What a lovely surprise this morning. My 2nd Wake-Robin Ridge book, A Boy Named Rabbit, made Cathy’s Top Reads of 2016 List! I’m very excited to be included in the list, and took notes of her other choices, too. Check it out! Very interesting titles, here! 🙂

Although I write mostly for children, I have written several short stories for adults.  With Christmas less than two weeks away, I thought I’d share a Christmas story
I wrote that was published online and in an anthology by Alfie Dog Fiction (www.alfiedog.com). The story is in my latest blog titled “A Christmas Romance—The Blue Christmas Tree.” You can find it at www.elizabethvollstadt.blogspot.com

First of all, I’d like to thank Marcia for the chance to post on her site.  I really appreciate your support of other writers, Marcia.  So here’s my post:

I’m excited to announce that PAIRS AT NATIONALS, the second book in my Pairs on Ice series, is now out and available on Amazon.  In this book for tweens, Jamie Bartlett, 13, and her partner Matt O’Connor, 15, have just won a gold medal at the sectional competition.  Now they are psyched to win gold at the National Championships.  But then an accident changes everything.  Jamie and Matt are forced to skate at a new rink with a new coach. With skating as the backdrop, this book lets the tween reader (and older one, too) feel the struggles of training, the thrill of competition, the pain of bullying, and the power of family and friends.

For the next ten days you can download the Kindle book for only 99 cents.  So now is the time to buy.  You’ll not only have a fun book to read or give to your favorite tween, but you’ll help me achieve a higher ranking on Amazon.  Why does this matter?  Because Amazon gives more attention to books with high rankings, such as including a book in their “you might also like” suggestions.  In addition, once a book receives fifty reviews, Amazon will actually help promote it—and that’s especially important to indie authors (like me) who don’t have a big publishing house behind them.   So . . . if you decide to download Pairs at Nationals and enjoy it, I’d appreciate a review.  It doesn’t have to be long—just a few sentences is fine.

To find Pairs at Nationals, you can go to my blog at www.elizabethvollstadt.blogspot.com or click on the link under the cover picture.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Pairs+at+Nationals++by+Elizabeth+Weiss+Vollstadt&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3APairs+at+Nationals++by+Elizabeth+Weiss+Vollstadt 

Here’s the first chapter.

PAIRS AT NATIONALS — Chapter 1

Jamie counted to the music as she circled the rink. Five . . . six . . . seven . . . At eight, she tightened her muscles and leapt. One, two, three rotations, then a smooth landing as her right blade touched the ice in a flowing glide. A perfect triple Salchow! Even better, she could see Matt coming out of the jump in perfect sync with her. They were awesome!

She skated over to Matt for a high five. It was hard to believe that when they started skating together last year, they couldn’t stand each other. Now he was her best friend—or second best. No one could replace Nicole. She had been Jamie’s best friend since their first time on the ice when they were six years old. Jamie looked across the ice. Nicole gave her a thumbs up before setting up for her own triple Salchow.

“So, what do you think we should do next?” Matt asked. But he wasn’t looking at Jamie. His eyes swept the rink.

Jamie’s eyes followed his. “Where is he?” she muttered. Cam was almost an hour late—and he was never late, not once in the whole year and a half he had been their coach.

“Got me,” Matt said, as if she expected an answer.

Jamie scanned the rink again, hoping she had somehow missed Cam. But no, all she saw was a kaleidoscope of skaters jumping, twirling and gliding over the ice. Cam wasn’t anywhere to be seen . . . but . . . what was her father doing here? He was standing by the bleachers talking with Bob, the rink manager. They both looked serious.

Her dad glanced up and his eyes met Jamie’s. He waved her over. “Get Matt, too,” he called as she started skating toward him.

She turned, but Matt was right behind her. They stepped off the ice. “What’s up?” Jamie asked. She grabbed her skate guards from the shelf around the rink.

Her father touched her arm. “Let’s go sit in the bleachers. I’m afraid I have bad news.” He turned to include Matt. “There’s been an accident. Cam’s in the hospital. They took him to surgery as soon as he got to the ER.” Continue reading →

Excellent post, well stated, and (in my opinion), very true. I’ve read some pretty poorly edited traditionally published books lately, and some absolutely perfect self-published ones. And it’s time for “some” writers to stop trying to paint self-published writers as authors who couldn’t make the grade.