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!