My second book, Kindred Spirits is celebrating its first bookaversary! On Halloween help me celebrate by downloading it FREE! Just one day only!

An Invitation To Fellow Writers

For the past four weeks I've been running my Enchanted Summer Games. There's a little over half a dozen players. Not quite as many as I would have liked but these players have come back every week to participate. I designed these games as a way for me too meet new people and for people to get to know me. It has been a great experience so far. I post daily activities which help you advance on your opponents in decathlon-style events. It's so much fun playing the actual online track and field games themselves. (Here's the current event, the High Jump) Then there's the daily activities you must complete to advance on fellow players.

For example, in yesterday's daily task list there was a Fact or Fiction exercise. What each player had to do was list three facts about them. One was to be false. Fellow players had to guess which one was false. I learned new things about people I'm actually quite familiar with already. And in turn they learned something new about me. These are how I set up the games. It's all about breaking the ice.

I encourage fellow writers to come and join in. As you compete for prizes, readers will get to know you and vice versa. When people get to know what you're about they're more inclined to invest in your dreams. And writers dream about getting read, no? At the least, you will have so much fun laughing at the friendly competition. You'll win fun prizes, not a million dollars, but still fun :).

You have nothing to lose and a few things to gain. What you gain may be worth more than you think. Take a chance.

Enchanted Summer Games

Look What's Up For Grabs This Week...

Here's what's up for grabs this week in the Enchanted Summer Games. Join us for some fun across social media. Meet new people and win cool prizes. >>> Enchanted Summer Games

Hooray! For Second Chances

So, here's what's happening. A few years ago I published my first novel, Enchanted Island. Fast forward a few years and I'm re-releasing the book. I made a few mistakes the first time around which I'm correcting now. You see, I passively marketed while secretly hoping my family and friends would lend a helping hand. I must say a handful, and I mean one hand, did actually purchase and read the book. Those people will always be remembered and appreciated. My only problems is I have close to 300 friends on my personal Facebook page and just under 10 of them jumped on board to support me. It's true they don't really owe me anything. But still, isn't it nice to have the support of your peers? I think so.

Time went on and I saw that they weren't particularly interested in anything I had to say regarding my book. I was so proud of myself for stepping up and seeing this thing through. Most people don't. I know whenever I see a friend or even a distant acquaintance involved in something cool, that I'm so thrilled for them. I jump right in and support however I can. My mistake was wishing that people would do the same for me. I was wrong. When the book was just coasting along with trickling sales here and there every month, I resigned myself to the fact that, I'm not going to make it. I became resentful and even stopped writing for a while.

Every now and then I'd get a burst of inspiration and resume my feeble effort to market my work. There came a point in time nearly two months ago where I got this fire in my belly once again. I finally came to terms with the fact that I couldn't really count on my inner circle to help me get to the next level. When I saw everyone around me taking care of themselves, even the ones I helped at some point in time, I just had had enough.

It came time for me to get out there and mingle. I needed to connect with people so they could get to know what I'm all about. It's important for me that people see who I am and what I'm about. I came up with a fun way to help make this happen. To celebrate the new look for my book I have a summer-long contest going. If you follow my blog you know about the Enchanted Summer Games. The games are a way for the readers to get to know me and a little about my book. I received the proof yesterday and gave it a once over. I'm happy to say, Enchanted Island is now available in paperback with the new cover and also for Kindle devices. Hooray! For second chances.

Enchanted Island with new cover and new attitude.

Paperback copies of  Enchanted Island are available here with a limited time discount code D8PG38CH  

Come Play The Enchanted Summer Games

Starting June 21st you can join the celebration for the re-release of my first book, Enchanted Island. I'm hosting a decathlon-style contest over the summer. There are plenty of chances to win, 10 to be exact. As if that wasn't cool enough, there will be bigger prizes at the close of the games.  That's if you've competed like a boss! There's no purchase necessary so don't worry. You have plenty of chances to win for doing things you do online anyway. So why not join in the fun?  Get your friends involved, and get a little friendly competition going. The more friends you get to play the better your chances are at winning one of those final prizes.

Now that you've decided to play, (and I know you have :-D) here are the details:

Enchanted Summer Games 

The Prizes Have Arrived!

While I'm still making a few preparations for the upcoming Enchanted Summer Games, there's one thing I can cross off my list. The Prizes! The box of goodies arrived today and just made it all real! The excitement keeps building as well as my hopes of people participating! I would hate to have to keep all these cool prizes to myself.  Speaking of prizes, here they are:

Carry your Enchanted Island
 book in here  ;-)

Notepad, pens, sticky notes
key chains

Mouse Pad

T-Shirt

A Look At The Prizes

I'm starting to get really excited about the Enchanted Summer Games.  The games will last throughout the summer in celebration of the re-release of Enchanted Island .  The book is being cleaned up and given a new look. I didn't think I could be more excited than when the book was first released, but I am! Sadly,  I didn't do much in the way of marketing the first time around, so here I am learning from my mistakes.  I want people to be as enthused as I am.  My main goal is to attract new readers and have them hang in there with me as I journey into the world of writing.  I've always been a bit of an introvert, okay maybe more than a bit, but I'd like to change that. These games will hopefully help me gain exposure, but more importantly, allow people to get to know me. So please, come and play! Tell your friends, it will pay off :)

Ideally, I'd like people to play until the end and intend to reward those who do.  There will be a  new game every week  and will last for  10 weeks.  The more games you participate in the better your chances at winning multiple prizes.  For instance, if you play the game scheduled for week #1 and don't win, you can play in week #2 and not only win the prize for that week, but also the previous week's prize! So it pays to stick around and keep trying! At the conclusion of the games, there will also be "The All-Around"  Gold, Silver, and Bronze prize awarded to those who participated in all the games from start to finish.

So you see, there are plenty of reasons to come and join the fun. Purchasing the book increases your chances of winning but not necessarily a requirement. So please don't fret. Tell your friends, share the link with the info, because there's also a prize for that ;-) Stay tuned!

While I continue to hammer out all the details of the games you can feast your eyes on a few of things up for grabs.

I have other goodies but will save them for another
post as I keep you updated on the upcoming Enchanted Summer Games.

Enchanted Summer Games

This is my baby. My firstborn. She was born in 2010 and she means so much to me. Of course I think she's the most beautiful. As we learn through life, our babies grow up to have a mind of their own. And my baby, Enchanted Island, wants to change her look. She's currently under construction to freshen up.

This is the "before" photo of my baby

This is what my baby will look like after construction

I present this to you because I feel a celebration is in order. My baby, Enchanted Island, will have a new look and  new attitude. I want to thank my early readers and attract a fresh new batch. So to make this happen I'm thinking of holding summer games. Not just any summer games but, Enchanted Summer Games.  I'm throwing  around some ideas. If I can drum up enough interest I may just go ahead with it!

I'm looking to start it on the first day of summer, which is June 21st and ending  on Labor Day. There'll be prizes and giveaways and all that good stuff. Mostly I just want people to have fun, get to know me and all  about my firstborn. Who doesn't like winning stuff? I think it'll be a lot of fun. So this blog post is my first experiment. If enough people bite I'll provide more details.

This will all be about interaction and participation. If you're reading this and think you and your friends would like to partake in the fun and games, drop me a line :)

MayTorres72@gmail.com

Twitter

Facebook

And of course here on my blog.

My Life List– 40 Things I Want to See, Learn, Accomplish In My Lifetime.

After just celebrating the day I was born, I thought it might be fun to come up with a life list.  Some people call it a bucket list.  So here it goes in no particular order-- a list of  forty things I want to accomplish in my lifetime.

1. Visit each continent
2. See the pyramids 
3. Dance in the rain
4. Meet my great-grand kids
5. Fall in love
6. Have at least one "forever" relationship with a person
7. Be owner of a successful business
8. Swim with the dolphins (Ok maybe just get in the water with one)
9. Own a home
10. Have a best-seller
11. Hug Dwayne Johnson
12. Witness everyone having equal rights
13. See a female president of the U.S. in office
14. Have a wedding
15. Meet Alanis Morissette
16. Be a dress size 8
17. Learn how to swim
18. Speak more than two languages
19. Learn to play a musical instrument
20. Write a song
21. Drive on Germany's autobahn network
22. Have a romantic kiss at the top of the Eiffel Tower
23. See all of the United States
24. Have a gelato in Italy
25. Go to the ballet and Opera
26. Befriend someone famous
27. Get a degree
28. Ride in a helicopter
29. Have a paintball war
30. Ride a mechanical bull
31. Beat my stage fright
32. Be a YouTube sensation for a week
33. Heal my butterfly phobia
34. Own a 1970's Stingray Corvette
35. Be influential
36. Make a difference
37. Create a charitable organization
38. See the cures for many diseases
39. Witness a collective evolution of man
40. Get a kiss from Alicia Keys

What's on your list?

Let The Fun Begin

On Wednesday, April 7th my book Enchanted Island was officially published! Since then, it’s been non-stop promotion. I’ve taken to my social networking sites,letting people know that the book was now available. There were some sales made during the presale and some over this past weekend. It’s hard work promoting :-/ I have to hand it to people in the advertising and marketing fields, but I will never regret my decision to self-publish. I’m not afraid of hard work, and the rewards will be so much greater, once things really start taking off. Right now, I’m taking it all in. This experience is so surreal. I have people close to me, fascinated and asking questions about the writing process. I’m getting questions on what prompted me to write the story. People are interested! Interested in something I’ve created! That doesn’t happen too often. I’m the type of person that would love fly under the radar forever. It’s all about stepping out of my comfort zone this year. Let the fun begin!

http://touchepublishers.com/Books/enchantedisland.html