Great Reviews for Perhaps...Perhaps 21/04/2011
A review by Tiffany Harkleroad of Tiffany's Bookshelf Perhaps...Perhaps, by LA Dale Flora is a sensible girl, who wears sensible clothes, and always makes sure her panties match her bra. Probably the least likely woman to have a steamy affair, particularly with her boss. But it seems this little flower has finally blossomed. The only problem is Flora also has a secret admirer, and he does not like the direction her life is taking. As Flora falls deeper and deeper, her admirer gets darker and darker. What will happen to this delicate flower? I adored this book. That is it, between this and some of the other wonderful romance novels I have reviewed in the past few months, I have officially become a fan of romance novels, but only the good ones, with great storylines. This book absolutely stole my heart. I adore Flora, and thought it was brilliant the way we watched her become the woman she really wanted to be. What woman has not felt like reinventing herself? That is what makes Flora such a believable, relatable character. As for the romance, it was just the right amount of steam for me. Clearly there was passion between these two characters, but none of it was described in a lurid or disgusting manner. It was, well, it was a passionate romance. There were some aspects that I am sure some readers may find morally questionable, but to me, it just made the story more realistic. I love when a book is not able to be pigeon holed into just one genre, so the addition of suspense by way of Flora's admirer was one of my favorite aspects of the book. There is no huge attempt to cover up who the admirer is, I figured it out pretty quickly. It is what the person does that leaves you in suspense. When the reveal scene happens, it was way more intense than I expected. So, catching me by surprise with a stalker whose identity I already knew? That is talent. All in all, I highly recommend this book for fans of romance novels that have good, solid story lines. You will get more than you bargained for with this, and in the best possible way. Add Comment A Review For Heart of Glass 29/10/2010
 HEART OF GLASS - A Review by Teresa GeeringWith the song ‘One Fine Day’ by the Shirelles in my mind, I shimmied through the wonderfully romantic ‘HEART OF GLASS’; under the influential writing of LA Dale.The story opens as Bella is being educated by the strictest of nuns at St. Brigids. Along with Bella and her school friends, we work our way through all the usual friendly rivalry over lusted after schoolboys on the edge of puberty.Bella’s attention is drawn to the older blonde bombshell Ben who had given her an unassuming but knowing wink. Their first date arrives and to placate her mother Bella invites another couple to join them on the date at her house. Much later in the evening with the latest records playing, the four are safely ensconced in a separate room in the house away from parents. As Ben finally manoeuvres in for the first kiss, Bella’s mother interrupts with a discreet cough under the pretext of the late hour, and that special kiss is deferred.This sets the theme of the book as far as Bella and Ben are concerned. Very much a will they won’t they finally get it together? At times, the never to be forgotten movie ‘When Harry met Sally’ came to mind.Just as Bella is starting to make some headway with Ben, her jealous rival Lucy is on the scene ridiculing her. Eventually in an effort to prove herself popular with the boys, Lucy takes things one step too far and falls pregnant. She is allowed to continue her education and the father stands by her.Bella moves on with her life and new loves are let in but then rejected in her longing for her first lost love Ben. As she goes on to University and leaves the family home in favour of independence, Bella meets up with a group of drinking buddies, Justin, Steve, and ‘Coops’ (Gods gift but a bit of a sleaze).So begins the next stage in her life, a flirting and drinking regime with crammed homework on the side. Still missing Ben badly she resorts to her own company and the other end of a bottle of Tequila.Eventually she works her way through other men including singer Mark Griggs (The Lizard King) who takes her into a downward spiral of hard drugs, and pornographic sex.Ben finally comes back into her life when she is at her lowest ebb and.....And will it be a happy ending?Well I shed a tear or two at times at this marvellous writer’s words.The one liners threaded through the story also had me laughing out loud at times.This is a classic piece of romance, and at times tragedy. I can only say,TRUST ME AND BUY THE BOOK.I hope you love it as much as I did...... GIVEAWAYS!!! 07/10/2010
This week Big G - my lovely husband - will be celebrating his 50th birthday. I, of course, was a child bride and so am nowhere near this age. Ok, you can stop laughing now! To honour this momentous event and because I had some lovely news regarding the impending publication ofPerhaps... Perhaps, I thought I might share a birthday gift with you. No, it's not his present... he already has that and wouldn't appreciate me sharing it. Rather it's a FREE, yes, FREE copy of Heart of Glass. Not to be confused with the fabulous Blondie song of the same name, Heart of Glass is my debut novel and I'm hoping that over the next two weeks -the period of festivities - you'll join in the fun and download aFREE copy on Smashwords that gives you access to all the major eBook platforms including Kindle. Hopefully, you'll fall so in love with the story, it will make you want to buy more of my books, leave a review on one of the sites or become a follower somewhere. If you don't so inclined.... simply enjoy your book! Simply go to the Smashwords site, click BUY NOW, enter the code below and your away. Coupon Code for Heart of Glass: ZJ62W (not case sensitive). Win a signed copy of Heart of Glass 10/08/2010
just follow the link and you're away. It could be a fun competition... of course, I'm ineligible!! Boo hoo http://sooozsaysstuff.blogspot.com/2010/08/contest-for-august.html?spref=fb
Good Reviews and a now a member of Goodreads 27/07/2010
Just a note to let you know I received a couple of reviews for Heart of Glass last week. Hopefully, if you've read the book you may like to add your own. http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/15072weeblylink_new_window I am now also a member of Goodreads. Why not pop along and read some more of my work, become a fan or even better ... do both! I'd love to meet you http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4120913.L_A_Daleweeblylink_new_window LA xoxo Guest Author - that's me! 22/07/2010
 This month, I am fortunate enough to be the Guest Author on the fabulous site, Authors on Show. It's a wonderful place for budding authors to hangout. Below is a snippet from the post but you can view the whole thing at Authors on Show. "I first began writing back in the 1980’s while attending the University of Tasmania and while my efforts were praised, I never thought of writing as a possible ‘career.’ Then, in 2000, I moved with my husband and two children to Geraldton in Western Australia. Lonely, while he worked away in the mines and finding little enjoyment from a social scene that revolved around sport, I began to write again and it was there that the idea for Heart of Glass first came to me. I wanted to tell a story about first love that was very LOOSELY based on a boy I knew when I was 16. The next year, we moved to Perth. I made new friends and became heavily immersed in raising the children, so it wasn’t until, when once again I was faced with a situation I was unhappy in, that I dug that story out and began to write. I wrote and wrote and nobody knew, not even my husband. I was determined, this time, to be a success as an author and I jokingly told my colleagues that one day I would give up my day job and write full time. They thought I was crazy until I revealed somewhat sheepishly, that I had actually done just that. During that initial eighteen months, I became obsessed by my character, Bella, and spent hours researching to ensure her story was accurate. This was no longer a little love story, it had become an epic to me. She dictated to me where she wanted to go and how the story would end. It had nothing to do with anything in my real life...." A visit to Wise Words 11/07/2010
 Thank you so much to Louise Wise of the Wise Words Blog for having me stop by. She has tonnes of interesting things for writers and lots of good book ideas for those who like to read - any genre. You can read more on her page by clicking the link - Wise Words LA xoxoxo Guest Author 09/07/2010
 So excited to be the Guest Author at Authors on Show later in the month. I'll be talking a little about my journey to becoming an writer and how rubbish I was ( I think I've improved somewhat since I started)and also about Heart of Glass and Perhaps..... Perhaps. Pop along for a look. LA xoxo Post Title. 30/06/2010
 Yesterday, I saw Heart of Glass in the flesh for the first time. It looks good, very professional and I'm happy with the quality of the printing. I've put a photo in for you so that you can get an idea of the real look ( a cover picture never really does justice) and because the internet sales are going well, I've decided to keep the free postage up within Australia if you order from me. So get out there and buy a copy, or better yet buy 10!! They'd make a great gift for the women you know. LA xoxox Guest Blog Post 29/06/2010
A quick update for all those who may be interested. Today, as part of my Virtual Book Tour, I am appearing as a guest blogger at www.thecreativepenn.com. It's a fabulous website for authors and has given me some great tips about marketing my books. Here's a copy of the post or you can click on the link above to view This is a guest post from LA Dale, author “Heart of Glass”.Let’s face it, Self-Publishing has a bad rep and I can completely understand why. You only have to look at some of the SP books on offer to see why bookstores are loathe to touch them. That being said, many people who choose the self-publishing route produce quality material that should be bought, read and loved just as a bookshop book is. And as an author, that’s really all I want (oh and fame and fortune too). So here are my tips for avoiding looking like you are a DIY first-timer. 1. Don’t take everything at face value. Some companies who claim to be *self-publishers* are not. They’ll take your money and do little for you in return. My first experience with a vanity press came in the form of a ‘we-would-love-t -publish-your-book’ letter. I was so naïve I didn’t even stop to think when they asked me for a substantial sum of money. After handing it over I discovered that I had no choice in how the book was produced. I was stuck with a cover I hated, a poor interior layout and a quality of paper that could only be used in the toilet but would hurt your bottom. 2. Research. There are two things that should be researched in depth. The first is the information in your story. If it’s meant to be realistic then it damn well should be. You need to find out everything you should know about your topic. I spent heaps of time researching drugs, drug use and side effects for my story, (though not in the practical sense) Some people, including my husband, were so convinced by the authenticity they asked me how I knew that stuff. Had I done it? If you want to be believed as an author your story has to be believable. So do your research. And by that, I don’t mean watch a series of CSI Miami. The second type of research is on the actual publication of your book and this goes back to my first point. Look carefully into the publication process, decide what you need and don’t need before you commit to any company. Ask them about the type of paper the use, how thick will the cover be. Ask for a sample book so that you can see the printers work. Buy your own ISBN number, you don’t have to pay $125 when you can get your own for $30. 3. Network. If you’re not up with Facebook, Twitter – it’s time to join the twenty-first century. Unfortunately, books don’t sell themselves and a cyber-space presence can do wonders for getting your name out there. I’ve been active on such sites for a year or so now and have got some great advice from people in the know because of it. I can directly attribute sales of my eBooks to Twitter and have am already receiving requests for my new story from FB fans. 4. Put yourself out there. I had a number of doors slammed in my face trying to follow the traditional publishing route but now, thanks to the power of putting myself out there I have a book deal for my second book. I didn’t send a query or an m/s. I didn’t write one sentence synopses. I simply talked to a lot of people, joined sites and asked the question. A publisher came my way and that was that. 5. Get a good book cover. Don’t think you can do it on your laptop (unless you’re a graphic artist.) I tried this. I downloaded images, making them into covers. They looked pretty but, if I’m honest, they weren’t store quality. So, find someone to do it for you. Pay them if you have to. 6. Get your book professionally edited and not by Mrs Who-sit next door who teaches English. If you want your book to stand out from the crowd, it has to look good for the right reasons. The Writer’s Centres in your state can point you in the right direction and a good editor can polish your story to a level that will make it bookshop worthy. *** LA Dale is the author of Heart of Glassto be released June 28. The year was 1979. An uncool girl in the cool crowd, Bella Stone found herself the girlfriend to footballer, Ben James, the boy everybody wanted to date. Ben and Bella were destined to be together and yet somehow, life always found a way of keeping them apart. Now, it’s 1987. Ben is back but Bella has grown up and moved on. Is it too late? Heart of Glass is a tale of the fragility of the human heart, a longing that will not be tamed and a promise that no matter what, someone will always love you. You can connect with LA on http://www.twitter.com/LA_DALE http://www.ladale.net http://www.facebook.com/pages/L-A-Dale/112984772054357 http://www.ladale-writer.blogspot.com/ Top image: Flickr Creative Commons Athena Thanks for coming back to the blog. To get the latest on writing, publishing, internet sales and marketing for your book, please subscribe to receive email updates from The Creative Penn blog. Just click here and enter your email address to subscribe.. Thanks for visiting! ************************************* | ArchivesApril 2011 CategoriesAll |
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