Guest Post from C. Lee McKenzie - Sign of the Dragon

Take it away, Lee...

I love to write for young readers, and I write both young adult and middle grade fiction. I fall into the hybrid author category with four traditionally published young adult novels: Sliding on the Edge, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Double Negative, and Sudden Secrets, ­­and three self­-published middle grade adventure/fantasies. Sign of the Green Dragon is my third Indie out August 3. Alligators Overhead and the sequel, The Great Time Lock Disaster were my first two. It’s fun to know both sides of this writing business. Italia Gandolfo represents me, and I’m about to send her my latest young adult story. Fingers crossed.

I’m very fortunate to have some great five star reviews from readers and reviewers. And I’m really pleased that I’m learning this business. Promotion has been my biggest challenge. I’ve had to learn how to schedule, so I can still write and do the promo I need to do for my other books. It’s a full­time job. When I’m not writing I’m practicing yoga, doing sun salutations in my garden (AKA weeding) or scratching my head over how all of this writing stuff started. I'm still not sure, but the ride has been exhilarating and so much different than I'd expected.

Thanks so much for hosting me today, Mark. I really appreciate your help. I couldn’t do this without the support of writers like you.

Website: http://www.cleemckenziebooks.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2809083.C_Lee_McKenzie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cleemckenzie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleemckenzie/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cleemckenzie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cleemckenzie

Buy it on Amazon here!

#BetweenTwoFires Goodreads Giveaway!

This week my publisher's kicking off their second Goodreads giveaway of the year! Sign up here in order to add the book and enter the contest for your chance to win an early release copy of Between Two Fires! St. Martin's press will be giving away 5 NetGalley copies.

The best part is that this time the contest will be available to Goodreads users worldwide (not just the U.S. like last time). I specifically requested that the contest be opened up to an international audience and was so happy they obliged! The giveaway runs from July 26th through August 2nd.

I sincerely appreciate all shares (Twitter, Facebook, or other), so feel free to spread the link around. T-minus one month and counting until the novel is available in bookstores! I can't wait!

Join My Thunderclap Campaign!

I've started a Thunderclap campaign to get the word out on Between Two Fires, and I need your help. My post comes out next month when my novel hits bookshelves on August 23rd. Click here to join!

All you have to do is donate a tweet or Facebook post. Sign up and Thunderclap will automatically send out a one-time tweet or post on your social media the day my book is released. That's it.

Please feel free to share the link with friends. I hope to reach my goal of 100 volunteers by next month, and I'll keep you updated as the campaign progresses, but I'm already pretty pumped just on people's initial responses. Thank you!

http://thndr.me/qZGhjG 

Praise from Bestselling Authors

I've been super fortunate to get some nice PR praise from a couple of bestselling authors who have read early release copies of Between Two Fires, and one of them is Juliet Marillier (author of Daughter of the Forest and Wolfskin). I'm hanging out on her blog today where she's interviewing me about my debut novel and what it was like writing it.

Here's the link. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks!

Also, here's some praise she's given Between Two Fires so far:

"A fast-paced read that has a wonderfully visual style and some memorable characters. Mark Noce combines Welsh history with a touch of folkloric magic in this promising debut novel. Lady Branwen is a strong and engaging narrator and the turbulent setting of early medieval Wales makes a fine backdrop for an action-packed story."
   - Juliet Marillier

Reading Room Giveaway!

Head over to the Reading Room today for your chance to win a free early release copy of Between Two Fires! My publisher, St. Martin's Press, is giving away several copies from July 12-19. Enter the contest here!

A sort of publishing industry competitor to Goodreads, the Reading Room allows you to learn about new books, make friends, and give status updates on what you're reading. Owned by Bookstr, Inc. (yes, that's how it's spelled), they have an unusual mix of both an establishment and an indie vibe. Paradoxical, but true.

Checkout the contest and let me know what you think! Thanks!  

My New Author Page!

Just this last week, I setup my new Facebook author page! I've posted some of my initial tour dates as well as other info. Let me know what you think!

Believe it or not, I actually resisted starting an author page on Facebook until my publisher strongly urged me to do so. I actually used to work at Facebook, and believe it or not, many engineers there actually preferred users have only a single personal page, as opposed to multiple pages, like an author's page. But I have to say that that was definitely bad advice, and my publisher has already been proven right by asking me to setup up a super useful author page.

Just in the last few days, I've been connecting with a wide variety of folks regarding my book in ways I hadn't previously imagined. Needless to say, I'm glad I did it and will be a lot more active on my Facebook page going forward,. I hope you like it:)