All Around the World

Announcing the blog tour for ALTERCATION, book 2 in the PERILOUS series!

While ALTERCATION is a sequel, it's written to stand on its own as well. It's very hard to be objective about this, as the omniscient author... but I've gotten great feedback that I accomplished it!

Here are some early reviews for ALTERCATION:

"Let me catch my breath . . .

I LOST A NIGHT'S SLEEP BECAUSE OF ALTERCATION . . .

And it was so worth it!

I couldn't pause to breathe through the entire book. 

Heiner has re-invented 'edge of the seat', 'hold onto something solid', "take a deep breath and hold it' journalism.

Who knew it could be done without resorting to cheap tricks or steamy interludes?" -- Diane Tolley, author of Carving Angels

“Heiner has written a story with complex and interesting characters. Not only did I care about the characters, I cared about what happened to them.” J. Lloyd Morgan, award-winning author of The Hidden Sun.

Ready for the blog tour? It starts this Friday, June 1! Here's the line-up:

June 1 - Lydia Kang
June 4 - Rashelle Workman
June 5 - David West
June 6 - Tristi Pinkston
June 7 - Shannon O'Donnell
June 11 - Jennifer Shirk
June 12 - Saumya
June 13 - Justine Dell
June 14 - Laurel Garver
June 18 - Elizabeth Mueller
June 19 - Bonnie Harris

June 20 - Nichole Giles

June 21 - Marsha Ward
June 22 - Jo Ramsey
June 25 - Arlee Bird
June 26 - Laura Bingham
June 27 - Carrie Harris
June 29 - Deborah Davis

But it's not a blog tour without prizes, is it?

So, here they are! Since this is a blog tour, EVERY DAY I will randomly select one person who made a comment on that day's blog. The winner will then get to decide if they would like an ebook copy of PERILOUS or ALTERCATION. That means I'm giving away 21 ebooks! And all you have to do is leave a comment! There's just one catch: there must be AT LEAST ten comments on that day for me to do the giveaway.


But if that's not enough, leaving a comment also gets you entered into the PRIZE DRAWINGS. This won't be random; it's cumulative. Every comment you leave counts as 1 point. If you are a follower on my blog, you get 1 point. Every time you tweet or share on Facebook about the tour, it's one point. I'll even add it up for you; just include me in on the tweet @tamaraheiner or on Facebook @tamarahartheiner (unless you don't trust my math, and then feel free to tally it up and send it to me).


THIRD PRIZE: 50-page critique of something of your choice (if you're not a writer, a $5 amazon.com gift card)
SECOND PRIZE: lot of five YA books
FIRST PRIZE: $20 gift card to Amazon.com


I will create a new page with the blog tour links on it, so you can check back often! I'm so excited for this book! I hope you'll love it as much as I do!

Giveaways and Specials

We are on the countdown, folks. Altercation launches in less than two weeks.

As such, you may have noticed a few updates to my blog. First of all, we have a book cover! You can see it on the sidebar as well as the top of the blog. And, on that note, I'm running a Giveaway on Goodreads! All you have to do is click the button and you're entered! As a side note, even though Altercation is a sequel, it's written to stand alone. So you don't have to read Perilous first.

If you simply cannot wait for the Giveaway winners to be announced, WiDo Publishing has the book for sale for $12.75 just until the book comes out on June 5!

Want more free stuff??? Today through Sunday, the Altercation ebook is FREE! Come on, you can't beat free. So go ahead! Snag it while you can!

And since the book releases on June 5, watch for the awesome blog tour that starts next week, with over 20 blogs to visit and win stuff! If you're not excited yet, you should be. The second book is even better than the first.

Just for fun. My two books.

 

How to Graciously Accept Negative Reviews

I'm a member of several critique groups. One is in the real world, but the others are online. Everyone critiques differently, and there are several different levels of critiquing.

What I love about critique groups is that they find the problems in my book and they flaunt them in front of my face. How else would my book get better? We as authors understand this, right?

So I was a bit flabbergasted when I got not one, not two, but THREE emails from someone defending her book against my critique. As I responded to each and every email, I tried to be polite and respectful, but my true thoughts were, "Really? You've got to have a thicker skin than this to be a writer."

In light of her agony, here are some suggestions:

1) If lots of people are confused by the same thing, then perhaps the book could be a little clearer. There's no need to email the critiquer and tell them what you meant. Put it in your book so the reader knows what you mean.

2) Even if you feel the review doesn't apply, be gracious about it. Thank the critiquer. Not a good idea to threaten to leave the group because no one "gets" your book.

3) Don't email the critiquer and tell them all the ways they misread your book. Don't tell them they're wrong. Fix your book so it can't be misread. They might be wrong, but don't say it unless you don't want reviews from them again.

4) Don't join a critique group expecting everyone to tell you your book is perfect. That's not why you joined. You want to know how to make it better, and we're going to tell you.

5) Grow a thick skin. I can promise you, I won't be reviewing this person again. If you spazz or pout or get defensive with every less-than-glowing review, you'll stress everyone out and no one will try with you again.

6) Humble yourself. There is the ever so slight possibility that the critiquer is on to something. If you're not willing to listen, you'll miss out on making something better.

Critiques are meant to encourage, not destroy. They only work if the author listens to them, though!

Remembering Callie

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't read Perilous, this scene has spoilers!

In this scene, right after the girls meet Ricky and Neal, Jaci has a quiet moment where she reflects on what they've been through since the kidnapping. It's a scene that explores Jaci's feelings, and while it may not be action-packed or exciting, I was sad to see it go.

 Two hours later the city was behind them and the forest engulfed them once again. The boys didn’t say much as Jaci and Amanda told them their story.

Of course they didn’t mention anything that had happened to Sara. That was Sara’s business, if she wanted anyone to know.

And Callie. They’d left out Callie.

As everyone settled down for the night, Jaci crept over to a grove of trees. The moonlight barely illuminated a smooth patch of ground and a rock, perfect for sitting. She stared at the broken skyline above the trees, feeling very alone. She’d never been able to communicate her feelings with Amanda, and lately Sara was too absorbed with her own issues to notice Jaci’s. Not that Jaci blamed her…but it was strange to be in constant company of her friends and feel so isolated.

How she missed Callie. Her dear friend, her best friend. Always ready with a listening ear, comforting words, even indignation when necessary. 

She could hear Sara and the twins laughing. Sara hadn’t laughed in weeks. She rubbed her temples and tried to pray, but too many thoughts ran through her mind. Jaci lay down in the dirt, trying to get comfortable. A tree root dug into her shoulder blade and she scooted sideways. She pretended to be asleep when Sara approached. Sara lay down without a word and soon her breathing was soft and heavy. Jaci wished she could join her.

 

Gel Nails

Manicures are fun, but I've always kind of thought they were a waste of money. You spend thirty minutes hanging out, doing nails, pay $25 (or more), and BAM, on the way out the door, you smudge something.

Never fails.

So while I've considered them fun, I've never done them regularly.

But I might start.

For my birthday the first week of March, my husband paid for me to go to the salon and get manicure. But he also paid for the "Gel Nails." At first I thought this was some kind of acrylic, and I was like, no way. But then I got there, and they showed me. It's nail polish. But it's a special kind of nail polish that literally hardens on your nail like a shell, and it doesn't come off. (Not for me, anyway. My mom and BF had a different lady for theirs, and she didn't seal it right.)

Six weeks later, I'm trimming my nails because I figure it's finally time to get this nail polish off. IT HASN'T COME OFF.

I'm sold. I'll pay $28 bucks for a manicure that lasts that long!