Sabrina's Blog

Congratulations!  Oklahoma Romance Writers of America's IDA  (International Digital Awards)  2019 Winners #okrwaIDAWinner2019 Contemporary Novel Christmas & Cannolis by Peggy Jaeger FIND ON AMAZON Contemporary Short Hot Spell by Mia London and Susan Sheehey FIND ON AMAZON Erotic Novel Highland Dom by Marie Tuhart FIND ON AMAZON Erotic Short Saddle Up by Roz Lee FIND ON AMAZON  Historical Novel A Hand for the Duke by Meredith Bond FIND ON AMAZON Historical Short Red River Crossing by Maxine Douglas FIND ON AMAZON Inspirational Novel A Time to Push Daisies by Marion Ueckermann FIND ON AMAZON Inspirational Short Spider Gap by Kristen Joy Wilks FIND ON AMAZON Paranormal Novel Fae Touched by Lisa Rae Roman FIND ON AMAZON   Paranormal Short Ghosts of Grace Cottage by Carolyn Wren FIND ON AMAZON Suspense Novel Zero Trace by Cara Carnes FIND ON AMAZON Suspense Short Cupcakes and Corps

All writers are insecure at various times throughout their writing journey and I'm definitely no different. So I've joined in on the  Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop . The 1st Wednesday of each month I'll post about the insecurities I've been struggling with and/or conquered, and answer that month's IWSG question. I recently submitted the 3rd book in The Gate Keeper Chronicles to my editor. And now the waiting begins. I don't know about all of you, but this is always the point where I second guess myself while I wait for my editor to read the book and tell me what she thinks. It's torture! My editor is amazing and I'm not at all scared of her...sort of...😆😆😆 Thank goodness this month is NaNoWriMo. I'm channeling all my worry toward completing a prequel novella for this same series. After all, I'm going to worry regardless, so I might as well make it productive worrying. What do you do while waiting to hear what someone thin

All writers are insecure at various times throughout their writing journey and I'm definitely no different. So I've joined in on the  Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop . The 1st Wednesday of each month I'll post about the insecurities I've been struggling with and/or conquered, and answer that month's IWSG question. The days are beginning to cool, even if only slightly here in Oklahoma, pumpkin flavored everything is everywhere, and Halloween decorations are up around my neighborhood. While I love the summer and all that fun in the sun, I must admit that Fall is my favorite season. I love wearing pretty scarves & boots, enjoying a hot drink without the A/C cranked up, and admiring the changing colors of the trees while taking long walks. This Fall is beginning with LONG overdue edits for the 3rd book in The Gate Keeper Chronicles. I had hoped to have them finished by Sept 1, but that obviously didn't happen. I'll admit to having days where

All writers are insecure at various times throughout their writing journey and I'm definitely no different. So I've joined in on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop . The 1st Wednesday of each month I'll post about the insecurities I've been struggling with and/or conquered, and answer that month's IWSG question. It's September! Happy Birth-Month to me! It seems perfect, then, to talk about unrealistic and unmet expectations, because I'm good at setting them and then being disappointed in myself. You'd think that after "almost" 37 years, I'd understand that I hate the editing process, am prone to procrastination of those things I don't care for, and to give myself twice the time I'd like to complete such tasks. You'd think. *sigh* But apparently, this isn't the case. I'm STILL working on edits for Diomere's Mercenary. Edits I'd hoped to have completed by September 1st. Here this day is and

I'm so excited to finally be able to announce that my Award-Winning Fantasy Romance novel, Diomere's Exile is available in audiobook! I've been asked at SO many events if it was available in audiobook, only to have to say no. But not anymore, friends! Please enjoy this fun little video I made to commemorate the occasion! And if you're an audiobook fan, please go check it out!

All writers are insecure at various times throughout their writing journey and I'm definitely no different. So I've joined in on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop . The 1st Wednesday of each month I'll post about the insecurities I've been struggling with and/or conquered, and answer that month's IWSG question. In July, I participated in the Camp NaNoWriMo Challenge and I FINISHED the 3rd book of The Gate Keeper Chronicles!! Woot! However, it wasn't easy. Writing the end of a book is always bitter sweet. It's the point when I worry that I've written an entire book of utter rubbish, that I may not be able to tie things up in a satisfactory way, and that I didn't tie into the overarching series plot enough. So much unnecessary stress! I also feel like I'm a SLOW writer, so the NaNoWriMo events are my way to propel myself over the finish line. Which they do, but now, in the first days after the challenge has been successfully co

This morning, I'm supposed to be working on the final battle scene in Diomere's Mercenary... BUT... So I'm here instead, epically procrastinating by writing this blog. I mean, it needed to be done anyway, right? *sigh* In fantasy, ordinary battle scenes are difficult because they need to be exciting, while also making sense. The writer needs to have some idea how fighting with whatever weapon is being used works. You don't want your readers to put your book down in disgust because you wrote a battle scene so unbelievable that they're left thinking you're an idiot writer. Or worse, have them be bored! It's an important balance, excitement and logic. So when you take battle scene and add it to climax scene, the point when the shit hits the fan, things become even more tricky. You have to write an exciting and convincing battle scene while also bringing everything you've set up together so that it all leads to some kind of resolution. And since th

Hello Indie Author Friends,  Here is an affordable contest for those of you who might be interested. Good luck!! ~Sabrina Enter your Ebook in the International Digital Awards!!! Here are just a few of the perks: ~ Great prizes  ~ Bragging rights ~ A chance to get your book in front of potential lifelong fans  ~ Low entry fee Enter your short, novella, or novel fiction in a contest where you’re judged on your STORY, not on how many friends vote for you. Readers will judge and score your work, based on their enjoyment of it. Even if you don’t place, you will gain exposure to at least three new readers!  Fee: $25.00 for Novels, $20.00 for novellas and short stories (2017 and 2018 winners and finalists receive 50% off) Deadline: July 30, 2019  Eligibility: Any ebook with a copyright date of 2018 or 2019 that was available for sale in 2018 or 2019 and is NOT available for purchase in mass print. (Ebooks that are available as POD's are eligible) *** If y

Who doesn't love Christmas?! Especially the receiving gifts part!! If that's you, then you're in for a treat this July! A bunch of bloggers have come together to offer all kinds of "reader friendly" gifts just for you. I'll be giving away: (2) eBook of the Winner's Choice from The Gate Keeper Chronicles  or my Shine novellas Enter on the form below! NOTE: To comment, click on "View Original Post" at the bottom of this post. Sabrina's Christmas in July Fun Sabrina's Christmas in July Fun And don't forget to visit the other bloggers participating in this hop via the linky list below! You don't want to miss out on any of these amazing "gifts"!

In a couple of days, during the hottest week we've had so far here in Oklahoma, I'm going to haul my family on a camping trip out to the lake where I spent many a summer in my childhood and I CANNOT WAIT! I'm talking tent camping, folks. That's right. Community showers and toilets, food cooked on camp stoves or over the fire, and a thin fabric shelter to keep the wild life at bay for 5 days. And while all of that sounds over-the-top fun, it's the fact that my siblings and their families will be joining us! Squeeeeee! If you've been following me for any length of time, you know that my siblings are one of my favorite parts of this crazy life I live. Each of us only 2 years apart of less, we are a loud, rowdy bunch with kids and spouses who fit right into our crazy. My sister and two brothers, all younger than me, are the reason that siblings play such an important role in my books. They inspired Nadia's excitement when Arri arrived in Diomere's

Love shifter books? Add to your Summer TBR list with this Wolf Pack Sale running now through June 22, 2019. Diomere's Healer, featuring your favorite fairy and manticore shifters, is only $0.99 Don't forget to enter the Wolf Pack Giveaway after you check the fabulous books on sale. (Click the image OR the link below to check out the sale!) ARH-WOOOOOOOO! Let's RUN!

Is there anything sexier than a man who is a great dad? A man with children who's eyes light up when they see him. A man who will get down in the floor and play with his children for hours without complaint? A man who makes his children a priority, NOT an afterthought? I don't think so either. I'm lucky enough to have married that sort of man. The bond my son has with his dad is special, silly, full of pranks, and unbreakable. Though I'm often the target of those pranks, it makes my heart so happy to hear my son's innocent laughter when they are putting something ornery together and don't think I can hear them. So, it really shouldn't be any surprise that I also love reading about good fathers. So this post is going to highlight some of my favorite fictional daddys. If you haven't read the books they feature in, then you haven't been following me long, or you haven't been listening, because they come from a few of my favorite books/series.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!! Growing up as the oldest of 4 siblings and 14 cousins, I felt like I got all the baby time I could handle and didn't intend to have any children of my own. Then I met my husband and decided maybe I'd give it a go at least once. BEST DECISION EVER! I've accomplished much in my life to be proud of, but my son and the amazing person he is will ALWAYS be my proudest accomplishment. Did you always imagine being a mother or are you like me? Either way, this day is about you and I hope it's an amazing one! To continue celebrating, I thought I'd mention 3 of my favorite mothers in fantasy/paranormal romance. These women totally kill this mom thing and let me know that I'm not alone in some of the crazy antics I have to put up with from my family. #1 & #2: The Psy/Changeling Series by Nalini Singh- It's a toss up between Tamsyn and Ashaya. Tamsyn isn't the MC of Slave to Sensation, Book 1 of

This past weekend, I was asked to speak to the members of a local writing group about the business side of writing fantasy. That is to say, the group's members wanted to know about the market, what publishers are the best, and which agents to seek out. It turned into a pretty good presentation, and while anyone can find this information with a little research, it can be overwhelming for new writers, so I thought I'd share a little of what I covered here. Back when I was new, I would have loved someone to lay it out for me. The Fantasy Market What we hear: The Fantasy Market is over-saturated. Is it true? Yes and no. Fantasy does seem to be the go to genre for aspiring authors. They believe that it must be easy since they can just make up whatever they want, when in all actuality, fantasy is much harder, takes more time, and requires more skill, IMO, than setting a story in the world that already exists. A fantasy writer first has to put in hours upon hours of

Since the second book in my Award-Winning Fantasy Romance series released last week, I thought I'd center this week's magical creatures post around the race of the hero: the Manticore Origins : Persia, originally called Martichorus Appearance : Head of an old man with a long beard, body of a lion, scorpion tail, dragon wings, and sharp claws. Legend : This beast is said to be a man-eater that lays in tall grasses so it's beastly body is hidden and only the non-threatening image of it's human head is visible. When humans near, it pounces on them, devouring them in one bite, or shoots stingers from it's tail, rendering them helpless while feasts on them. Despite having the head of a human, the beast couldn't talk, but rather had a trumpet sound for a voice. Disappearances were often blamed on this fierce creature. The Gate Keeper Chronicles : In my series, the Manticore people look a bit more human. They  have lion eyes and thick, lion-mane

Happy Book Birthday to the second book in my fantasy romance series!! I'm so excited for you all to read Diomere's Healer and meet Arriana & Treves! They don't have it easy, and it seems like fate itself is against them, but Arri is determined to not only save her nephew from the magical poison killing him, but also convince Treves that even a curse can't keep them apart. Diomere's Healer   Five Gates. Five Sisters. Five Very Different Men. Once there were two worlds connected by five gates. Then the Gate Keepers closed the gates and disappeared. The Gate Keepers have returned. Arriana Quinones failed to save her king from the poison that killed him. Now her nephew is suffering the same malady. When her search for a cure leads her through a gate into a world of magic, she discovers that the gods' plans for her stretch far beyond finding an antidote. Treves Tourbillon and his people gave up hope of ending their curse. Then Arriana saves h

As an author and mother, I expected (or should I say hoped? LOL), that my son would be interested in writing...or be an avid reader at the very least. I'm the oldest of 4 book-loving siblings with parents who are also avid readers, so I don't think this is an unrealistic expectation (even if I did marry a man who doesn't understand my love of books). Then my kiddo went through the learning to read process AND IT WAS HORRIBLE! For about a year, I feared that my son was never going to love reading, never-mind writing. It was a sad time folks. ​​ But finally, it all started clicking. Then, we found Michael Dahl's Library of Doom books...and EVERYTHING CHANGED! I will forever be grateful to that author for writing the kind of book that made my boy fall in love with the quirky illustrations so that he WANTED to learn the even quirkier words for himself. Whew! Crisis averted!! (I know my fellow readers will understand my relief!) ​​ Now let's fast-forward 3 ye