10 Days Left

10 days left.

10 days left.

10 DAYS LEFT!

Oh my heavens, finally. I am on the countdown to the end of this Kindle Scout campaign.

The biggest thing I've learned (or rather remembered, because obviously I knew it): I hate campaigning. I hate contacting people and asking for support. Especially people I know. Asking strangers is so much easier. 

So the next time I decide to run for a political position, please remind me how much I hate this.

But I, and my book, are hanging in there. In the light of being totally transparent, because everyone I've met through the campaign has willingly shared their experience, stats, and advice, this is how it looks for me so far:

Camaraderie and Kindle Scout

Something unexpected has happened during this Kindle Scout Campaign: I've made a friend.

Who would have thought while you're competing against someone you could become supporters? That's what's so very awesome about the writing world.

I was going to write a long blog post about how nerve-wracking and time-consuming this campaign has been, but my new friend Jeanne (pronounce Genie) McNamee beat me to it. Her blog post is awesome and sums it up right here.

As for my book, as we enter into week 2, I've managed to hang in the top 20, keeping my little "hot and trending" status. Apparently this is really important? We'll see.

I just love this book. I love Kylee's story. I'm hard at work writing the sequel to LAY ME DOWN. I can't wait to share pieces of it with you! If you haven't had a chance to check out the entry, click here!

And since you get to have three nominations going at any one time, here are some of my author friends with books on Kindle Scout! Consider nominating their books, as well!

Jeanne McNamee

Rachelle J. Christensen

Lay Me Down Campaign is Now Live! And you could win $100.

Enter to win 2 $100 Amazon Gift Cards!

That’s right, you have TWO chances to win $100 gift cards. Read on for details…

I'm so very excited.

My newest young adult novel, LAY ME DOWN, is now on Amazon's Kindle Scout program. The neat things about this program is that readers choose who gets published. It's basically the grown-up version of Amazon's ABNA book contest, and it's the American Idol for the book world.

And here's the thing. If you nominate my book and I win, you win too. Guaranteed. Because every time you nominate a book and it gets published by Amazon, they send you a free copy. Free books!! It's very awesome.

Here's my book. My beautiful, amazing book that I just love.

Life is more than just breathing.

Kylee Mansfield knows what it is to be alone. Her dad left when she was seven, and her mother remarried an abusive alcoholic. Kylee finds ways to escape reality, usually by substituting one pain for another. Things take a deadly turn when a jagged cut shows up on her arm, and she doesn't know where it came from. She enlists the help of her neighbor, Price Hudson, to help her uncover the truth. But Price shows her much more than just her past—he shows her what it is to be alive.

Nominating is very quick. Click this link here and sign in with your Amazon account. The first four chapters are on there, and you're welcome to read them. Or you can just click the "nominate" button. All done!

Unless you want more chances to win. Because I'm giving away $200. For all the after-Christmas sales! This is a two-step process, so pay attention.

How to enter:

1) As soon as you've nominated my book, send me an email at tamara at tamarahartheiner dot com. (Translate that into email jargon. Ask in the comments if you need help.) This is on the honor system! I have no way of knowing if you actually nominated me or not, so I'm trusting you! As soon as I get your email, I'll enter you into my first $100 Amazon gift card contest. You can only be entered into this one ONCE.

2) TELL EVERYONE to nominate my book. Spread it on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, your email list. And tell everyone that when they send me their email telling me they nominated my book, they need to mention YOUR NAME. Then you'll be entered into the second $100 Amazon gift card contest. This one you can be entered into AS MANY TIMES AS YOU'RE REFERRED.

If you need something to copy and paste for your Facebook/blog/email posts, here ya go: Vote for Tamara Hart Heiner’s new book LAY ME DOWN on Kindle Scout (https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/AANGH65P8YLB), then enter the Two $100 Amazon Gift Card contests by emailing tamara (at) tamarahartheiner (dot) com and telling her that you voted and that I referred you. You’ll be entered into her 1st giveaway, and I’ll be entered into her 2^nd giveaway. Win Win! You can then refer others to get yourself entered into the 2^nd giveaway too.

But hurry! The clock is ticking! Nominations are only open until January 2! Are you excited? I am. I appreciate all of your help! Thank you!

Callie Didn't Die

The third book in the PERILOUS series is under contract with WiDo Publishing right now (yay!) and I'm so super excited about this book. In fact, as I read through my previous books, I'm a bit sheepish at how much I've improved as a writer. That's a good thing, right?

But anyway, I recently reread PERILOUS just as a refresher while writing the third book. And one interesting tidbit keeps sticking out in my mind, and I finally decided to write a blog post about it.

Originally, Callie didn't die.

For those who haven't read the book, Callie is one of the four kidnapped girls who dies in chapter three (so I'm not giving anything away, in case you were worried). Before I rewrote the story to include her death, Callie had a life. In fact, she was the main character. She had interests and hobbies. She even had a budding love life, as Neal (one of the characters in the book) was specifically written to mirror Callie's responsible, protective personality.

In the end, I killed her off because she was too perfect. Her fatal flaw was her lack of flaws. But what if--what if she hadn't died?

I was halfway through ALTERCATION (book 2) when I killed her off in book one, and her character got cut out. She never made it home. She never saw her mom or dad or little brother again. She never met Neal, and he never gets the chance to know what feelings he might have developed for her.

I just keep wondering. What if she had lived? How would that have changed Jaci's story? Amanda's story? Neal's story?

If you've read the books, do share your thoughts. I'd love to know what you think.

Keeping the faith

Into the Kitchen: Keeping the faith: I've hit a bit of a roadblock in trying to get my cookbook published. I've been actively pursuing publication, knowing that I myse...

The last episode of Walker Wildcats Year 1 is out!

Huge Book Sale! Bookmarked Bargains is having a huge 5-day sale! With over 30 different authors and about as many books, there's something for everyone! The sale goes on through Friday! There's also an awesome party pack being given away with $175 worth of free merchandise! Click here to see what different books are available! Episode 6: Reaching Higher The last episode of Year 1 is here! The book releases on Thursday, October 15! It's available for order now through this link and goes free on Friday, October 16! The great thing about this series is you can start anywhere!

Walker Wildcats Year 1 Episode 6: Reaching Higher   As Cassandra's first school year in Arkansas draws to a close, she feels pretty confident with how far she's come. She's made new friends, excelled in school, and joined a band. But when her teacher challenges her to push herself in a friendly competition, Cassie realizes she has a long way to go if she's going to be at the top of the class.

Thanks for reading! Lots of fun things going on! Just wait!

Free books, sequels, and craft fairs, oh my!

Writing news! My, my, has it really been this long? School's back in session and I've managed to spend a decent amount of time on writing this month! I continue to juggled several projects at once, but the plan is to finish a project and launch it into the book world so I can focus more on the others! I have so many books in my head. One of my biggest fears is that I won't have enough time in my life to write them all. That fear drives me, it pushes me to steal every spare moment so I can write a little more. On September 26 and 27, I'll be at the first ever Garfield Arkansas craft fair. It runs from 10am-6pm Friday and Saturday. Besides my books, I'll also have baked goods! So if you're local and love a good fair, come on out and see me!

Episode 4 is FREE today and tomorrow! I've been extremely pleased by how well-received my Cassandra books have been. I simply love these stories and love Cassandra! Perfect for the pre-teen in your life or the young at heart! Episode 4: Fever Pitch Cassandra Jones is finally finding her place in her new school. She joins a band and discovers a love for music. Just when she's making her bid to be the best clarinet player, she comes down with a rather unexpected disease. Click Here to download the book free! I am thrilled to finally, finally announce the third book in the PERILOUS series. Working title is PRICELESS (which could very well change), and I don't have a release date yet. But I've just signed the contract and will be working very closely with my publisher to get this book out as soon as possible. It is by far my favorite book yet in the series. I'll keep you posted!

Club Girls

Episode 2 available now! And it's free, today and tomorrow only! When Cassandra and her two best friends decide to start a club, she realizes it's going to be harder than she thought. She tries to hold it together as she and her friends weather parents who don't want to drive them, vicious dog attacks, and petty cat fights. On top of that, Cassie is still trying to convince her mom to add a new pet to the family.

Episode 2: Club Girls (click the link to get your free ebook!) If you missed getting Episode 1 last month, don't worry! You can still get it for just $0.99! Click here to purchase Episode 1: The New Girl.

And I'm off to Rio de Janeiro for more research for my cookbook! I love my job! Bless and have a wonderful summer!

New Endeavors (and free ebook!)

Episode 1 of Cassandra Jones has launched! And just for you, just through Friday, the book is free! This is one of my favorite projects yet. Meet Cassandra. This fifth grader is as typical, kind, selfish, and loveable as any other ten-year-old can be. Written for kids ages 8+, Cassandra Jones would love to become a member of your family! Check out the link below for more information!

What's special about Cassandra? Absolutely nothing. She's as ordinary as any other fifth grader. And yet her ordinary life is riddled with hilarious and sometimes heart-breaking mishaps as she guides herself through the world of pre-teens on the brink of adulthood.  Cassandra Jones is the new girl at school. She's been uprooted from her beloved state of Texas and relocated to the hillbilly Ozarks of Springdale, Arkansas. She wonders if she will like her teacher or if she will have any friends. She can only hope school won't be harder than it was back home.  She doesn't expect to have two close friends, and even worse, two friends that don't like each other. As she tries to make a spot for herself, will she keep her friendships intact?  Click here to see the book on Amazon! Into the Kitchen: A Food blog As I'm searching for the right company to publish the cookbook I'm working on, someone in the publishing agency suggested I start a food blog to help me gain credibility as a food writer. It's not like I really have time for that, but it sounded like a good idea. So I started one! And since I really do experiment in the kitchen on an almost daily basis, it's not that much more work than I already do. The hardest part is remembering to take pictures along every step of the way! If you need dinner ideas or just like to see what creativity I'm cooking up in the kitchen, come and visit my food blog! Click here!

And finally, I have two more book signings this month. Friday, May 15, I'll be at the Springdale Harps on Sunset from about 4:30-6:30pm and Saturday, May 16 from about 1-3pm. A week later, on the anniversary of the Joplin tornado, I'll be in Joplin raising money through book sales. ALL PROCEEDS FROM BOOKS BOUGHT AT THE JOPLIN SIGNING WILL BE DONATED TO JOPLIN. I'll be there Friday, May 22 and Saturday, May 23, around the same times. In addition, proceeds from all books purchased through my website on May 22 will be donated to Joplin. Thank you for your support!

Cassandra Jones is live!

The Extraordinarily Ordinary Life of Cassandra Jones 1:1

Episode 1 of Cassandra Jones is now available on Kindle! Click the link if you (like me) just must see the book live and "in shelves"!

Food Blog Coming Up!

I got another encouraging response from an agent today in regards to my cookbook. He said it is a good idea but that I have no credibility as a food writer. (I guess all my reviews on tripadvisor don't count ha ha.)

Since I have no intentions of joining a restaurant or imploring the Food Network to sign me up, I asked him what I could do to change that. He very kindly and enthusiastically suggested I start a food blog. His idea was a Brazilian food blog, since the cookbook is Brazilian, but I thought, I can do better than that.

If you're on this blog, you know I'm a writer. Everyone knows I'm a writer. But what you may not know is that I am an avid cook. I'm very particular as a cook; I very rarely make the same thing twice because I find something so incredibly exciting and fulfilling in making new things.

And making a food blog would be rather easy for me. Every Sunday I prepare my exciting weekly menu, and I take pictures of my food (failures included) almost every day.

The hard part, as the kind agent reminded me, will be getting followers. He didn't give me an exact number, but I'm betting I'd need at least a thousand before anyone would notice me or consider me an authority on food.

So watch for it. Soon I will have a new blog up to go along with this one. It's going to need a name. Any suggestions? If I pick your suggestion, I'll send you an free ecopy of The Extraordinarily Ordinary Life of Cassandra Jones Episode 1, releasing on May 17!

pictured: Blood-orange tart

Book cover reveal

Are you ready?

I'm so excited to share with you my book cover for my newest books, a middle grade series about a young girl named Cassandra Jones. What's special about Cassandra? Absolutely nothing. She's as ordinary as any other fifth grader. And yet her ordinary life is riddled with hilarious and sometimes heart-breaking mishaps.

I can't wait for you to get to know Cassandra! The book is scheduled to release on May 16, 2015. The interesting thing about this book is I'm trying something new. It's being released like a television series: every month, a new episode of the book will come out, in ebook only. At the end of the "season," I'll compile all the episodes together into a longer book and make it available in print. I'll keep you posted how it goes!

In other book news: I finished the third and final segment to the PERILOUS series, called PRICELESS. It's out to beta readers now for any plot or character issues I missed, and then hopefully off to my publisher. Watch for a release date for 2016! (Fingers crossed.) PERILOUS and ALTERCATION are both out and available for sale as print or ebooks, as well as DELIVERER, an ebook short story told from the point of view of the kidnapper.

I'm currently in the midst of a book tour, and I just created a really fun giveaway for people who buy my books either via the website or in person. Nail wraps with my book cover on them! Each person who buys a book will get one nail wrap (not one sheet, just one nail wrap). These are in a very limited quantity, so if you want one, come to a book signing or purchase a book from my website. (Book signing schedule was in last month's newsletter, but I'll be happy to provide it again if you need it.)

I am also busy working on my Brazilian cookbook! I leave for Brazil in June where I will re-immerse myself in the culture and come back with even more recipes. I am constantly looking for recipe testers. Send me an email if you're interested!

Happy April! I'm so glad spring is here!

Because it's cooler than buying a book online, right?

So if you're close by, I'll be going on tour in Northwest Arkansas (and Joplin, Missouri). With the anniversary of the Joplin tornado coming up, this is the perfect time for me to get into the public view, remind people of what happened, and raise money not only for Joplin but for other cities devastated by natural disasters.

While Tornado Warning is the only fundraising book I have, I will be selling copies of my other three books, Perilous, Altercation, and Inevitable. So if you've been waiting for just the right time to get your book, now would be it! Tour schedule below!

In other news: I've added another project to my writing list: A Brazilian cookbook! I'm getting ready to return to Brazil in June, for the first time in ten years, and I figured it was the best time to start translating and testing all the recipes I've compiled over the years. I'm super excited about this project also!

If you're looking for an editor, I have openings in April for clients. Find my rates here: http://tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com/p/copy-editing-rates.html

And I'm still working on the third book to the Perilous series, the sequel to Inevitable, my middle grade series, and a fun young adult romance. (If you saw my living room and kitchen right now, you'd see a sink full of dishes and six baskets of clean laundry.) Yeah, I have priorities. Cleaning just isn't one of them. :)

Have a happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tour schedule:
March 20-21: Bentonville, Arkansas Harps (Walton Blvd.)
April 24-25: Rogers, Arkansas Harps (2nd Street)
May 15-16: Springdale, Arkansas Harps (Sunset)
May 22-23: Joplin, Missouri Harps
June 5-6: Bella Vista Harps (Town Center)

New Year's Resolutions

Right, right, I know, it's that time again. Believe me, I'm rolling my eyes too. So instead of boring you with a list of resolutions that look remarkably similar to the ones I made last year, I'll just share one with you.

Send out my newsletter once a month.

So the last time I sent one out was probably, oh, a year and a half ago. I've always just kind of thought I don't have a lot to say, but I realized, you know what? People probably are interested in hearing what I'm working on. Maybe they want to know about books on sale from my author friends, too.

Don't freak out when you get my newsletter in your inbox. It's coming. Now you can know what I'm doing way before I do it. You might even know what I'm doing before I do!

And if you haven't signed up for my newsletter, the sign up is on the right hand side of my blog. Keep you posted!