       

SILICON SELF

by Kirtimaya Varma

                                                         Product Description

Anderson is developing software to speedily reach the leading edge of IT, not letting normal human living come between himself and his computer. His wife Nora wonders how dangerously close to the edge can he go, and whether the folly of ignorance is less dangerous than that of too advanced technologies? She tries to wean him away, determined to save her family and the world from at least one technology leader.

In the blinding rush to be ahead in technology, Anderson and his peers build up an expensive IT solution, but only to find that there is no problem needing it. To discover or invent a problem for a ready solution is known as “solving the solution.” While striving to solve the solution, their ISP breaks down and they lose Internet connectivity. They struggle to find their worlds outside the Internet. Cut off from virtual reality, they cannot cope up with any reality, and are constantly in conflict with themselves, their colleagues, and their environment. Their encounters create comical situations.

Genre:  Sci fi, Fantasy;  Pages: 390

Comment on this post for an entry to win an eBook copy of Silicon Self.

Open Worldwide. Winner will be picked from all comments.

Individual giveaway ends December 22, 2011 at 10 pm.

[Treasure Chest #6]

 

See the "Twelve Days Blog Tour" post for two other chances to win.

New Release: Part of PROM NIGHT SUMMER ANTHOLOGY THE GIFT By Kat Deacon

Product Description

Part of PROM NIGHT SUMMER ANTHOLOGY

THE GIFT

By Kat Deacon

All Seri Graham wanted for her sixteenth birthday was a date for junior prom and a car. Not much right? Seri goes from bubble gum and chick flicks to smiting demons and meeting her Gregori Watcher mother for the first time. Along with her two besties Maya and Lucy, using the gift from her mother, Seri tries to survive long enough to discover who and what she is and make it to the prom.

Genre: YA
Pages: 83, Novella
eBook: $1.49

Winner of Twelve Days #1 Giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS to MARIA D. who won Twelve Days Giveaway #1:

an eBook copy of the Bride and Dark Secrets Anthology which includes The Weeping Bride by Pembroke Sinclair.

 

Thanks for commenting Maria. Hope to see you back during the week!

New Release: Secrets in the Fog: Danny's First Love by Ellen Spain

Product Description

Part of PROM NIGHT SUMMER ANTHOLOGY

Secrets in the Fog: Danny's First Love

by Ellen Spain

Danny Fennchar is a short and somewhat pudgy teen prodigy wearing broken glasses who looks forward to attending his high school Prom in a few weeks, and to attending college. There is a problem, at least to Danny. He is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and thinks his future plans are totally messed up. He doesn't have a date and in fact, being home schooled most of his life, never had a date except for his mother.. Danny is a shy and insecure 12th grader, until he meets Christine Dillon from his senior class, who is quite mature for her young age. Their romance blossoms.

Genre:  YA

Pages: 68, Novella
eBook: $1.99

eTreasures Twelve Days Blog #4: Kittens and the Christmas Tree

Author Joy Brooks shares a 'meowy' Christmas with this sweet event.

I live with eight cats. My two kittens are quite adventerous. My Christmas tree is situatated between double windows in my living room. I walked into the room one morning and found, to my suprise, the kittens clinging to the center of the tree. They turned to me with a calm stare, but didn't drop from the tree. Misty and Tia clung to the tree for some time. They had a lot of fun moving from branch to branch. At times all I could see was their white underbellies. I couldn't fathom how they didn't turn it over. When they finally got down, they started to systimatically knock off all the ornaments. I got a box and I'm putting all the dislodged ornaments in it. I want to see how many I have left on the tree by Chistmas.

Have you ever had cats in your Christmas tree?

Joy has two fantasy novels, Fourth Son and Sword of Virtue, as well as a sweet novella, Coming Home, published with eTreasures.
She has a Christmas Novella being released this week: 

A Christmas Wish? Katie Holston, raised in foster homes, wants nothing more than a family to call her own. She meets the man of her dreams in Ian Stokely. Being his five year old son’s teacher, she is in a position to make her dreams come true. Kyle Stokely confides in Katie his greatest wish for Christmas. He wants his widowed father to be happy again. Ian Stokely has a different view than Katie Holston and his son, Kyle. He wishes to be left alone. Can Katie and Kyle convince Ian to live life fully again?

Comment on this post for an entry to win an eBook copy of Joy's two novellas: Coming Home and A Christmas Wish?

[Treasure Chest #4] 
[Cats Under a Fish Christmas Tree – Box of Six Cards by FloatingPalace (Etsy)] 

Winner will be picked from all comments.

Individual giveaway ends December 20, 2011 at 10 pm.
See the "Twelve Days Blog Tour" post for two other chances to win. 

eTreasures Twelve Days Blog #3 Tis The Season For...

Tis the Season to Be …

Jolly?

When I was a child, Christmas was this wonderful holiday when this mysterious man entered our home through the chimney and left a room full of toys behind. We were taught to expect everything we wanted on this day, and we were never disappointed. Needless to say, on this day we became the picture of ‘three spoiled children.’ We were pretty good the rest of the year, but watch out Santa.

And then the disappointments started.

First, we figured out there was no such thing as this magical man. The presents kept coming, so no big deal.
Then, our family slipped below middle class, and Christmas presents were few. I remember, two children, one was me, crying their little eyes out. My brother was old enough to understand what was going on. What had we done? Were we bad?

The final blow was the year without my father, Santa, or presents. From that day on, Christmas became just another day. There was nothing on that day, or any other holiday for that matter.

My point here is Christmas is not about this jolly old man wearing a red outfit, although he is a fun man to introduce your children to. And, it’s not about having a room full of gifts, although that’s fun too.
To me, Christmas is more about appreciating those in your life and letting them know how much they mean to you. It’s about celebrating life and making the most of what we have. It’s about coming together, family, friends, and even strangers to celebrate the creation of human kind and giving forgiveness to others.

[Treasure Chest #3]

So, I say Tis the Season to be Appreciative, Loving, Giving, Forgiving, and Thankful.
How do you feel about Christmas? What sort of events will you be attending? Who will you help this year?

Cher Green

Cher has two novellas with eTreasures: Seduced by Darkness (available alone and in the Brides and Dark Secrets Anthology) and Escape to Love.

GIVEAWAY
Today's giveaway is an eBook copy of  the Sweetheart's in Bloom Anthology which includes Cher's novella Escape to Love.
Open Worldwide.
Individual Giveaway Ends December 19 at 10pm Central.
Check the Twelve Days of Christmas Blog Tour post for other chances to win a holiday package.

eTreasures Twelve Days Blog #2: Should We Be Scared at Christmas??

Who doesn’t like to be scared at Christmas, and I don’t just mean by your neighbor’s crazy, seizure-inducing light display? I can hear you saying that this is a ridiculous question, but is it? Seriously, stop saying it’s silly and go with me for a few minutes.

Think about the myth of Santa Claus. Santa is a large, robust man who dresses in bright red and has never owned a razor in his life. He lives inside the Arctic Circle . . . by choice. Who lives with him? A few hundred elves that spend 364 days a year producing merchandise for the fat man to give away. “Ok,” you’re saying now, “this is strange, but not scary.”

What does Santa do with all his high-end electronics, toys and socks the elves make? He delivers them to every person in the world, all in about 12 hours, or the time it takes to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy. “Fine,” you’re mumbling now, “that part of the story is a little hard to believe but it’s still not scary.”

[image by Olaf] 

Santa doesn’t give presents to bad people, does he? But how does he know whose been bad or good?

He watches you.

“He knows when you’ve been sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows when you’ve been bad or good . . .”

[Treasure chest #2] 

[image Courtesy of chowmeyow/Flickr]

A man who has been alive for 17 centuries, who lives away from civilization, who works only at night and has the best surveillance equipment money can buy. And who do we tell this legend to? Our children. We tell it to them over and over until they believe with the faith only a child possesses, and the piece de resistance? A few years later we tell them we made the whole thing up.

Who doesn’t like to be scared at Christmas? You can fulfill your desire for goose bumps and creatures of the night by reading my collection of short horror stories:

The Spaces Between Your Screams.

Author Christopher Hivner

eTreasures is offering a print copy of The Spaces Between Your Screams to a commenter on this post.
Print copy to US and Canada only; eBook copy for international comment winner.
Giveaway ends December 17, 2011 at 10pm.

eTreasures Twelve Days Blog #1: My Favorite Thing About Christmas

I'm not a big holiday fan. I succumb to the stress and overspending just like everyone else, which leaves me feeling guilty and unfulfilled. At one point, I wanted to give up celebrating Christmas all together. I was a Grinch in every sense of the word.

Then, I became a parent. When my sons were little, I still attempted to avoid the holidays, but as they got older and more fascinated with Christmas, I changed my outlook. Watching holidays through the eyes of children rekindles the joy of the season. They remind me about the good things, the fun things, that the season brings. For my kids, it's not only about the presents, even though that is a HUGE part, it's also about helping others and celebrating the season for what it really entails.

I still spend way too much money and get stressed out, but I also take the time to sit back and watch my kids. I'm excited to see their reaction on Christmas Eve when they open their presents, then on Christmas Day after Santa shows up. They truly surprise me with their wonder and fascination, and make the whole season worthwhile!

[Treasure chest #1]

What kinds of things make you happy during the holidays? How do you relieve stress?

To give you a break from holiday stress here is a chance to win an eBook copy of the Bride and Dark Secrets Anthology which includes The Weeping Bride by Pembroke.

Pembroke has two other titles at eTreasures:  Coming From Nowhere and Life After the Undead.

To Enter: post a reply comment to answer Pembroke's question and include your email.

Winner will be picked from all comments.

Individual giveaway ends December 17, 2011 at 10 pm.
See the "Twelve Days Blog Tour" post for two other chances to win.

The 12 Days of Christmas Blog Tour

Welcome to the first day of the 12 days of Christmas here at eTreasures Publishing. To celebrate this great time of year we're hosting 12 of our amazing authors on a whirlwind tour which will culminate with the awarding of some amazing ebooks!  THREE WAYS TO WIN!

#1 Individual post Giveaways:
An author's ebook (and maybe a print book for some) will be offered with each day's post. All comments are considered an entry and everyone who subscribes to our newsletter will get a bonus entry tell us if you are an old or new subscriber.  The post giveaways will be open three days each.

#2 ALSO: At the end of the Twelve day tour one lucky winner from all comments will get a collection of goodies from our authors.

#3  Each of our authors will post for the next twelve days leaving small treasures you can 'collect'.  At the end you will have until 12/26 midnight to submit a Treasure entry to us via email to: etpauthorscontact (at) gmail.com. You must send a list of the 12 authors and the treasure with their post to be entered for an eTreasures Christmas Grand Prize Package. The package includes an eBook download of Joy Brook's brand new novella release Christmas Wish; a $12.00 coupon for any items (ebooks or print) at eTreasures;  and a $12.00 gift card of winner's choice (provided gc available, i.e Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, etc.).  There will be a winner for every twelve entries up to four total winners.

Winners for #1 will be announced at the end of the individual giveaways.  The winners for #2 and #3 will be announced on December 27, 2012.

Just a sampling of our authors will include Pembroke Sinclair, Joy Brooks, Christopher Hivner, and many more. Happy Holidays as we curl up with some fantastic reads!