Book Giveaway

Unfinished Business Book Giveaway!!!

We are just a few months away from the publication of Reconciliation to Hell and we're willing to spread some love if you're willing to spread the word...

We've started a contest; the first 50 new followers will be eligible to receive a free autographed copy of Unfinished Business and automatically be entered to win a copy of the upcoming sequel, Reconciliation to Hell.

If you would like a chance to win an autographed copy of Unfinished Business then visit both Unfinished Business and Chrystal's Corner and become a follower/member. Also leave the following message: "Reconciliation to Hell is coming." Include your email address so we can contact you.

Wait! Everybody is a winner because even if you're not one of the 4 selected winners you will still receive a special code to get an ebook edition of Unfinished Business for only $1.99. Hurry! This contest ends March 26, 2012.

LaCharmine (L.A.) Jefferson
Author, Writer, Blogger
Website: http://www.lajefferson.com/
Blogs by me:
L.A.'s Literary Love Life@ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com/
A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com/
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com/
Naturally L.A. @ http://naturallyla.wordpress.com/

Follow me on Twitter @lajeffeson

Birthday Celebration

"Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Happy birthdaaayyy to meeee!" Happy Birthday to me!"
Wow! I really enjoyed that--singing to myself even though I'm a couple of days early. My birthday is actually this Saturday, October 15th. Ironically it's also Sweetest Day, a holiday celebrated in states across the Midwest! Even if it wasn't my birthday, I'd still be looking to this Saturday. It's the 3rd Annual Book Club Mix & Mingle sponsored by the Michigan Literary Network, but it'll be my 1st time attending. As an author and a book lover, I'm pretty darn excited!

Is this the way I really want to spend my birthday? Absolutely! I can't think of a better way, in fact. The only thing missing is my family, but I'm going to get with them later.

Side Note: My daughter bought me the cutesy shirt that reads, "Future Best-Selling Author" You know I can't wait to rock my shirt at the event!

LaCharmine   (L.A.)Jefferson,

Author of Unfinished Business, the story of one woman's addiction to the wrong man for the wrong reason & what she risks to get him out of her system for good.

Website: http://www.lajefferson.com/

My Blogs:
A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com/
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com/
Follow me on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/lajefferson

Blogging Queen

Wow! Talk about going from one extreme to another!!! I can remember as clear as day when I became a member of Motown Writers Network how I would stare quite dumfoundedly as the group's founder, Sylvia Hubbard, would go on and on about the importance of aspiring authors to join the "blogging" community. At that time I was still struggling with finding substantial time to finish writing my first book, Unfinished Business, so you can imagine my frustration! "How am I suppose to find time to write my book and blog?" Not to mention, "What the heck was I going to blog about???"

Fast forward five years. Today I'm blogging more than I'm writing! Good or bad? Honestly, I can't say BUT I do enjoy it. Immensely, in fact! I manage, not one, but a total of four blogs:

http://lajefferson.blogspot.com/   All things literary
http://lifewithlajeff.blogspot.com/ Work/life balance
http://all-things-love.blogspot.com/ Relationships
http://skinnyfatisme.blogspot.com/  Obsession with weight loss

What I love about blogging is that whatever I blog about doesn't have to be an area that I specialize in--just something that I have an interest in. For example, although I'm a published author I do not feel that I'm an expert--yet--in the field of self-publishing. However, I have learned A LOT about it, specifically that it's more than a notion! With the knowledge that have acquired, I can help other aspiring authors by sharing my experiences. Also, I've been married and divorced twice, a single parent much longer than not, but it's not on my agenda to write a book about these subjects. HOWEVER, I certainly have a lot I can say on the subjects! I've LIVED those things. Blogging enables me to be able to add my two cents! So when Sylvia said, "Blog about whatever you want", I took that advice and ran!!!

Blogging provides me with a slightly different gratification than I receive when I complete a large writing project. Instant gratification! Blogging doesn't entail the long process of writing a book. There are no characters to craft, no plot to create, no climax to reach, etc. It's simply a simpler & faster way of connecting and sharing my experiences with other folks--friends, family, fans, and the unknown! Needless to say, I'll be a blogger for life!

Essence of Motown Literary Jam & Conference

Actually sold a book during the conference! And to think that I almost didn't didn't attend. What was I thinking??? The conference was awesome! I made some great contacts and picked up a possible writing mentor. I attended a workshop entitled "Writers Tools" and learned that a massage therapist can be used as a writing tool? You know, relieve the stress of long hours spent at a computer or the frustration of writer's block. Something I needed to know. Hmm, lets see what else did I pick up during the conference:

1. Post-it notes are ideal for plot planning

2. Delegating key tasks such as website development,& editing

3. Allowing guest bloggers to help keep blog regularly updated

4. Continue professional development wby attending conferences & writing programs

5. Set daily writing goals (i.e. page count, word count)

 Pam Perry-PR Specialist

Hajj: Founder of Brand Camp University



Wow! What can I say about PR. It's where the real work begins. Yes, I thought the writing was the real work until the book was done and it was time to sell the darn thing! Did you know that effective PR for your book begins up to 2 yrs before you're even finished with it. Yes. Seriously! Below are a few of the PR tips I picked up.

1. As an author, your book is your product but YOU are the brand. Translation: Time to break out of that shell! According to Pam Perry, people buy things from people they like. Therefore, plaster that poster girl/boy grin on yourself and look the part of a professional at all times.

2. Speaking of looking the part--invest in a professional photo shoot for your website photos and especially book jacket picture and any promotional products. Yep, get your "America's Next Top Model" poses ready.

3. Always look the part. No more stepping out of the house looking all homely--even just going to the corner store. Pam Perry says you should always represent your brand even when you're not in that mode. You never know who you'll run into.

L.A. Jefferson & "Street Lit Phenomenon" Relentless Aaron

What can I say about our afternoon keynote speaker Relentless Aaron? He's got an amazing story of tenacity and well, relentlessness. He's received accolades from some big name folks like The New York Times, Publisher Weekly and ABC World News for being a "one-man marketing machine". From what I learned of him on this day he's about his business and part of that is helping aspiring authors to achieve their dreams. But he had words of caution too. "Expand your mind from just writing books." E-books are all the rave now. They're out selling print books now. Authors have to think outside of the box if your plan is to make it beyond your city and state limits. My ears were wide open to his words of wisdom and I encourage other writers to listen up as well.

No doubt I was fired up about my writing career at the close of the event. Well done Sylvia Hubbard for putting this all together! Can't wait til next year's conference.



NaNoWriMo--NOT EVEN CLOSE

"Embarrassing" is the first word that comes to mind when I think of my word count to-date on this last day of the National Novel Writing Month contest. I won't even bother trying to type the night away until the midnight deadline! It'll be a complete waste--well maybe not a complete waste. Afterall, some typing is better than no typing at all, right? Right! Considering that maybe I will write from the time I get home this evening until midnight...Do I have it in me? We'll see.

Rather than looking at myself as a complete failure for not reaching the 50,000 word count, I'll give myself a pat on the back for effort. As writers, especially writers holding down a day job to pay the bills and taking care of family (kids, spouse), it's important to acknowledge and celebrate even the small steps toward the ultimate goal. The truth of the matter is had I not participated in this contest I may not have even gotten as far as I did on this particular project--let's just say the ball is definitely rolling. Maybe next year for NaNoWriMo. Until then I'll be working on my goal of writing EVERYDAY!

L.A. Jefferson

Internet Marketing Lesson

Yesterday I was listening to the Michigan Literary Network Blogtalk radio. Admittedly, I don't do this often enough considering the show airs every Wednesday. Anyway, yesterday was a great day to tune in because the topic of discussion is my WEAKEST LINK--marketing & promotion. Penny Sansivieri was one of the guest. She's the author of Red Hot Internet Marketing which I'd never heard of but after hearing how this is a must have for EVERY writer/author I quickly ordered it off the Internet. I should have it in a couple of days and I can't wait!

As far as marketing goes I'm going in the right direction just at a snails pace. I blog, as you can see. I have a website that I hope you've visited :) I'm on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. I'm a member of a gazillion Yahoo groups. All of this stuff is what I've learned that writers need to grow their readership and keep them engaged. Well I have them but I've been kind of laxed with putting them to work so here's what I've done in the last couple of weeks:

1. Created a fanpage on Facebook for my book Unfinished Business.
2. Created an author page for Facebook.
3. Creating a reader & writer newsletter. I actually created one a few years ago but I dropped the ball with keeping it going and pushing it towards my audience.

Coming up next will be the book trailer of Unfinished Business. Stay tuned!

An Impossible Goal...I think NOT!

It's almost been a complete week since I've done any writing on my upcoming novel, but its okay. My confidence is not shaken that I'll complete the first draft by the end of the summer--marked officially as the day after Labor Day (I'm taking every available day). The story is pretty mapped out in my head. It's just a matter of dedicating some MAJOR time to do the writing. Tomorrow will definitely be one of those days. Besides an early morning gym session and a mid-morning writers' group meeting and church on Sunday, I have cleared my schedule for the weekend so I hope to make some SERIOUS progress. I'll post an excerpt of my progress by Monday so be sure to come back.

Til Later, L.A.

Books, Books, & More Books

All I want to know is why are there never any books written by any of my favorite African American authors on the doggone "Bargain Books" table at any of the bookstores that I frequent! Don't get me wrong, I love Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, Michael Connelly, and the like, BUT, what about Kimberla Lawson-Roby, Virginia DeBerry & Donna Grant, Beverly Jenkins, Brenda Jackson--to name the few that pop out of my head. I'd love to buy one of their books for $5 or $6 bucks! I'm just wondering who makes the call--the bookstore or the publisher--not that I have a problem supporting my favorite African American authors at full price.

Anyway, I had NO business buying books on a trip to Borders for my daughter. She's the one who needed a book for school, but who was I kidding? There was no way I was going to step one foot in the book store and NOT buy something for myself! I already knew what I wanted--Kimberla Lawson-Roby's recent novel, "The Best of Everything", but it wasn't available. During my search for that one, I came across another favorite African American author(s)--the writing duo Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant! The book--"What Doesn't Kill You"--was a MUST HAVE and worth every bit of the $24.95 that I paid for it! All of my REAL book lovers understand completely. Some books you can check out from the library, BUT some you MUST OWN!

The BIG question is how am I going to fit this book in with the other 5 or 6 books that I have waiting on me to read AND the ones I'm in the process of writing. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I'm going to get it done! Just stay tuned!

T.T.Y.L...L.A. Jefferson :)

New Excerpt from Unfinished Business

An eerie feeling suddenly came over Lydia as soon as Stanley was out of sight. One of those creepy feelings you get when you’re at home by yourself in the wee hours of the morning and you hear a scary sound that you know better than to get up and investigate. As she and Stanley had walked across the street, Lydia thought she had caught the eye of someone watching them from a light brown Ford Taurus parked at one of the meters towards the end of the block. But when she turned toward the driver, they pulled off. Now as she was securing herself in her seatbelt, from the rearview mirror, it looked like the same brown Taurus, which was parked three cars over from her. Now, she wanted to believe that the car belonged to an employee or to someone picking up an employee. But her gut was just telling her otherwise. Lydia was a smart woman. She knew not to ignore that gut, so she didn’t waste anymore time getting the hell out of that lot! Maybe it was paranoia from the long hours she’d been working. Then, maybe not. Either way, she felt a helluva lot better once she was on I-96 heading toward home. The good feeling of relief didn’t last very long, though. A few exits before the one she took to get to her house, she saw that the same Taurus was two cars behind her in the next lane. Lydia panicked and immediately reached for her cell phone, which for some God-awful reason was dead. She’d been so tired the last few nights, that she hadn’t thought to re-charge her phone. Damn!
Finally, the safety tips that often came through her email from friends paid off. Lydia knew not to go home. Instead, she took the next exit that came up and looked for the nearest gas station. Her mind was racing far too fast to remember where the nearest police station was. She saw a Mobile gas station two traffic lights after she exited the freeway. She pulled into the entrance. And that damn Taurus pulled right in behind her. These crazy people have no shame. All in one motion, Lydia was unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door to hurry inside when a man’s all to familiar voice called out her name.
“Lydia.” It was as if time itself had stopped. She felt suspended in her steps, hardly able to turn around But she did. He called out to her again.
“Lydia. I’m sorry if I scared you.” She couldn’t believe she was looking at Thomas Cunningham, the finest, sexiest, most sexually satisfying man so far, who had captured and broke her heart. She still found him irresistible. But, still, he scared the shit out of her! Finally, her voice surfaced to her throat, and then out of her mouth. “Thomas, what the hell are you doing here?” Before he opened his mouth, they both already knew the answer to that. It was the same unspoken reason he always had for abruptly reappearing in her life whenever he felt inclined to do so. To reclaim what he had always believed to be his—Lydia.
That last time Thomas deserted her was three years ago, leaving her to look like a fool in the eyes of her loved ones, and she vowed that would be the last time. Oh, she knew he’d be back again. Like her mother always said, “A leopard never changes his spots.” After she had picked up the pieces of her shattered heart, Lydia vowed to do things differently when he came back the next time. But now that that time seemed to have arrived, as he stood before her eyes, in his flawless, beautiful dark chocolate flesh, the strength she was so confident that she’d have disappeared. Lydia felt weak, like a melting piece of hot wax, and she prayed it wasn’t written all over her face. As he stepped all-knowingly toward her, he spoke in that delicious baritone voice that made her knees buckle.
“I’m back, baby,” he began reaching his hand out to hers. “This time I’m back for good.”
“For good,” Lydia repeated, barely audible, she was so taken aback by the strength of his presence it sickened her. “And what does that have to do with me?” she asked with a mock courageousness they both knew had been rehearsed.
“How about I tell you over a drink?” Thomas asked, seductively gazing at her with those deep brown eyes she remembered getting lost in.

L.A. Jefferson @ 2009