Okay, so I have become instantly enamored with a book dating app, Booky Call. Yessss! So enamored that I asked them if they would do up a dating profile for Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1) and they said yes! (Booky Call swiped right on Dowser 1! Whoot!).
Anyway, ahem. Before I get too riled up – you NEED to read the write-up the BookyCall Matchmaking Specialist did for Dowser 1. It is freaking perfect!! – here is more pertinent info about how to get some of this going on in your life.
And now I sound like a dealer rather than just an addict.
But I guess you already knew that about me.
Here’s the link for Dowser 1 on Booky Call.*Note* you have to be on your mobile phone to click through. It doesn’t work on a desktop because it takes you straight to the mobile app. Then I BELIEVE you have to download the app to test it all out (trust me, it is worth it). Here’s the link again (in case you want to copy/paste): https://links.bookycall.com/o8rNo3SKKRrzeJzSA
Or you can do it is reverse (download the app, then search for Dowser 1)(see photo below):
Extra, extra: I’m also going to be hanging out at BookyCon on Nov 12, 2022 – the world’s largest metaverse book festival. I have no other info except you sign up here.
Oh, I’ll post this all on my social media pages as well, in case you want to hook up your friends – ahem, I mean share. Of course, I mean share!!? Share with other book addicts … lovers.
GIVEAWAY CLOSED. WINNER: LUCKY #51, CASSIE from TEXAS!
A couple of months ago, I decided I wanted to do an extra fun giveaway for the release of I See You (Oracle 2). This idea involved Elizabeth Mackey designing a T-shirt that appears in the book. Then I decided if I was getting Elizabeth to design a T-shirt I might as well make it available to anyone who wanted to buy it.
And if I was going to take the time to figure out where to get T-shirts printed (etc), then why not get Elizabeth to do up three designs?
Because three is always better than one, right?
Well, yeah!
In this case, at least. 😀
So without further ado, this is Elizabeth’s and my interpretation of the ‘Attempted Murder’ T-shirt that Jade wears to go dancing in Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).
Elizabeth wearing an ‘Attempted Murder’ T-shirt – asphalt with the black printing.
I pulled a hand-painted silk jacket over my ‘Attempted Murder’ T-shirt — it has two crows on it; think about it — and a pair of Seven jeans. The jacket was the nicest and most expensive thing I owned. Sienna was out in the living room chatting with Rusty, though I couldn’t specifically distinguish his voice. They sounded far, far away, and I thought then I might still be shocky despite the hot shower. I strapped my knife back at my hip and took a deep breath.
It was just dinner and dancing. – Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1)
By the way, the flowers in the design are the chocolate cosmos that Jade grows on her balcony. And, as I reveal the designs for the next two T-shirts, the cosmos will show up again. Yep, branding. 🙂
I made the ‘Attempted Murder’ T-shirts available in black printing as well as white printing in the maximum colours I was allowed by the retailer (five). They are printed on fitted American Apparel T-shirts and THEY FIT SMALL!! Elizabeth is wearing an XL in the picture, and she usually wears a medium. I knew this about the American Apparel T-shirts (I also wear an XL) but I really like the fabric and the flattering fit. The site suggests going up a size – based on their sizing chart I’m a large – so please check the sizing.
The T-shirts are available at Amazon.com (via Amazon Merch), shipping to over 75 countries with taxes and duties added at check-out but before you purchase. They aren’t currently available at any of the other Amazon stores because they’re printed in the USA.
N.B. If you do choose to grab a T-shirt for your very own, please DO NOT buy the T-shirts appearing in the also bought section on the Amazon page. Those T-shirts are not actually supposed to be available for purchase, the logos are too large. There is a currently a glitch in Amazon’s system that they are working to resolve.
Also there are two more T-shirt designs to come, so you may wish to hold off any purchases until you’ve seen them all. 😀
GIVEAWAY
Would you like to win an ‘Attempted Murder’ T-shirt?
You would?
Okay then!
To enter the giveaway all you need to do is:
Comment below and tell me your current favourite T-shirt or article of clothing.
Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Each comment will be assigned an entry number. ONE winning entry will then be selected via random number generator. One entry per person. Please make sure to fill out a valid email address in the comment form. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than notifying the contest winner.
If you haven’t commented on the blog before, or you comment from a different IP address, the comments are moderated. So don’t worry if you don’t see your entry right away. I will approve it, then assign it an entry number.
Contest closes WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015 at 8 p.m. PST.
Check back here on Thursday, November 26th and Saturday, November 28th for more T-shirts and giveaways. Yay!
ETA: CONTEST CLOSED. WINNER: LUCKY #19 – HEATHER from Colorado.
Who just got Dowser 5 off to the proof reader?
ME! ME! ME! ME! ME!
Who thought it was perfect timing for a impromptu giveaway?
ME! ME! ME! ME! ME!
Who wants to win a signed, misprinted paperback of Dowser 1?
YOU? YOU? YOU? YOU? YOU?
Yes?
Then, to enter:
1. Comment on this blog post – Tell me a favourite something of yours … chocolate, shoes, cupcakes, cookies, anything!
Yep, that’s it.
I’m running off to the Farmer’s Market to find a treat for me – yay! I’ll assign entry numbers to each comment when I get back, then close the giveaway at 8 p.m. PDT to run a random number generator and contact the winner!
Yes, this is a FLASH GIVEAWAY! YAY!
Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Each comment will be assigned an entry number. The winning entry will then be selected via random number generator. One entry per person. Please make sure to fill out a valid email address in the comment form. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than notifying the contest winner.
If you haven’t commented on the blog before, or you comment from a different IP address, the comments are moderated. So don’t worry if you don’t see your entry right away. I will approve it, then assign it an entry number.
Contest closes TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015 at 8 p.m. PDT.
I absolutely adore these three grouped together! As I did for I See Me (Oracle 1), I chose a matte finish for the covers and I think it’s perfect.
The covers – front and back – were designed by Elizabeth Mackey.
The inside is also perfectly pretty. Mark over at 52novels designed the interior layout and Elizabeth Mackey designed the knife image for the page breaks.
You know what all of this REALLY means? The Dowser 4 giveaways are on the way!!
WARNING: I assume there may be spoilers in the comments – because this is hopefully going to be a discussion – but I’ll try to keep my main post pretty spoiler free. Though, as the chapters progress, I’m sure that will change.
HUDSON … HUDSON … HUDSON!
OMG, Hudson. Sigh.
But first Jade:
… I batted at the phone with my foot, but the screen didn’t recognize my toes’ right to shut off the alarm.
And Kandy 🙂
“Yes. Your magic is tasty.” This time the wolf did show her teeth when she smiled. I thought that might indicate the conversation was moving in the wrong direction … the woman-eating direction, and not the good kind.
Then Hudson!
Out of the corner of my eye, as I hung my head upside down, I watched him spread his long fingers palm down on the mat by his feet. He reached easily ten inches across — with each hand — and I desperately tried to block the image of those hands across twenty inches of my body.
And again:
“Ah, but you’re the one who already wouldn’t agree to firsts without lasts,” he said. Ever so lightly, he touched the small of my back to direct me up the street toward Whole Foods. “And by lasts, you meant forever, didn’t you? Wolves, you will find, understand all about forevers.”
And again.
“Kandy will watch over you while I’m gone. I’d like to take you to dinner.”
“You’re guarding me?”
“Kandy is guarding you. I’m attempting to date you.”
WARNING: I assume there may be spoilers in the comments – because this is hopefully going to be a discussion – but I’ll try to keep my main post pretty spoiler free. Though, as the chapters progress, I’m sure that will change.
Dancing and wild magic and Hudson. Oh, Hudson, Hudson.
I wanted to press myself against him. I wanted to taste him with my actual mouth, not just my magical senses. I wanted a different kind of build and release, but that wasn’t how I played this game.
Everyone knew that witches didn’t run with wolves.
Noooo!!! Why does Jade have to be to moral … and, reading into her actions here, why is she so scared of magic, specifically her own?
And then HIM. It’s interesting to me that some readers finish book one having leaped to the conclusion that Desmond/McGrowly is “typically” gorgeous and gruff. In my mind he’s not. He truly scares Jade. That should tell you a lot about her (especially as the books progress).
But Jade can’t ever admit anything completely straight-up, can she? Not early in the first book – LOL
I was pretty sure he was going to eat me, but only after he played with me for a while. And not in a satiating, mutual bliss sort of way. This one liked to hunt, and he kept what he killed.
And, just when you think the rest of Jade’s night is going to be smooth sailing, the vampire shows up again. Damn, vampire.
I was becoming uncomfortably aware of the yawning darkness of the vampire-filled night behind me. Okay, so it was just one vampire. He was one too many.
WARNING: I assume there may be spoilers in the comments – because this is hopefully going to be a discussion – but I’ll try to keep my main post pretty spoiler free. Though, as the chapters progress, I’m sure that will change.
Side note: I’ve noticed as I do these blog posts that I’m obviously I’m fixating on Jade as I read rather than the plot, but that’s cool. Since this exercise is about getting me back in Jade’s head before I tackle Dowser 4 again, it’s good that she is grabbing my attention.
If you have thoughts/questions about the plot though, let me know 🙂
Okay, so … reading between the lines (at this point) Jade is surrounded by dysfunctional relationships. She has her head deep in the sand about it, though. On a personal note, Jade is a lot like me in this instance – loyal to a fault and willing to give and give …
Jade’s break-up with an ex-boyfriend is cast as a joke here, but this simple passage could really be read into if you were so inclined.
It had been an expensive lesson. Don’t break up with people when they’re in your home and holding onto fragile, expensive stuff.
The second section that stood out for me was a conversation between Rusty and Jade. She just has such an amusing way of distancing herself from things that utterly terrify her … sarcasm – and chocolate – are her coping mechanisms.
“I’d prefer to not be bitten at all, rather than just have my death avenged.”
“Right. Well, if he was crazy, there’d be bodies everywhere.”
Oh, that was comforting. Insane vampires were slaughtering fiends. Since I hadn’t noticed anyone dead, I must be first on his list.
I absolutely adore the entire scene in the club bathroom – is it okay to love a scene I’ve written so much? Jade is certainly nothing like the vampire expected her to be.
“I thought you weren’t going to bite me tonight,” I said, pleased that my voice sounded much calmer than my mind.
He tilted his head and gazed at my neck … actually, at my carotid artery. My pulse sped up; I was surprised it could get any higher.
“I wasn’t,” he murmured.
“Well, watching my blood move through my veins isn’t going to be helpful, then.”
And this:
Well, that was terribly flattering news. I’d always wanted to feel odd.
And add Sienna to the mix:
“And you were … what? Giving him a blow job in the bathroom stall?”
“Yes, Sienna. I was giving a vampire a blow job, because that’s all vamps really want from a girl.”
N.B.: I’ve made this post sticky, so you can start with Chapter One here and follow the links at the bottom to the other chapters. If you scroll down, the posts appear newest first – opposite to the chapter order – as I post them.
Okay! I know I said I wouldn’t start reading Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic until today, but I cheated a little and read ahead yesterday so I could blog this morning. I tweeted my fav quotes as I came upon them, but I’ll share a digest below as well.
WARNING: I assume there may be spoilers in the comments – because this is hopefully going to be a discussion – but I’ll try to keep my main post pretty spoiler free. Though, as the chapters progress, I’m sure that will change.
I absolutely love the opening line for the book/series. I believe I’ve managed to nail genre and tone in a single line. This line came to me as I was writing the very first draft of Cupcakes (Etc), and served as a launching point for the entire book, which was super cool. Whereas the opening lines for Trinkets (Etc) and Treasures (Etc) had to be honed much more. Especially the opening of Trinkets, but more on that later 🙂
The vampire stood at the door to my bakery.
The next line that stood out to me as I was reading – for what must be the tenth or more time – is a long time favourite, and if you’ve ever received an email from me you already know I use this as my signature. Again, this line really encapsulates the tone I was going for with Jade – I adore writing Jade.
The customer looked familiar, like maybe he’d been in the bakery a few times before. The vampire, however, was new.
The next bit jumped out at me, and I’m not sure that it had ever really stood out before. Perhaps after writing three (and a half) books from Jade’s POV I really recognized this section as really, truly her. This is Jade in two sentences – an observation and a … well … ill-informed follow-up?
The vampire was gone.
I was nowhere stupid enough to step out onto the sidewalk to look for him … okay, maybe a quick peek.
I thought there was some great interaction between Sienna and Jade in this chapter as well, but I wasn’t compelled to highlight any of it. Some readers wonder about the relationship between the two sisters and why Jade reacts/acts as she does when it comes to her family. I would encourage them to look closer at these sections in the very first chapter. Sometimes, we’re guilty of reading for plot instead of character – I know that’s pretty much all I read for the first time I gobble up a book – but if you read between the lines here, I think Jade’s decisions/actions to come, and her loyal love for one of the ONLY family members she has, might become more clear.
What are your thoughts on the first chapter?
I’m going to pin this post and link the other chapters back to it … I hope …
I’m about to send The Oracle #1 off to the editor – yay – and dig back into writing Dowser #4. Yes, I have titles for both of those books and I will release them soon as well.
During the next couple of weeks as I write Dowser #4 I’m going to be doing some fun things that I thought you might like to know about and/or participate in.
Starting Wednesday, I’m reading through the first three Dowser books. I’ll download them on my iPad, sit down, and actually read them as if I was … well, a reader. I’ll share my favourite quotes and thoughts about certain sections as I read. Perhaps you will have questions yourself? Or favourite quotes to share?
I’ll start a new post here on the blog and a new thread on my Facebook page for each book as I read.
I’m expecting to start Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic on Wednesday. The ebook is perma-free everywhere if you haven’t grabbed it yet (links on the book page). I’m a fast reader, so I expect to have it done in a day, barring any other work that needs my attention. Then I’ll read Trinkets (Etc) and then Treasures (Etc).
The second thing I’m going to be doing is testing some new cupcakes – specifically with some wild blackberries I picked the other day. It has been suggested that my readers may want to participate in this process and perhaps even come up with a name or two, so we will do that as well 🙂
Third, and most importantly because Jade needs new chocolate for Dowser 4, I will be test tasting these:
I know I’m such a martyr for my craft. Yes – if you didn’t already know it from my Facebook post – I went a little crazy and dented my credit card pretty hard at Xocolat right before we moved. Did I mention we just picked up and moved to Salt Spring Island? No? Well, we did. It’s an adventure (more on that later).
I will select a chocolate bar a day … or two or three a day if I run into something I don’t like enough to eat plain (I bake with any chocolate I don’t love enough to just eat). I’ll share the bar and my tasting notes on Facebook and do a digest version here.
Fun, yes?
Okay, so it all begins Wednesday with reading Cupcakes (Etc).
I’m making Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic perma-free for the next few months. You can currently find it for free at Kobo, iBooks, and Smashwords. Hopefully B&N and Amazon will quickly price match. I’m a bit nervous about making a book free, which is odd because this is a proven marketing strategy that has helped a number of my writers’ group find a new level of readership. I hope it will draw more eyes to the Dowser Series as well … and I need to stop being nervous about it!
Cupcakes (Etc) and Trinkets (Etc) are both semi-finalists in the 2014 Kindle Book Awards. The Top-5 Finalists will be announced Sept 1, 2014. Many thanks to Kindle Book Review for including the first two books of the Dowser Series on their short list! I find myself in the company of writer friends’, Russell Blake (Thriller), fellow Canadian Mona Ingram (Romance), and Miranda Stork (horror). Happily – as we are all in different categories – we’re not in direct competition with each other!! Good luck in the next stage of the competition everyone!
