“Ghost Dancer” #1 Amazon Short SF&F Reads

“Ghost Dancer” Hits #1 in FREE Short SF&F Reads!

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Perfect for a lunchtime read, “Ghost Dancer” has secured the #1 slot for short Science Fiction & Fantasy Reads at Amazon! Thanks so much to everyone who has downloaded it. Want your own copy?

Get your FREE ecopy of “Ghost Dancer” at these retailers!

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“Ghost Dancer”

ghost dancer 400x600Ten-year-old Danika Samms was going to be a dancer. She was even going to be on TV for a big national contest. Until a serial killer put an end to her dreams. Now her ghost has come to Thulu and La Fi to save her dog from the killer. La Fi is a medium and Thulu is a finder and together they find justice for the dead.

The detectives take the case, but they find more than a lost pup. They discover a heartbreaking secret and a seasoned killer already on the prowl for his next victim. And this time their walk on the darker side of the paranormal puts their own lives at risk.

“Ghost Dancer” is the third novelette from the Modern Magics series.

Free Books!

“Ghost Dancer” and “Unwanted Ghost” are Free!

The 5 star novelette, “Ghost Dancer,” is available for free download from your favorite retailer! “Ghost Dancer” has held a top 50 spot (and usually in the top 20!) in Amazon’s Short Science Fiction & Fantasy Reads for over six months. This one-hour read is perfect for lunchtime and is a great introduction to Thulu and La Fi’s adventures!

 

“Ghost Dancer”

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Ten-year-old Danika Samms was going to be a dancer. She was even going to be on TV for a big national contest. Until a serial killer put an end to her dreams. Now her ghost has come to Thulu and La Fi to save her dog from the killer. La Fi is a medium and Thulu is a finder and together they find justice for the dead.

The detectives take the case, but they find more than a lost pup. They discover a heartbreaking secret and a seasoned killer already on the prowl for his next victim. And this time their walk on the darker side of the paranormal puts their own lives at risk.

“Ghost Dancer” is the third novelette from Modern Magics.

Available for FREE Download at These Retailers

 

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Nook buy

Itunes logo

kobo logo

smashwords

 

 

“Unwanted Ghost”

I’m also giving away a FREE copy of “Unwanted Ghost” to those who join Maer’s Book Club.  I share my latest news throughout the year to club members only. Join today for your free copy of “Unwanted Ghost.”

 

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Thulu & La Fi have inherited an old, furnished Victorian. What they weren’t expecting was that the furnishings included a ghost.

Usually the Thulukans are happy to take on supernatural clients for their detective agency. But there’s something about Darla Redding that bothers La Fi – and with good reason. They discover that Darla has a much darker past than hinted at by her “normal” life. She’s definitely not a ghost they want haunting them. So, if they want to be rid of their unwelcome house ghost, Thulu and La Fi need to solve her murder.

“Unwanted Ghost” is the second novelette in the Modern Magics series.

To get your free copy, simply join Maer’s Book Club.

New Release – Lucky’s Promise

Jenn Nixon Teaser

 

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Lucky’s Promise

After years of searching for her mother’s killer, Felicia “Lucky” Fascino is finally on the right track. With the help of her family, and on-again off-again boyfriend, Kenji Zinn, Lucky is getting closer to fulfilling the unspoken promise she made to her adoptive father.

As the group continues to dig deep into the assassin’s network, and search for the elusive Quimby, ties to the past come back full circle, endangering everyone Lucky loves and cares for. It’s only a matter of time before their secret is uncovered.

Genres: Romance/Suspense/Thriller/Romantic Suspense
Heat Rating: sweet

You can buy Lucky’s Promise at these retailers:

All Romance eBooks   |   Amazon   |   iTunes

Kobo   |   OmniLit   |   Wild Child

 

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Jenn Nixon

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Jenn’s love of writing started the year she received her first diary and Nancy Drew novel. She often adds a thriller and suspense element to anything she writes be it Romance, Science Fiction, or Fantasy. When not writing, she spends her time reading, observing pop culture, playing with her two dogs, and working on various charitable projects in her home state of New Jersey.

 

You can find Jenn at these links:

Jenn’s Website   |   Twitter   |   Facebook

Jenn’s Email: jenn@jennnixon.com

 

Excerpt from Lucky’s Promise

Felicia swung her chair in his direction and said: “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“No.”

“Why not?” she said, bordering on a screech.

“It is the same conversation. ‘You can trust me, Felicia.’ ‘You can talk to me, Felicia.’ ‘I’m here for you, Felicia.’”

“You’re still mad because I didn’t want to talk about my crappy ass life while we were on vacation?” He lifted an eyebrow to make a statement, and her whole face flushed. “We were on vacation!”

“With no distractions. With no interference. Just you and I…and still you refused me every time I tried.”

“Fine. What do you want to know?” Kenji stared at her as she rose from the chair and hitched her fists on her hips. Her head jerked to the right, both eyebrows lifted on her forehead. “Well?”

“Humph,” he said, tossing the remote onto the bed and stalking into the living room across the hall. She wouldn’t answer his question, so he didn’t even bother asking. He went to the wet bar in the far corner. Searching through the miniature refrigerator, Kenji grumbled, finding nothing but wine.

“Phen and I are going to meet after breakfast and talk about the job.”

He glanced back. Felicia stood in the doorway, her hands in front of her body, fingers twisted together like a frightened child. A complete turnaround, again. It wasn’t an act; everything about her said she was scared. Why? Couldn’t she confide in him by now? His frustration threatened to swell again, and he was backing her into a corner. If he pushed, they would fight, and he didn’t want that. Not right now. Kenji sat down in the leather love seat and rubbed his temple.

She didn’t move from her position, but her heavy sigh filled the room. “It’s my last one before he puts me up as the new safety. I’m going to need some pointers….”

He bobbed his head but didn’t look up.

“Is it more than…me not talking?” she squeaked.

Kenji came close to spilling everything. Forcing her to face the feeling he had for her was unfair. Making her talk when she wasn’t ready seemed cruel. Confessing his fear for her safety would make him appear overprotective and controlling. The fury he felt, he didn’t completely comprehend himself. Discussing the situation with Taro was the only thing he could mention and remain truthful.

“I am still aggravated with myself.”

“I told you outside the restaurant it didn’t matter anymore. It’s over and done. I trust you, and if you trust your brother…it’s cool, babe.” Her disposition continued to change, now that he no longer pressed her.

“It will never happen again,” he said, adding a grumble.

“I know.” She moved into the living room and sat down on the coffee table between the two sofas. Felicia reached out, took his hand. He held back the rest of the clutter racing through his head. She bent her head down to look him in the eyes. “We okay?”

“Yes, beleza, we are.”

Modern Magics Summer Giveaway

Celebrate Magics and Win!

The third book in the Modern Magics series, Magics, is out in the world. With three books, four novelettes and one short story, the series is now complete! To celebrate, I’m having a Giveaway for not one, but two months! Be sure to enter for a chance to win books, swag and gift cards.

Check out the Giveaway below. One of the ways to enter is to join my book club. If you join through the Giveaway link, you will not only enter to win one of the prizes, you’ll also receive a FREE ecopy of “Unwanted Ghost”!

 

modern magics series teaser

Prizes include:

2 Winners – $5 Amazon Gift Card

1 Winner – ecopy of RELICS

1 Winner – ecopy of PORTALS

1 Winner – ecopy GHOST OF MODERN MAGICS

1 Winner – ecopy of WEDDING GHOST

1 Winner – ecopy of UNWANTED GHOST

2 Winners – Signed RELICS Bookmark

***Open internationally, with one exception. Signed bookmarks are USA only.
Must be 13+ to win.

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Embrace Your Inner Cross-Genre

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At a recent event, I had someone ask me why I decided to write cross-genre. It’s a great question. Except I didn’t decide to. It just happened. Relics was my first novel and I had no idea I was writing cross-genre. In fact, if you had asked what genre I was writing, I would have stopped dead and looked at you in great surprise.

“Fantasy?” I might have answered. “Modern fantasy?”

A version of this is exactly what happened internally when I stumbled across something that said authors should know their genres. I was researching how to do agent query letters, when advice said to include the genre. What? Genre? Oh my god! Genre had not even crossed my mind at that point. What was I to do?

Well, I started researching genres, but quickly realized I didn’t fit in one nice, neat little box!

Horror!

Panic!

Had I messed up? Was my new baby a disaster? Well, actually it had a lot wrong with it, and I ended up dumping the second half of the novel and completely rewriting it. But that’s another story. Back to the genre thing.

I decided I’d use “urban fantasy” and “paranormal,” interchangeably. Maybe no one would notice I used both, I told myself. Maybe I could appeal to both kinds of readers.

But during my internet travels, I happened to stumble over the term  “cross-genre.” My heart sang! I was cross-genre. I had a box to fit in!

Yes, my brothers and sisters, there was actually a term for what I did. I wasn’t the freak I’d felt like when chatting with author friends who had their comfortable niches. The ones I secretly envied when they tossed out genres like mystery, romance or historical. I could stand up with pride and announce that I was…a librarian…wait no…that was a movie.

*cough*

My work was cross-genre. I held my head up and embraced my new designation with love – and relief. I no longer worried that I had elements of science fiction in my series. Elements that I hadn’t even admitted to yet because I was already crossing fantasy with paranormal mystery and adding in a third (fourth?) genre was wrong. Right? Aha! But was it?

By the time Portals was out, I was firmly admitting to not two, but three genres! I proudly claimed my urban fantasy / sci fi / paranormal label. And Magics is so firmly crossing all three it can be nothing but cross-genre.

And so I say to you, those who are troubled out there in the dark, those afraid because you don’t belong in one lovely, safe genre: Embrace your inner cross-genre.

Your romance has horror in it? No problem!

Your adventure has fantasy? Love it!

Your sci fi is also mystery? Go for it! (Besides Asimov himself did this! All the way back in the last century this master of Sci Fi crossed genres into mysteries.)

Let the story fly where it will and just enjoy the journey.

 

Writer Tips #2 – Formatting – The Ruler

Using The Ruler

There are many great sites out there giving hints on how to format your manuscript before submitting it. All you need do is Google them. I’m adding mine to the mix only because I’ve seen so many “don’ts” in some of the submissions we have received. So I feel it bears repeating some of the tips. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section and I’ll do my best to answer. Today, I’m covering the ruler.

One of the most important things to do is to use your ruler to set your indentations on a new paragraph. Do NOT use the TAB key. Or space bar over. You want nice even indentations for each paragraph, but the way to do that is through your ruler at the top of the page. So do not tab or even space bar over. Ever.

It creates nightmares for your formatter down the line. Yes, I could get into whys and wherefores, but take my word for it…universal corrections don’t always work. I’ve had situations where the “fix” didn’t work and I had to literally go in and delete every tab or space bar indentation. Every. single. one. So make your formatter love you and get into the habit of using the ruler.

Before I write one word, I set up how I want my manuscript to look, including the ruler. That includes my styles, but I’ll discuss those another day.

I write in Word 2013. In the picture below, you will see that I’m on the VIEW tab. (You can click the picture for a larger version.) “Ruler” is checked as seen in the first red box. In the second red box, you can see there are two arrows. The bottom arrow is set at one inch by default at the end of the grey area. I’ve moved the top arrow 2.5 ticks from the left. You can also move it in 4 ticks for a half inch indentation. Since I format our books and use the 2.5 tick mark for all versions when we publish, I now write in that format. It saves me changing it later. But not everyone uses that, so the 4 tick / half inch indentation is totally acceptable.

Once you have set the ruler, you are good to go. It will automatically indent for you when you hit “enter” at the end of a paragraph. And it will be perfectly even throughout the document. That’s not something you get if you tab or space bar over, as you can often change how many tabs or spaces you used without realizing it, resulting in uneven indentations.

Just remember – the ruler is your friend!

Ruler Tip1

 

 

 

 

Free to Subscribers!

FREE eCopy of “Unwanted Ghost”

Love books? So do I!

Subscribe to my website and receive the latest news on my books, new releases for other authors and more. As a gift I’ll send you a free copy of “Unwanted Ghost.” So be sure to leave your email address. This novelette is one of the prequel stories in the Modern Magics series. It currently has 4.8/5.0 stars on Amazon.

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unwanted ghost 400x600

Thulu & La Fi have inherited an old, furnished Victorian. What they weren’t expecting was that the furnishings included a ghost.

Usually the Thulukans are happy to take on supernatural clients for their detective agency. But there’s something about Darla Redding that bothers La Fi – and with good reason. They discover that Darla has a much darker past than hinted at by her “normal” life. She’s definitely not a ghost they want haunting them. So, if they want to be rid of their unwelcome house ghost, Thulu and La Fi need to solve her murder.

You can also find the entire Modern Magics series on my author page at these retailers:

Amazon – http://goo.gl/a84CIh
Barnes & Noble – http://goo.gl/jvA5QU
Kobo – https://goo.gl/UGslz7
iTunes – https://goo.gl/iVJ5e9
Smashwords  – https://goo.gl/VP1rTD
Goodreads – https://goo.gl/4KzVOf