Author: Kristina Stanley

Farley’s Friday: Keeping Cool

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley Here,

If you haven’t heard, British Columbia is having a heat wave. So how do you keep cool? You wade in the river. Now, I’m only allowed in the run off portion of the Toby Creek. The main channel is flowing at full speed and could carry me away, but the water is still cold and tasty in the shallows.

Farley In Creek

And yes, I’m still on a leash. We haven’t seen a bear in a week, but my humans want another week to go by to be sure the bears have moved to a higher altitude.

After romping in the creek, I head home for  a nap – in my favourite place. I’m not actually allowed on the couch, but I snuck up when Kristina wasn’t looking.

Farley on Couch

She loves me too much to do anything about it. Lucky for me, Matt isn’t at home, so please don’t tell him.

Woof Woof.

Publishing Journey: Online Interviews

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

Sweat is pouring off my forehead. I thought writing a novel was the hard work, and it was, but who knew publishing the novel requires just as much effort. A different kind of effort, and a whole new set of skills, but still exhilarating and fun.

I’m sure you’ve heard a wonderful part of writing includes meeting and connecting with people, and it’s true. Being interviewed is one more way to meet new friends.

Part of the launch process includes setting up interviews. so I took a deep breath and put the word out.

I’ve been lucky and an interesting group of authors agreed to interview me. They each sent me a set of questions to answer, which I’m now busy doing. The questions have made me think about who I am as an author and what the publishing journey is about. I hope you’ll check out their sites.

The interviews are scheduled for the following dates:

July 24th: Rosemary McCracken best-selling author of the Pat Tierney mystery series including Safe Harbor and Black Water.

August 7th: Judy Penz Sheluk author of the Hanged Man’s Noose. Her short crime fiction appears in World Enough and Crime and The Whole She-Bang 2.

August 11th: Joan Y Edwards: author/Illustrator of Flip Flap Floodle.

August 14th: Carol Balawyder: author of Getting to Mr. Right, Missi’s Dating Adventures,  and Mourning Has Broken.

August 18th: James M Jackson author of the Seamus McCree Mystery series.

I’d love to do more interviews, so please send me a direct message  from  my contacts page if you’re interested in hosting me.

You are invited to help me celebrate DESCENT’s launch at my Facebook launch party: July 25th. Prizes and authors to be announced soon…

Facebook Release Day Party

If you haven’t read my blog before, I’ve signed on with Imajin Books and will blog about my publishing adventure. I’ll share what I learn and hope it helps someone out there get their novel published.

Thanks for reading…

 

DESCENT Coming Soon!

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

I have butterflies in my stomach. Years of hard work and a dream has led to this…Imajin Books has announced DESCENT’s release date: July 25, 2015.

The full cover of DESCENT designed by Ryan Doan…Ta Da!

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000040_00072]

Can this really be happening?

If you haven’t read my blog before, I’ve signed on with Imajin Books and will blog about my publishing adventure. I’ll share what I learn and hope it helps someone out there get their novel published.

Thanks for reading…

Farley’s Friday: I Have a Girlfriend!

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Farley here,

My heart starts to pound. My legs turn to Jelly. I see the dog of my dreams. Tell me she’s not beautiful. I dare you. We met while out for a walk with my humans.

IMG_2286

Her name is Beans, because she’s – you know – full of them. I see her strutting toward me with a glint in her eye. Her fur is silky, her tail is wagging. She’s inviting me to play.

She has this cool human who throws food in the water. I offer for her to go after the food first but discover she doesn’t like to swim. It’s all about her beautiful fur. She’s just been to the salon.

I don’t want her know I’m afraid of deep water. I’ve just been bragging that I lived on a sailboat for five years, so in I go.

Kristina can’t believe it. She’s clapping her hands and giggling. She thinks I’m swimming, but my toes are actually touching the ground. There’s no way I’m going in over my head. Not for food. Not even for my girlfriend. Girlfriends are supposed to like you even though you may have a weakness, right?

Did I mention I’m crazy about Beans? I’ve gotta go find her again.

Woof woof.

Unveiling of DESCENT…A little more…

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

You’ve probably noticed I’m having fun with the upcoming release of DESCENT. So here’s a big piece of the fun. Award winning author of the Inspector Green mysteries, Barbara Fradkin, provided a quote for the cover of DESCENT. I can hardly contain my excitement.

Screen Shot 2015-06-24 at 7.02.00 AM

If you haven’t read Barbara, now’s your chance! Here is where you can find her first Inspector Green novel, DO OR DIE.

For the inside cover, I was very lucky to receive quotes from Brenda Chapman and Garry Ryan. Check out Cold Mourning by Brenda and Queen’s Park by Garry. These are the debut novels in their series.

In case you haven’t seen their quote, I just have to share them again.

“Murder rocks the competitive ski world in Stanley’s layered tale with enough suspects to keep readers guessing until the last chilling chapter.” –Brenda Chapman: Award winning author of the Stonechild and Rouleau Mysteries.

“From the first line, you’re strapped into a Stanley novel. Just turn the page, hang on, and enjoy the ride.” –Garry Ryan: Award-winning author of the Detective Lane mysteries and Blackbird trilogy.

Full cover coming soon…

If you haven’t read my blog before, I’ve signed on with Imajin Books and will blog about my publishing adventure. I’ll share what I learn and hope it helps someone out there get their novel published.

Thanks for reading.

 

The Unveiling…of…DESCENT

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Holy Excitement Batman!

The cover for DESCENT is in. I’ve seen it and love it. Today I can share a little piece, just a sneak preview, so you can see what’s coming. This is the bottom quarter of the front cover.

Screen Shot 2015-06-22 at 7.00.09 AM

Later this week, I’ll have the pleasure of sharing the whole cover and the launch date. How cool is that? The good news just keeps arriving from Imajin books.

Now the scary part begins. I have to get my online platform ready. Just so you’d don’t think I’m loafing around this week, here’s what I’ll be doing.

  • post cover in all the relevant places
  • set up and invite people to a Facebook launch party
  • set up a blog hop
  • update author sites (such as Goodreads and Author’s Den)
  • confirm book signing events for later in the summer
  • contact our local paper about an article
  • and just to keep me on my toes, I’m polishing Avalanche, the third novel in the Stone Mountain Series.

I’ll keep a list of marketing activities to share with you and by the end of the process, we should have good to-do list for launching a book. You know me – I love to have a list. Of course, please let me know if you have ideas to add to the list.

If you haven’t read my blog before, I’ve signed on with Imajin Books and will blog about my publishing adventure. I’ll share what I learn and hope it helps someone out there get their novel published.

Thanks for reading…

Farley’s Friday: Happy Dog.

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Farley here,

I was looking over Kristina’s shoulder as she was flipping through photos and look what I found. This is me, day one, with my new humans.

2008-10 FC Sleeping with Stuffy

Hard to believe that was six and half years ago. I knew I was going to be one pampered puppy!

Woof Woof.

Imajin Books Summer Sizzle

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

You are invited…

Oh, yeah! It’s that time of year again and Imajin Books (soon to publish DESCENT and BLAZE)  is gearing up for its annual Summer Sizzles promotion.Things really heat up with the Summer Sizzles facebook party on Sunday, July 12 from 4 – 8 pm PDT (7 – 11 pm Eastern).

Here’s the link for all the info. https://www.facebook.com/events/484341911728130/

https://www.facebook.com/events/484341911728130/
You are invited to attend so visit the event page and click the join button so we know to expect you!

Who will all be there?

Almost the entire Imajin Books crew will participate, from publisher to editors to authors to cover designers, formatters….

Fans of Imajin Books’ authors will be there, eager to ask their fave writers questions and offer support and compliments.

Aspiring writers will be there, schmoozing with those in the industry, asking questions, giving answers.

Other authors will be there.

Family and friends will stop by.

People who like winning things will be there–there are always lots of giveaways.

Those who love drinking virtual margaritas on virtual sunny beaches will drop by. Don’t worry, there will be free virtual taxi service for those who overimbibe! HA HA!

Come on over, join in the fun! If you’ve never attended a facebook party, this is the one to change that!

Thanks to Eileen Schuh, author of of THE TRAZ, THE TRAZ School Edition and FATAL ERROR),  for putting this blog together.

Farley’s Friday: I’m Thirsty…

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley here,

I don’t like getting my paws wet. I’m thirsty, parched actually, but my pads should always stay dry.  So I lived on a sailboat for five years. That doesn’t mean I love water. I love being on water, preferably in a kayak or a dingy. Fish belong in water, not me.

Matt’s wearing boots, He doesn’t have to put his feet in the water. Now that I think of it, he drinks from a water bottle, he doesn’t even have to put his snout in the water.

IMG_2268

Notice the leash. Still too many bears in the area that I might chase. My humans think they can’t trust me when a bear is around. I try to explain I need to protect them, but sometimes humans don’t understand dog language.

Woof Woof.

Early Praise For Descent: A Stone Mountain Mystery #1

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

On the twisted and bumpy trail of getting published, I’ve sent out my advanced reader copy of DESCENT for review by other authors. The idea is to get a blurb for DESCENT that can be published with the novel and used for marketing in the early days of release.

As difficult as it was to ask others to read and create a one to two-line sentence about DESCENT, I’m glad I did. Three talented Canadian mystery authors took time out their busy schedules to help me out. I’ve read every book by each of the authors and have been a long time fan of all three. Imagine how great I felt have them not only read DESCENT  but then to write  such wonderful reviews for me.

Here is what I received (in alphabetical order)  from Brenda Chapman, Barbara Fradkin,  and Garry Ryan::

Brenda Chapman: Award winning author of the Stonechild and Rouleau Mysteries.

“Murder rocks the competitive ski world in Stanley’s layered tale with enough suspects to keep readers guessing until the last chilling chapter.”

Barbara Fradkin: Author of the Inspector Green Mysteries and two-time winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel.

“In this impressive debut, Kristina Stanley weaves a vivid, chilling tale of jealousy, secrets, and betrayal in a close-knit mountain ski village. Like its likeable young heroine, Kalin Thompson, DESCENT is both tender and tough.”

Garry Ryan: Award-winning author of the Detective Lane mysteries and Blackbird trilogy.

“From the first line, you’re strapped into a Stanley novel. Just turn the page, hang on, and enjoy the ride.”

Brenda has authored:

  •  Cold Mourning,
  • My Sister’s Keeper,
  • Second Chances,
  • The Second Wife,
  • The Winter’s Grip,
  • Trail of Secrets,
  • Where the Trouble Leads,,
  • Hiding in Hawk’s Creeks,
  • Running Scared and
  • When Boomers Go Bad.  

For more about Brenda and her books click  here.

Barbara’s novels include:

The Inspector Green Series: 

 The Cedric O’Toole Series:
For more about Barbara and her books click  here.
.
Garry’s works include:
The Detective Lane Series:

Garry has written the first two of the Blackbirds Trilogy:

For more about Garry and his books click here.

If you haven’t read my blog before, I’ve signed on with Imajin Books and will blog about my publishing adventure. I’ll share what I learn and hope it helps someone out there get their novel published.

Thanks for reading…