WHEN GHOSTS AREN’T SCARY

Something cool happened at Amazon recently. They changed how they show the Amazon Best Sellers Rank, which I’m sure directly affects quite a few books. It also affects my latest release I REMEMBER YOU.

I REMEMBER YOU is the sequel to last year’s CHRISTMAS AT RUBY’S. Like last year’s installment, I REMEMBER YOU is a non-horror ghost story.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good creepy tale. In fact, my favorite holiday is Halloween. Right now, my porch is covered in undead clowns that hang on chains. Their voices are on timers, and every two minutes or so, they wail and cackle and beg to be taken down.

But if you asked me what my favorite ghost story is, I’d tell you this:

Actually, THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR is one of my all-time favorite movies–not just ghost stories. I think it’s one of the best love stories ever told.

Is it creepy? Fit for Halloween? Ghoulish? Does it make the hairs stand up on your arms?

Nope.

My RUBY’S PLACE series follows the same romantic-ghost sentiment. And yet, when I listed the books as “ghost” stories, the Best Sellers Rank on Amazon looked something like this: #00000 in Fiction – Horror – Ghost Stories.

Which always made me sigh with disappointment.

Until recently, when I noticed my Best Seller Rank for I REMEMBER YOU:

 

It’s a small thing, I suppose. But I clapped when I saw it. I’m so glad “Ghost Fiction” is no longer merely a “Horror” sub-genre.

How about you? What’s your favorite non-horror ghost story?

COVER REVEAL: I REMEMBER YOU

Okay, it’s a little more than just a cover reveal. I REMEMBER YOU (my sequel to CHRISTMAS AT RUBY’S) is now available at most retailers. It’s a big part of why I haven’t posted much the past few weeks–while CHRISTMAS AT RUBY’S was a short read, I REMEMBER YOU turned out to be longer (more novel than novella). I’ve been eyeball-deep in copyedits and uploads, making sure I had the book up in plenty of time for the holiday season.

Last year, CHRISTMAS AT RUBY’S introduced readers to a magical bar (actually, it’s not really a “bar” in the sense you usually think, not a dank and dark place of escape, but a classy supper club) in which the “spirits” aren’t just the liquors behind the bar. The “ghosts of Christmases past” are still around, showing up at happy hour, just like they once did to celebrate all their life’s accomplishments.

CHRISTMAS AT RUBY’S also introduced readers to Angela, who is middle-aged and somewhat aimless, in need of an accomplishment of her own. She accidentally finds herself inside Ruby’s Place, empty by that point for decades, and learns what’s still inside…

WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR:

I don’t think it’s spoiling too much to say Angela did buy the old Ruby’s Place bar. She’s been working the entire year in anticipation of a Christmas Eve opening–and for the magic that she believes will accompany it.

This year, we learn more about Angela’s glamorous Aunt Elizabeth. We’re also introduced to a fairly wide range of characters who all live in Sullivan, Missouri–and who have all had some experience with Ruby’s Place. The central story of this year’s installment focuses on a message that had been scrawled into the sidewalk just outside of Ruby’s when the cement was still wet:

Rob & Geena 4Ever 1987

We meet Rob and Geena during the course of I REMEMBER YOU. We relive their “Jack and Diane”-style ’80s love story. As Christmas grows closer, the potential for a first-love reunion grows increasingly stronger…

Think last year’s CHRISTMAS AT RUBY’S was magical and uplifting and heartwarming? I promise it’s got nothin’ on this year’s I REMEMBER YOU:

The Ultimate Christmas Wish

To see that special someone once more. Tell them everything you didn’t get to say while they were alive. Right wrongs. Mend disagreements. Or simply relive special moments spent together. Fall in love for the first time all over again.

At Ruby’s Place, where “spirits” are more than the dusty liquors in bottles behind the bar, where voices from the past celebrate yet another Christmas Eve, your ultimate Christmas wish might just be granted.

AVAILABLE NOW AT:

Kindle

Amazon Paperback

Kobo

B&N

The book will also soon be available through iBooks, available for library purchase through Overdrive and Bibliotheca, and the paperback will have a wide release through Ingram.

LINKS TO PURCHASE: INVENT YOUR OWN SUPERHERO AND THE ADVENTURES OF SUPER SUSAN

EBOOKS

INVENT YOUR OWN SUPERHERO:
Amazon
B&N
iBooks
Kobo

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPER SUSAN:
Amazon
B&N
iBooks
Kobo

PAPERBACKS

INVENT YOUR OWN SUPERHERO:
Amazon

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPER SUSAN:
Amazon

TANGLES: A FIRST!

ANNOUNCING MY FIRST POETRY COLLECTION

Lyrical writing, metaphors, and wordplay have all been part of my work from the beginning.

To a great extent, that’s because I’ve been writing poetry for years. In high school, I kept journals that were nothing but poetry–and a few of those poems were included in my first YA (which was also my first-ever published book), A BLUE SO DARK.

Tangles is an adult collection of love poetry, but it would certainly appeal to teenagers or fans of YA, as well. And it most certainly will appeal to readers of sweet romance–these are emotional rather than erotic poems

This is NOT a stuffy, boring, or hard-to-read collection of poetry.

Just the opposite. I’ve also been writing songs for years–ever since a member of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils taught me basic guitar-playing and songwriting skills. The love poems in Tangles certainly run the gamut–from more formal rhyme schemes to complete free verse–but they are also heavily influenced by songwriting. My goal wasn’t to write head-scratching, obtuse poetry, but poetry that readers could understand and feel and connect with instantly…just as we all connect with the lyrics of songs.

Available now at Amazon

Tangles is available in both ebook and print formats. I strove to make the ebook clean and simple (and therefore readable on whatever device you have–tablet, e-reader, phone, etc.), but I designed the print version to be as visually enjoyable as possible. (And let’s face it–there’s just something about poetry that lends itself to print…)

Ebook: bit.ly/TanglesEbook

Print: bit.ly/TanglesPrint

Other Poetry Goodies

I started a Tumblr blog a few years ago, but didn’t really do as much with it as I would have liked. Now, I’m revamping the site in order to use it to talk specifically about all things poetry. You can follow along here: hollyschindler.tumblr.com

I’ve also started a newsletter dedicated specifically to poetry releases–both adult and juvenile. You can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/dmExEH 

As always, happy reading!
–Holly Schindler

NOW AVAILABLE! THE ADVENTURES OF SUPER SUSAN

Last year, I bumped into a real gem hidden away in the personal archives–a superhero I created (I think I was about 8 years old). The heroine, Super Susan, had a superhuman…kindness.

Susan served as the inspiration behind my writing journal, Invent Your Own Superhero. I even blogged about Susan as I announced the release. Response and interest in Susan was so strong, I decided to give Susan a book of her own! I even incorporated my original drawing of Susan into the cover.

Kindness is a superpower!

Award-winning author Holly Schindler turns her attention to superheroes in this short adventure story. Using a character Schindler created when she was eight (a hero whose superpower is kindness), The Adventures of Super Susan offers a humorous, fast-paced read in which Susan is forced to face-off with a new arch-enemy, Blaze, a boy with super-jealousy who threatens to keep anyone at South Westport Elementary from outshining him…for good.

Can Super Susan melt Blaze’s heart? Or will he simply be too much for even the most powerful kindness on planet Earth?

A great read-aloud for grades 3-6, and a perfect companion piece for Schindler’s Invent Your Own Superhero.

Grab a print copy of The Adventures of Super Susan

Available at Amazon or B&N.

Also available as an ebook

Available at Amazon, B&N, iBooks, and Kobo.

As always, happy reading!
–Holly

REVISION TECHNIQUE: TELLING YOUR STORY OUT LOUD

No, I don’t mean reading your work out loud. I mean telling the story. To another person.

“Sounds weird,” you’re saying. Maybe even, “What’s the point?” Or, “Nope. What I really need is an editor.”

Here’s the thing:

There are two main components of a story – 1. The story itself. 2. How the story is told.

No matter how beautifully your story is written, no matter how many literary bells and whistles you use, if the story itself isn’t sound, the rest of it just plain doesn’t matter.

Before you worry about rewriting–reworking scenes, rearranging the order of events–you need to make sure your plot, your storyline provides a solid foundation.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is to tell your story out loud, to another person, allowing them to interrupt you as you go.

Feel free to keep your manuscript in front of you to remind you of the turn of events. Tell the story simply, the same way you might tell an anecdote about something amusing that happened to you that day. But don’t feel as though you have to stick to simply the events. Tell your listener about your characters, too–who they are, what their desires or fears are, what their backstory is, etc. Whatever it takes for them to understand the story.

Let them ask you questions along the way. Things like, “Why would that character want to do that?” Or, “Why wouldn’t they just do __ at that point?” Or even make observations: “Come on! No way would that happen!”

Don’t take it personally. Bounce other ideas off of them: “Okay, so if you don’t buy that, what about…?”

It’s a much smaller job for your bouncee (you’re not asking them to read a manuscript), and it can be really fun. And of course, the best part is that you wind up with a sturdy framework where you can then begin hang all your beautiful turns of phrase!

SIGNED EDITIONS AT ETSY

Just a note to let readers of the blog know I’ve been listing my independent releases at Etsy. They’re all signed–just let me know in the note to seller who you’d like the book to be made out to.

 

So far, I’ve got six books listed, including HOW BIG IS A HEART?, which makes a lovely shower gift for a soon-to-be older sibling. (What is it about spring that just always feels like baby shower season?)

 

You can find the Etsy store here. Are you interested in obtaining a signed edition that isn’t yet available? Feel free to send suggestions to hollyschindlerbooks (at) gmail (dot) com.