Gods And Mortals Book Bundle

So excited to have TWIN SOULS as part of this box set!!! And it’s FREE!!!

Mythology is the basis of humanity, which is why even in this modern age of science, almost all humankind love a mythos of some kind.

My love for mythology began in Egypt and now spans the entire world, across cultures and across time. Which is the reason I write mythology – Both Norse and Hindu so far.

And today, I am incredibly proud to reveal GODS & MORTALS.

Thirteen other bestselling authors, amazing women who also happen to love the stories of gods, have joined with me to offer you aFREEtastes of the mythological worlds our stories inhabit – many of which are series starters.

Walk among the Norse, Celtic, Greek, and Native American gods and tread with angels, demons, vampires, and werewolves.

Join the freshest voices in urban fantasy and paranormal, New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling authors, on unique journeys to heaven, hell, and…

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Things That Don’t Fit in Boxes

This being the last weekend before our big move means we’re just about to the “Just throw it in a box, I don’t care which one!” stage. The problem is, there are some things you just can’t box up, such as…

Giant swing set play-fort things and trampolines…

Seriously, these are going to be a beat to move!

Everything in the fridge…

I hate waiting until the last minute, but what else can you really do?

The dog…

He’s a little freaked out by the boxes and hullabaloo going on and is driving me a little crazy this week.

The garage…

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just fold all the big tools and shelves and camping gear all up into one neat package? How do I pack most of this stuff?

The dirt and dust…

Not only do you have to pack everything up, but you still have to go back and clean everything once that’s done. Can’t it just jump in a box and spare me the effort?

Only a few more days until moving day! This is the moment you wish you were a Disney princess with woodland animals to lend a helping hand!

Random Things Because my Brain is Fried

Ever had one of those weeks where your brain feels like this by Friday?

It’s been a busy week and I think my husband, kids, and me are all ready for a nice long weekend. With soccer, packing, hauling things to the dump, dinner, puppies causing trouble, work, cleaning, planning, and all the other fun stuff that goes along with everyday life, there are always those few random things that you think about in the in moments where you’re too tired to really think of anything important. Like…

Why do I like to put my socks on before anything else?

Why does the puppy like to sleep with his legs straight out from his body, crossed at the middle like he’s been frozen mid crazy run?

How many nicks in the paint on your house can you possibly cause in six and a half years? (You’ll find out the answer when you have to go around retouching paint!)

Is there a reason we still have the cords and plugs to eighty three pieces of electronics we don’t even own anymore?

We don’t even own a VHS player. What do I do with the box of old tapes in the stairs closet?

Is there actually a point to Minecraft?

Is Netflix ever going to add another season of Warehouse 13?

Just how many services am I going to have to call and have moved to the new house? (Answer: too many!)

Why is the antiseptic spray at work so freaking sticky when it gets on the floor?

What was I about to do?

What random thoughts go through your head during the week?

Connect with me online:

Facebook: AuthorDelShereeGladden

Twitter: @DelSheree

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Things To Remember When at the Library

My kids love the library, especially recently. I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve been there over the last few months, or how many books we’ve checked out. I have, however, learned a few important lessons!

1. Set a book limit!

Otherwise your kid will check out a billion books, that mix in with your books, and of course your kiddo can’t remember which books they checked out to be able to find them all again.

2. Keep your check out receipt in a safe place!

Our library will email us our receipt, which is awesome, because I lose stuff a lot. When your kid loses all their books in their room, this will be invaluable in hunting them all back down.

3. When it’s time to gather up the library books to return them…HIDE THEM!

Or else one of your kids (who shall remain nameless) will grab one out of the stack and take it to school to read during AR time and then forget it at school (of course) on a Friday, which means you can’t return it until Monday.

4. Use the electronic book return!

If your library has an electronic book return, and the receipt gives you a coupon for $5 off your late fees, hoard those babies like they’re made out of gold. With all the books lost in bedrooms, left at school, or just misplaced somewhere else, you’re going to need them!

5. Make friends with your librarians.

Some books are shelved in super weird places, like all the 39 Clues books being shelved by the author (all the books have different authors) so trying to find the next book in the series is like an Easter egg hunt in Yellowstone! Your librarian can save you a lot of time!

Snow day!!

Snow is a big deal for us in New Mexico and we made the most of it!

Story Inspiration

I’ve been asked many times where I get ideas for my stories. Most of my books take place in New Mexico or the surrounding area, because not only is that where I’m from, the history and culture is fascinating!

Last weekend we took a trip to Mesa Verde, Colorado to hike through the National Park and visit the cliff dwellings there. Such an awesome place! I thought I’d share some photos with all of you and let you see some of the amazing things the Southwest has to offer.

Have I run away from Facebook yet?

The last few months of 2014, there was a lot of discussion about how the new Facebook rules were going to kill small businesses’ ability to market.

Given that I know a bunch of authors, there was plenty of discussion on how this was going to affect authors in particular, and whether or not all those hard won “likes” on our author pages were going to be for naught.

In 2014, I put a lot of effort into growing my Facebook fan page, so I was concerned about the Facebook changes as well.

What were the changes?

Just in case you hadn’t heard about the new rules, basically, Facebook will do it’s best to filter out promotional posts in fans’ newsfeeds UNLESS you’re wiling to boost them, aka pay for them.

So, it’s been about a month since the new rules went into effect, and I’ve been watching how my reach, or how many people see my posts on my fan page, has changed from what it was before. The results have been interesting.

The reason Facebook gave for these new rules is because they’re trying to give users what they want, less ads, more content. In all honesty, they’re dead on with that goal, because people really don’t like ads in their newsfeed. Even before the new rules went into affect, promotional type posts on my page always had the smallest reach and least interaction. That was true before and after the rules. I have noticed a slight decrease in reach on promo posts since the new rules, but not enough to really make a difference.

So…does that mean we should all give up on our fan pages?

Absolutely not.

You just need to use them differently. Correctly.

Fans don’t want you to sell them books on Facebook. What they do want to see is sneak peeks, behind the scenes photos, pictures, questions, input on stories, anything that makes them feel like they are a part of the writing process. They want to get to know their favorite authors, see how their mind works, know what’s going on before anyone else.

Reach is always bigger for me when I post things that are funny, questions, artwork, or quotes. Basically, things that inspire interaction.

If I really want to post something promotional, and I want it to be seen by lots of people, yes, I will have to pay to boost it, but really, I had to do that before, so things haven’t really changed that much because I haven’t been using Facebook as a promotional machine. I use it more as a way to interact with fans and build a community. Which is why fans use Facebook, too.

Changes to your favorite social media platforms happen all the time. Instead of running away in a huff, change tactics and find a way to work with changes to your benefit.

Things you learn while selling a house…

For those who know me in real life or have seen my whining on Facebook for the last month, you probably know all about my hubby and I trying to sell our house. It’s an adventure, for sure, and you learn some interesting things along the way.

Such as…

1. Your house is NEVER clean enough.

No matter how much cleaning you’ve already done, the second your agent calls to schedule a showing, you find at least twelve more things that need cleaning immediately and will have you jumping off the couch at lightning speed.

2. Interested house buyers will notice the weirdest things.

Like, there;s dust around the heater vents on your ceiling. Really? I don’t think I’ve ever really looked up and inspected my ceiling vents, but what do you know? There’s definitely dust up there. Awesome.

3. The moment you decide to sell your house, your appliances will revolt.

Our vacuum broke. And our other vacuum broke. At the same time. Before a showing. It’s winter. Which means the grass in the back yard is dead. Which means every time the kids or dog go outside, they track dried up grass back in. Yeah. You need a vacuum.

4. Your kids and dog will never make more messes than they will ten minutes before a showing.

This is he one time you daughter will spill her pot pie on the floor, or track dog poo into the house, or your puppy will lose a tooth and bleed all over stuff, or your son will…okay, he’s usually pretty neat, so he’s in the clear.

5. You can’t please everyone.

Those “not at all interested” responses on the feedback website sting, but honestly, there’s nothing I can do to make our backyard bigger or our driveway flatter. Eh, it wasn’t for them. Move on to the next person.

6. After living in your house for six years, the moment you decide to sell is when you’ll finally decorate.

Maybe it’s because we always felt like we were going to move or build again, but we just never had the oomph to really spiff up the house and decorate until we decided to sell. Oh well, all the spiffy new paintings and clocks and doodads will go with us to the new house!

7. Selling a house will eat up your whole life.

We’ve been blessed to have a lot of interest and lots of showings, but it’s draining on the whole family trying to clean and keep the house neat that much with two kids and a puppy and all the regular life stuff going on as well. Trying to keep the kitchen clean is the worst. It makes you want to eat out every night just so you don’t end up dirtying any dishes!

8. Waiting for an offer is worse than waiting for a response from an agent or publisher.

We have the new house picked out, even have an offer on it. We just need to sell our house before the new house vanishes. No, it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t work out, but waiting and waiting might just make you develop one of those weird twitches.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but now that we have a contract in hand and the packing is starting in earnest, I’ll soon have a whole new list of things I’ve learned!

Kids and Dogs

It’s no wonder kids like dogs so much. They have SO much in common!

In the two and a half months we’ve had our not-so-little-anymore puppy, Finn, it’s been interesting to watch him. It’s like having a toddler again. You have to puppy-proof the house and clean up after him and take him to the potty regularly and reward him every five seconds and tell him the same thing OVER and OVER again, like saying it one more time will actually make him understand.

Another similarity I’ve noticed, is that just like kids, puppies think they are in charge of everything…YOU included. Finn thinks he should be able to control the amount of food and snacks he gets (which sounds a lot like my eight year old-because they both think they are constantly starving), and as seen here…he thinks he’s the one walking us when we go out.

Puppies also think they are smarter than you. Maybe it’s just my kids (mainly my eight year old) who thinks they’re smarter than us grownups and that they can trick us into believing the most unlikely stories. Finn has that down pat. He thinks if he moves fast enough…or slow enough (depending on the situation) he can get away with things even though he’s right in front of me. He also seems to think I can’t see him if he’s under one of the coffee tables. I can. I can also see the socks and stuffed animals he’s carried under there to gnaw on.

My kids, 8 and 11 now, still love going to the park to run around and climb all over the playground equipment. Finn is more than ready to join in. He’s still not quite gotten the whole fetch AND RETURN concept down yet, and can’t really figure out why we keep trying to get the Frisbee or stick back from him. Sometimes, he’d just rather join the kids on the slides.

Finn is also easily distracted. My 11 year old has outgrown this, for the most part, but my 8 year old still stops talking mid sentence once in a while because something on TV or across the room caught her attention. With Finn, all you have to do is touch his tail, and OFF HE GOES! That goofy little dog will chase his own tail FOREVER. It’s pretty funny. He really seems to think that if he pounces fast enough, or glares at it long enough, he’ll be able to catch it and hold it. Not so, Dude.

It’s pretty funny the comparisons you see between puppies and kids. One of the best, is that they love you unconditionally and even when they get in trouble, they still want to come snuggle with you and get a hug.

Connect with me online:

Facebook: AuthorDelShereeGladden

Twitter: @DelSheree

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Things you learn at Comic Con

Attending my first ever comic con was loads of fun and a great learning experience. So, aside from trying to figure out who some of the guests were supposed to be dressed up as, I learned a few helpful tips for next time…whenever that might be.

1. Bring Bags – Books are heavy. Customers don’t really want to lug them all over the convention in their hands.

2. Bring Snacks – Seriously, you get hungry sitting there all day, and the chocolates on your table really don’t count as a good breakfast.

3. Bring Pens – Okay, I did bring pens, but I left them all at the hotel the first day, so make sure you have all your stuff so you don’t have to borrow your booth buddy’s pens.

4. Be Chatty – Not my strongest area, especially with strangers, but just start talking to people who come by your booth. You never know what connections you’ll make.

5. Dress Up! – We didn’t have a lot of time to plan, so our costumes were woefully basic, but great costumes help attract people to your booth, so glam it up!

6. Make Friends with your Neighbors – If you need to run to your panel or just go to the bathroom or get a drink, being a friendly neighbor may just save you if they’re willing to keep an eye on your stuff while you skip out for a minute.

7. Go Big! – We didn’t have time to do everything we wanted to, but having something vertical and tall behind your booth really helps you to stand out from the others.

8. Bring Business Cards – For authors, bookmarks are your business cards, but when you make a connection with say…a bookstore owner or teacher interested in having you talk to their class, a business card is nice to have. It fits in their wallet. Bookmarks, not so much.

9. Bring Aspirin – Seriously, you’ll have a headache and aching feet at the end of each day. It’s tons of fun, but exhausting. Caffeine is a good thing to have on hand too!

10. Be Square – Not really, but you should get a Square credit card reader. There were plenty of sales we would have missed out on without having one. Not everyone carries cash.

Like in all things, being prepared saves you a lot of problems, especially when dealing with Stormtroopers and Carmen Sandiego.