Author Secrets as Revealed on Squidbillies

I am a big fan of a Cartoon Network show called Squidbillies. It's about hillbilly squids, it's incredibly offensive and way funnier than it has any right to be. This episode, in which the son of the hillbilly squid family takes up reading, taught me a little something about us authors, courtesy of horror legend Dean Koontz.

Yes my friends, most popular authors are in fact illiterate. I can read, so I guess that's why I'm not quite as successful as Robert Ludlum (yet!).

The Giveaway is Ended!

This afternoon I drew a winner for the Late Summer, Early Spring e-book giveaway, by using the very scientific method of writing down names on paper slips and putting them in my son's Super Mario Brothers lunchbag, closing my eyes and drawing one out.

Congratulations Kimber! I will contact you shortly for an e-mail address where we can send the book.

Thanks to everyone for entering, I wish I could give you all a copy but the publisher might frown on that...

GIVEAWAY- LATE SUMMER, EARLY SPRING (M/M FANTASY/MYTHOLOGY/ROMANCE)

So I was absent for another whole week! Well, I have an excuse of sorts. The oldest kid starts school early this year and so last week was a jumble of traveling to see relatives before then, Gencon 2015 and GISHWHES (www.gishwhes.com). But I did manage to make this lovely portrait of Nicki Minaj in rice and lentils.

Anyway, that's all over now, and I can concentrate on this bit of news:

I AM DOING AN E-BOOK GIVEAWAY FOR MY NOVEL LATE SUMMER, EARLY SPRING.

Here's the protocol: leave a comment on this post. Any comment. It can be about the book, or about Nicki there, or your favorite dinosaur, or whatever. Just talk to me. It gets lonely here in this corner of the net.

I will give away ONE copy, and this giveaway will run one week, until Sunday, August 16th. At that time I will write everyone's name on a slip of paper, pop it into a hat, and draw one with my eyes closed. This a super-scientific manner of choosing. Then I will contact you and ask for your e-mail address (or you can just leave it in your comment if you'd rather) and a lovely lady at Dreamspinner Press Publications will send it on over. Once you get it, I'll ask you to leave an HONEST review on Goodreads or Amazon or some such place. You don't have to, but it would be awful nice...

To entice you, here is a summary of the book (which is actually two linked novellas):

Hour of the Lotus
General Sho Iwata is devastated when the man he secretly loves, Prince Narita, is struck with a mysterious illness. Iwata's current lover, Hiroshi, is well aware of the general's unrequited passion. But that isn’t his biggest problem. His sister is Narita’s favorite consort, but Hiroshi believes she has been replaced by an imposter. When they discover the true cause of the illness, they will have to battle an ancient spirit and survive. 

Fox Hunter
Lord General Iwata Sho sets out in search of the mysterious Fox Hunter. When he finds his former lover, Hiroshi, he discovers a changed man, scarred inside and out and consumed by vengeance. Together with Narita’s grown son Daigo, Iwata and Hiroshi pursue the malicious spirit as it leaves bloodshed in its wake. Iwata worries about what will become of Hiroshi when the fox is defeated―if Hiroshi’s revenge doesn’t kill him first. 

Hour of the Lotus published by Dreamspinner Press, May 2013

Aaaand here are a few snippets from Goodreads reviews:


Late Summer, Early Spring is a perfect treat for anyone looking for beautiful writing, ancient mythology, and casual inclusion of gay characters.

I  have to admit that I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover of two Japanese samurai warriors, but it was the writing and the characters that made me stay drawn.

It was a very good read and I recommend it to anyone who likes established couples, Japan and its history and mythology, and to those who just love a good story.

 Patricia’s stories, layered and textured worlds populated with complex characters battling evil and each other, offer a look at different people, societies, customs, norms, and sometimes push us to look at things we might normally avoid. 

So leave me a comment, friends, and you might get this digital volume for absolutely free! And as a bookseller/reader/writer, I can tell you there's nothing better than a free book. Except maybe lots of free books. 

You have one week. I look forward to giving this story to one lucky commenter!

Enter to Win a Free Copy of Late Summer, Early Spring

Well, so much for keeping up with the blog! In apology, here is a photo of my cat:

Late Summer, Early Spring was duly released on July 14th, and I've been pleased with the reception so far. 3 five-star reviews on Goodreads, and when I did a giveaway on a couple copies of the paperback there were over 300 people requesting a copy. My oldest son turns 6 tomorrow, so in honor of his birthday I'll be starting a new giveaway tomorrow on a copy of the e-book. Check out my Goodreads page tomorrow to enter!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25903463-late-summer-early-spring?from_search=true&search_version=service

As a reminder, you can also purchase it here:

https://www.dsppublications.com/books/late-summer-early-spring-by-patricia-correll-144-b

Aaaaaand here:

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Early-Spring-Patricia-Correll/dp/1634760336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438355390&sr=8-1&keywords=patricia+correll

I am working on a short story that's a bit of a follow-up to the book; I plan to see if DSPP wants to release it as one of their 'Free Fiction' features; if not, I will probably just post it here. It will make my dog-loving readers happy, I hope.

I'll be posting again soon. I mean it this time!Late Summer, Early

I'm on Goodreads...About Damn Time!

A couple years ago I signed up for Goodreads, but never really did anything with it, despite about a hundred of my family and friends asking to friend me on that site. I already have Facebook and Google +, I figured, and I find trying to promote myself on social media to be exhausting. But today I decided to sit up and actually put some information on my author page, so here it is:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6727899.Patricia_Correll

You can see my published work and also ask me questions or something. I'm going to keep my blog here, but maybe I'll start cross-posting there too. Feel free to add me as friend or follow me too!

To make this post even more worth reading, here is Judy Bloom on trigger warnings:

http://imgur.com/gallery/XJMVTBA/new

I'm Back!

So...it's been a while. I had to take a break from blogging. I was just burned out. And my break turned into a VERY LONG BREAK thanks to pregnancy, the birth of my second son eight weeks early, and all the insanity that comes with raising two boys.

But it hasn't been all family stuff. I've been writing quite a bit. My second novel is complete and I'm shopping it around to agents. Since September, when #2 Son was born, I've completed three short stories, and I'm almost finished with a fourth. I wonder if having two kids and short stories go together, since I haven't written short pieces for a long time.

And most exciting, I have a new release coming from DSP Publications.

My novella Hour of the Lotus was published by Dreamspinner Press a while back. When I had a sequel ready, I sent it to them. It turns out I sent it just in time, because they were setting up a new imprint called DSPP, which would publish stories that are genre pieces with gay characters, rather than gay romance. I was thrilled, because I think this publishing angle works much better for both Hour of the Lotus and the sequel, The Fox Hunter. The two novellas will be packaged together in one book called Late Summer, Early Spring (referring to the season in which each takes place). It will be available as an e-book and as a paperback! Here is the pre-order page:

http://www.dsppublications.com/books/late-summer-early-spring-by-patricia-correll-144-b

Anne Cain, who did the cover art for Hour of the Lotus, was available to do the art for this one too, and I love it!

Late Summer, Early Spring will be released on July 14th, and I have a couple guest blogs and interviews coming up too, so rest assured I will definitely let you know about them!

I'm going to try to post regularly here again. I'm off to do a workout- stretching my blogging muscles (and maybe losing some of this baby weight...)! See you soon!

10/10 Nailed It

This is why I write instead of operate a gourmet bakery.