Tag Archives: blogging

This is what my new tour looks like!

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Tomorrow I kick-off a month-long blog tour for 46. Ascending. I’ve found a new blog company, Silver Dagger Tours, to put this tour together and they gave me the html sent out to their tour hosts. Here’s what it’s going to look like! What do you think …



One
of One
46.
Ascending Book 1
by
S.R. Cronin
Genre:
SciFi Fantasy, Adventure


Celebrate
the superhero in us all in this unique exploration of the connections
we forge.

Somadina,
a young Nigerian telepath, faces a crisis. Since being forced into a
frightening marriage, her sister, Nwanyi, has disappeared into thin
air. Not even Somadina’s gift can help locate her sibling. Terrified
and desperate, she reaches out to fellow telepath, Lola–a Texas
scientist–for assistance.


Lola,
however, has been steadfastly ignoring the disturbing phenomenon in
her mind for decades, and has no intention of embracing it now–much
less for a total stranger. But once it becomes apparent Nwanyi is a
pawn in a dangerous political game, the stakes rise for everyone, and
Lola is forced to reconsider.


Can
these powerful women overlook their differences and use their unique
gifts to stop a fanatic willing to kill anyone to alter his nation’s
future?


**Only
.99 cents!!**
Goodreads
* Amazon



Shape
of Secrets
46.
Ascending Book 2

You
can’t outrun the past in this mystery adventure where things are not
always as they appear


Zane,
a young man with the ability to change his appearance, is starting
his first job at Penthes Pharmaceuticals. However, it’s not what he
expects. Soon he is drawn into a world of corporate secrets and
dangerous knowledge.


The
deceptions are only beginning. A sales trip to the South Pacific
leaves Zane dealing with an unsolved murder, an unsavory boot camp
manager, and new friends with abilities as surprising as his
own.


Can
he use his unique talents to unravel the mysteries he’s been
presented with? More importantly, can he find out who framed his
friend for murder before it’s too late?


Goodreads
* Amazon

 



Twists
of Time
46.
Ascending Book 3

Uncover
the startling truth before time runs out in this complex search for
an ancient treasure.


Alex
is a former basketball player who has always been able to bend time.
These days he teaches physics and parents three quirky children
alongside his unusual wife.


When
the administration at his high school wants to reignite its history
with organized hate groups and return to an era of white supremacy,
Alex can no longer remain the quiet bystander. He must stand up and
fight for what he believes is right.


Further
complications arise when Stan, an old high school rival, needs Alex’s
code-cracking skills. Just when Alex has his hands full at school,
he’s drawn into a treasure hunt. Stan and a handful of ex-grad
students lost an obsidian box years ago containing instructions to
find an important discovery. As they reconstruct what happened the
night the artifact went missing, they need Alex’s help to find the
last two hidden relics containing the remaining clues to the
treasure.


As
both of Alex’s situations grow more dire, it becomes clear he must
tap into the abilities he left behind. Can he manipulate time for the
people and causes he cares about most?


Goodreads
* Amazon

 



Layers
of Light
46.
Ascending Book 4


Celebrate
those who light a candle in the darkness in this compelling and
eye-opening tale.

Teddie
is into country music, her old pick-up truck and getting through high
school with as little drama as possible. Yet somehow her best friend,
Michelle, talks her into spending a semester in Darjeeling, India.
The thrilling adventure turns treacherous when a seedy underworld
threatens her friends.


As
she fights to understand a depravity she never dreamed existed, a
stranger makes her an unexpected offer. He’ll train her to find the
missing girls, but she will have to trust in abilities she barely
believes exist and summon more courage than she thinks she has. And
there will be no going back.


Given
the choice between this and abandoning her friends to their
horrifying fate, the decision is simple. She must rise to the
challenge.


But
how can she make such a commitment when she doesn’t understand what
it is she can do?


**Get
it FREE Oct 31st – Nov 4th!!**
Goodreads
* Amazon


Flickers
of Fortune
46.
Ascending Book 5


Cling
to the edge of your seat in this high-finance, high-stakes
adventure.


What do we do with knowledge of the future?
Clairvoyant Ariel has been doing her best to ignore it, finding the
whole thing a nuisance. But when she comes across people using
similar abilities to get extremely rich, her interest is piqued.


Then
she discovers a second collection of gifted people. They care about
ensuring the survival of the human race, but that doesn’t stop them
from being dangerous and crazy, too. Soon Ariel becomes the object in
a game of tug of war between the two groups, as they fight to have
her–and her particular talents–on their side.


She
can’t possibly help them both. Aligning with either could be a
terrible idea. But how can she stay out of it when so much is at
stake?


Goodreads
* Amazon


One
of Two
46.
Ascending Book 6


Join
an extraordinary family on a heart-pounding adventure as they face
mortal danger.

Telepathy
creates as many problems as it solves, as everyone in the secret
organization x0 would admit. Those problems become much worse when
budding psychic Lola discovers another group of telepaths associated
with a powerful media empire. This group is willing to destroy anyone
capable of challenging them.


Soon,
Lola’s family and friends are in danger. Fortunately, they are
gifted with astonishing abilities of their own. Yet, none of them
know how to fight. It will take every power they posses, and the
allegiance of a helpful warrior, to bring down the arrogant adepts
who do the bidding of a man hell-bent on promoting destruction.


Can
the talented people Lola cares about learn to trust each other and
work together in order to save the world?

Goodreads
* Amazon




Sherrie
Cronin is the author of a collection of six speculative fiction
novels known as 46. Ascending and is now in the process of publishing
a historical fantasy series called The War Stories of the Seven
Troublesome Sisters. A quick look at the synopses of her books makes
it obvious she is fascinated by people achieving the astonishing by
developing abilities they barely knew they had.

She’s
made a lot of stops along the way to writing these novels. She’s
lived in seven cities, visited forty-six countries, and worked as a
waitress, technical writer, and geophysicist. Now she answers a
hot-line. Along the way, she’s lost several cats but acquired a
husband who still loves her and three kids who’ve grown up just
fine, both despite how odd she is.


All
her life she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be
Chief Science Officer on the Starship Enterprise. She now lives and
writes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she admits
to occasionally checking her phone for a message from Captain Picard,
just in case.


Website
* Website * Facebook
* Twitter * Amazon
* Goodreads

 

Follow
the tour HERE
for special content and a giveaway!

$25 Amazon

 

 

My iPod works as a fortune cookie

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SurpemesMy tiny nano iPod works like a Chinese fortune cookie. It’s so small that I only use it with my alarm clock, and every morning it greets me with a random song that has an uncanny way of setting the stage for my day. You know, just like how you are thinking of maybe going to visit some old friend in another town and the little piece of paper in your dessert says “You are about to embark on a wonderful journey”. So you go. Well, from the Supremes singing to me to “Stop! In the Name of Love” on the day I almost had a car wreck to Arcade Fire’s “Sprawl II” on the day that I got hopelessly lost in a previously unexplored suburb of Houston, I’ve decided that it’s eerie how these little things know so much.

I woke up Sunday September 21 intending to write a heartfelt blog post about how it was the thirty-third International Day of Peace, a twenty-four hour period during which the United Nations invites everyone on earth to honor a cessation of both personal and political hostilities. I really like the idea of such a day, but time got away from me. I wrote part of what I intended but postponed finishing the post until the next day.

September 21 was not chosen randomly. It coincided with the opening of the U.N General assembly that year, and in fact the United Nations convenes every year in New York at about the same time. Monday September 22 was opening day this year, and of course it was the day President Obama picked to announce his offensive against ISIS in Syria. It was a wise choice of a day, in that leaders and representatives from almost every nation on earth were going to have to look him in the eye and explain why they would or would not stand with him in this endeavor.

I hate bullies, and I can understand drawing a line and acknowledging that a group is so horrible that they sit on the wrong side of this divide and must be stopped. Analogies abound. Fear of ISIS by those living in the region speaks volumes. There is a spectrum of bad behavior that eventually crosses into atrocities that no human should stand by and watch. Perhaps we have reached that point. It appears that ISIS is making every effort to convince us that we have.

growing bolder 7I also hate war. You don’t have to study a lot of history to discover that the death and suffering we so often call “a brave sacrifice” is in fact the horrible toll taken by those trying to advance political, religious and/or economic agendas that have little to do with the noble words spoken as men and women go into battle. Our involvement in Persia and Arabia seems to be creating a worse monster with every new involvement, not to mention the immense tolls it takes on the lives of our soldiers and on our own resources. It is reasonable to ask whether we shouldn’t walk away from this mess and let those who live there sort it out.

I never finished my half-written stirring blog post about the virtues of peace. After listening to the president justifying his actions and all the talking heads demanding to know why he hadn’t done this sooner, I just didn’t know what to say. I still don’t. My iPod does not suffer from the same uncertainty, however. Monday September 22 it woke me up to Dionne Warwick singing “What the World Needs Now is Love.” I think it has a good point..

Everybody is shouting

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Light Within 3The truly skilled telepath is admired for her or his uncanny ability to listen to the feelings and thoughts of others. At least that is how it works in my imaginary world of x0, in which any old fool can transmit emotions but only the adept can receive them. Clearly I am making an observation about ordinary conversation as well. Listening is an art, and actually understanding what one is hearing is a high level accomplishment. Yes, most of us do spend our non-speaking time figuring out what we are going to say next. But at least in conversation, we pretend to pay attention to others.

Enter the world of social media. There is no question that I love writing my blogs and I love reading the blogs of others, but in my humble opinion the exchanges that take place in the comments sections can hardly be called conversation. They appear to me to mostly consist of (1) you are sooooo right or (2) you are soooo stupid or (3) the ever popular thanks for stopping by and liking my blog. (I’m not going to count the various spam comments that show up every day saying things like “I simply stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to say that I get actually loved account your weblog posts.” Who writes this crap and why?)

Facebook and the various Pinterest/Instagram type spin-offs are largely ways of shouting out what you are doing and what you like and don’t like. Yes, it is entertaining, but no isn’t conversation either. Maybe if we had a few more choices on the “like” button …… you know, emoticon responses of dismay, embarrassment, maybe a wink….. nah, probably a bad idea.

Then there is Twitter. I’ve had an account for years and I every so often I would read tweets on a topic of interest. I hardly ever tweeted anything, however, because I didn’t see the point. Seldom does anyone have a unique take on a subject and usually dozens of people had already said what I thought. I could hashtag all I wanted, but it seemed to me that I was just one more person shouting “Listen to me! I think this!” Shouting isn’t satisfying and it isn’t the way to make friends.

True voice 4Then I became an author. To my own surprise, I discovered that I was as desperate to be read as all the other authors you know. “You’ve got to use Twitter” they told me. Okay, I tried. And I found that all of us are out there, shouting about our wares and running little giveaways trying to snag another 100 followers when we can.That’s nuts. All the people out there shouting advice to authors (and there are a lot of those, too) think it is nuts as well. They say you shouldn’t peddle your books, you should engage socially. That sounds like reasonable advice, but I’ve got a problem with it. I am basically posting tweets to sell my books. It’s the truth and I don’t like pretending otherwise.

I found a solution that works for me, and it was in my first book all along. Act like a telepath. Act like a good one. Every time someone new follows me on Twitter, I now try to read their mind. Not really of course, but I pretend. Who are they and why are they there? If the answer is to sell me something, win a contest, or give me no information, I ignore them. But if they write, or read, or support a cause, or create or otherwise have a voice, I try to listen. I spend a few seconds looking into them online and I try to really hear them. Then, I thank them personally for following me and wish them good fortune with their passion. It gives them a tweet to like and retweet, and it makes me smile when they do.

No, I’m not making friends. Two or three 140 character exchanges does not a friendship make. And no, I’m not selling books from this, because my sales haven’t increased either. However, I am having some interesting exchanges and some fun. This “listening” is good stuff, no matter how it works out. Looks like there are ways to do it everywhere.

(Speaking of listening on social media, please drop by the Facebook pages of The Light Within and Your True Voice and give them a like for the great images above.)