Sep 15, 2012

Calling all Book Shops!! Halloween is coming fast!

Hello everyone,
For those of you who have followed along occasionally, I would like to ask a favour of you. Could you please help me spread the word to the book shops, both large and small about Hauntingly Familiar? It's a great little read with exceptional value. It's not gorey, it's not a how-to manual for practicing anything dark and sinister. It's simply a re-counting of a very unusual time in my life when I lived in haunted house. This is a fact-based story.
If you want to read a good ghost story that flows well and will send shivers up and down your backbone, then this is it! Hauntingly Familiar will draw you in with it's fast-moving story-line, lifelike characters and believable dialogue (so my readers tell me).
Please ask your local bookseller to order some copies through Amazon.com or contact me directly at virginiaren@shaw.ca and I'll talk with them about getting the book onto their shelves.
Together we can have a HAUNTINGLY FAMILIAR Halloween!
Thanks!!
Virginia

Thank you Auntie!

Many thanks to my Auntie R who just recently posted a comment on the sample chapters blog post. She is right, she was there when this story was unfolding and saw first hand how weird my family life had become! No worries Auntie, I love you and I would never hold a grudge that you didn't believe me. It was an unbelievable time, and I think if I were in my mother's shoes, I would have been challenged to believe it too! Your support is what matters. Thank you for posting your comment for all to see. I hope others will post comments too.
If you don't have a google account, feel free to post as "anonymous".

And on another note (but also wonderful) the paperback version is now available from www.Amazon.com or contact me on the my Facebook fanpage to obtain your own signed copy!

Oh, and before I forget (because I tend to do that these days) Hauntingly Familiar is also available on Kindle. Just released! Get yours today in time for Halloween! No guts and no gore, I promise you. But plenty of scare. I've been told that people won't read it at night. They prefer to read it in places like the beach, their backyard, (with plenty of people around) or during the day with all of the lights on! Lol.
If you're interested in a ghost story, this is it.

Sep 1, 2012

Read a good scare lately? 50% off coupon for Hauntingly Familiar

Visit  www.Smashwords.com  look for my title there and claim your 50% off coupon with the following code: VY34Y

Hurry! This is a time-limited offer and won't last. Get your hands on the Halloween Scare of the Year before it's too late.

Original price is just $6.99 USD so claim your 50% off coupon and start saving today.

Also available in paperback through www.Amazon.com

May 25, 2012

Available to purchase!

To order your copy of Hauntingly Familiar, please visit http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/164950

Coming soon to other e-book retailers! Check back here for details.

May 23, 2012

Published!

Just published my book! Finally! I'm very excited but also very tired. It's 1:26 AM and I notice from all the facebook chatter that my other author friends are burning their own 'midnight oil'.
Get any e-version that suits you by visiting www.smashwords.com if you want to read the whole thing!
It will be available to chapters, sony, Kindle, Kobo, etc. within the next few days and in paperback very soon! Stay tuned!

Apr 27, 2012

Just posted the first four chapters!

Hi everyone,
I feel an obligation to all of you who are waiting for this book to be published and I thank you for your continued interest and support. As a thanks to all of you and a peace offering (I know I promised to have it done in April and now it's nearly May) please enjoy the first four chapters, by clicking on "sneak peek of Hauntingly Familiar" in the side bar. It is listed as a separate page.
Enjoy and please let me know what you think. Comments are enabled, you don't need a google ID to post.
Thank you - Virginia

Apr 17, 2012

Almost there

Wow is there a lot to do! I never realized that publishing your own book was so time consuming, but here it is, deep into April and I haven't got a publishing date for you! Yikes! I did promise it would be April, and I'm really working hard on getting it released...really I am.
I am working with a very talented photographer for the front cover of Hautingly Familiar, who happens to also be family! Sue Renaud is my sister-in-law and when she isn't busy being a great Mom to my adorable nephews, she is busy snapping photos. I saw the first proof today...it sent shivers down my spine. It took me back to 1979, which is where our story begins.
I can honestly say that I got tears in my eyes when I saw that photo. I know you're gonna love it!
Sneak peek will happen once I've finished coding.

So here's the list:
*Keep in mind that the second and third readings will hopefully be done at the same time.
1) First reading- done
2)Changes from first reading - almost done
3) Second reading - by a fellow Author... yikes! Are you ready Martin? How fast can you read?
4) Third reading and hard core editing - Erin, that's you! Be brutal, I can take it...
5) Changes from both second and third readings.
6) Coding entire manuscript for E-book format (Being done simultaneously while all these others are busy reading and commenting.
7) Submission to Publisher for vetting. (They will run it through their automated program looking for style errors and stuff that will make it look weird when it's on an e-reader or i-pad)
8) If and when it passes that, I will apply to have the book be included in the Smashwords' Premium catalogue which is shipped to Barnes and Noble, Indigo, Sony, Apple, etc. so people who like to read on their Kindle, iPad, Nook, iPhone, Sony Reader, or Kobo can download my book!
9) Once I see how e-book sales are going, I will of course, begin the next phase, which is to have some trade paperback copies printed and shipped. I will keep you all updated on this long list of things to get done.
So as it turns out, writing the book is the easy part!! Lol!
Stay Tuned...

Mar 19, 2012

Publishing Soon!

Hi there!
We are getting closer and closer to that publishing date and I sure am nervous! I decided to write this for a number of reasons, most of which you already know if you've taken the time to read any of my posts. One more reason I wrote it is to entertain people, so if this book does nothing else other than entertain, it'll have done it's job!!
Let me know what you think.
Just take a minute and leave a comment.
Anonymous comments are enabled, so go ahead!

Feb 29, 2012

Spread the word! Ask me questions!

Hello! Thank you to everyone who has visited my blog. I want you to know that I read all your comments, and really would like to welcome more! Do you have questions for me about my experiences with the paranormal? (There have been lots, not just in the house described in Hauntingly Familiar) Have you had experiences of your own that you'd like to share? Sometimes, it's important to just say these things, as I've found by visiting other "paranormal" chat rooms on the internet. These things are scary if you don't understand that what you are feeling and experiencing is "para" normal. Quite simply, outside the realm of normal.
Ah, but what is normal anyways? Certainly doesn't exist in my family!
Recently, I was able to talk with some members of my family who have read Chapter One and I am pleased with the response. They, too, have gone back in their memories to a simpler time, when the world wasn't filled with electronic gadgetry and we weren't constantly under surveillance by the friends who have our cell phone numbers...
They told me that, while that time is also burned into their memories, they are pleased that I have taken the time and effort to write it all down.
"Somebody had to" was my sister's comment.
My brother-in-law, known in the book as my sister's boyfriend, Rick, pointed out that people love what they can't explain.
Why is that?
And my mom? Well, my mom simply said. "I knew it would happen sooner or later. When we sent you to Journalism school, I didn't realize you would turn around and write a book."
And Dad? Well, he promised not to ground me when he sees what I've written...
Stay tuned!

Feb 18, 2012

Comments from my co-author

So I am told that I have been derelict in my duties to the cat-loving public...
Annie, my co-author has advised me that I simply can't take all the credit for Hauntingly Familiar. She was, you may remember, the beautiful cat who first graced the front page of this blog. She recently learned that I changed the photo for one that my sister-in-law took as a possible front-cover photo for the book. I think it looks great, but is that good enough for her?
PHTT! She told me. Which is really quite bad language for a cat of her senior years, but I told her that I had to change it. People were asking things like, "Which one is Virginia?" and "Why are that cat's eyes so red?"
Highly distracting, as you can well imagine.

So I changed it, and did so (apparently) without consulting her. To make up for the error, I have told her that I will try my hand at creating a page just for her comments. (I trust you will understand if there is an unnatural obsession with Temptations cat treats threaded throughout.)
Annie, a Snow-Shoe Siamese (yes, it's a real breed) has been my writing companion for a number of years, and while we acquired yet another Siamese two years ago she hasn't given up her place of honor, the pillow I keep on my desk just for her.  She follows along while I type and interjects a well-articulated comment when she feels I am straying from the point. Usually this is accentuated with one graceful paw being raised in the air to swipe at my left ear...
She's been trying to teach Koko (our Chocolate Point) a thing or two and she tells me he's a little slow to learn, but I think he's catching on. He joined our family for Christmas, 2009 and was immediately nick-named "Jingle-Kringle the Angry Elf", as he went from room to room, yelling about practically everything. It turns out  he's extremely opinionated, but aren't they all?

It's tough getting the time to write in this fast-paced world of ours, and I do not yet have the luxury of being a full-time author, so Annie's natural tendency to police the cat presence in my office is actually a good thing. I hope you will enjoy her comments, and feel free to leave your own. She might actually read them.

Yesterday, Koko forgot Annie's golden rule:Writing is my gig. Get your butt off my pillow. As I made my way up the stairs to my office, a truly dreadful noise filled the air and cat fur wafted out into the hallway like smoke.
I kept my distance at that point and had a sudden craving for tea.


Feb 17, 2012

Have a look at Chapter One

Well, I'm getting close to releasing this thing, and I just can't resist sharing a bit of it with all of you. Sooo, I posted Chapter One for your enjoyment. I hope you like reading it as much I have liked writing it.
I welcome your comments or questions. I think I've hit the right button so that you can do that... hmm. Where is my 16 year old daughter when I need her? I think Mom needs another tutorial in the electronic arts.

Looks like publishing date is April 2012. Hang on to your hats! Or your cats...your choice.

Feb 6, 2012

Follow me on Twitter!

News about the book!

Hmmm, it's been a long time since I've posted anything, and it's long overdue.
Hello and welcome to this blog. This is being done in answer to the usual question I have received lately, which is: WOW! You wrote a book? What's it about?
Well, to be succinct, it's a paranormal memoir of my adventures while growing up in a haunted house. This house still exists today and while it's changed hands many times, the current owners have altered the original structure so much, perhaps the spirits are resting...at last.

To read a brief description, click on the page entitled ABOUT HAUNTINGLY FAMILIAR  to your right.