My FIRST Review!

So last night my bestie here in the city decided to look at my Amazon page to see where I ranked. I don't look. I rather not fret. I saw I was #9465 on Friday...and I had no idea what that meant until Juliet told me I was holding at #14,000 on Saturday and that was higher than most the books at her publishing house debuted at. That was nice to hear.

But what was nicer was that some reviewer has already posted a review on Amazon. They're just "Books"...and I have no idea who they are...but whoever you are, you were the nightcap of my weekend...the icing on the cake.

Here's what it said:

5 out of 5 stars
"Fascinating perspective in this genre. Gripping story!"

Witches, werewolves, vampires, shape shifters...

When I heard there was going to be another book in this genre, I wasn't overly excited to check it out, HOWEVER, I am extremely pleased to announce I was completely wrong. This story maintains a unique and gripping perspective with such wonderful character development. The story grabs you and it's grip on you strengthens with each passing page. You become caught up in the world, the drama, the mystique, and most of all the relationships. The twists and turns are a delightful surprise, and you find yourself constantly wanting to know.

Looking forward to the next installment...

What lovely things to say! I'm so happy to know the good things. You know, you spend so much time in the editing process concentrating on the errors you forget all the other stuff. So, it was really great to read this last night before bed.

So...go out and get the book if you've not yet! Barnes and Noble has stated they are having software issues and that's why my book isn't there yet...or other new releases, for that matter. But fingers crossed it will be soon.

Much love...time to get my butt in gear for the day!

xo

Tamsin :)

NaNoWriMo...here I come!

"What the hell is NaNoWriMo?"

"Oh, that's just the abbreviation for the National Novel Writers Month. You know, when millions of people around the globe decide they're crazy enough to try and write a 50K word book in 30 days."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Uh, no."

"Really, people actually DO this sorta of thing? Put their life on hold for a whole month so as to write a damn book?"

"Fifty thousand words, thank you."

"But why the hell would you want to do that?"

"Cause its fun?"

"Seriously. Come on now."

"It is! It's fun. I mean, if you're a writer. It's also a great challenge."

"Are you doing this?"

"I am. You should too."

"No thank you. I have...uh...TV to watch at night and...uh...sleeping in to do...and uh...yeah."

"Lame. I'm going to be finishing up a novel I started to work on before I broke my hand. Last year was my first year and I used it to finish writing Moon Over Manhattan. I wanted to see how long it'd take me to write 50K."

"So, how long did it take you?"

"Not as long as I thought...but I was in the climax of the story so it was easier to do. Plus, writing a sequel story is less difficult since the world is already so solid in your mind."

"Really, you're not going to tell me how long it took you?"

"Nope. None of your business. Just know I finished early."

"Let me get this straight, NaNoWriMo is to finish writing a book?"

"No no no. Most people are starting a new book and will finish it by the end of the month. You're supposed to start a new novel...and I'd planned to. Even had an idea. But then I broke my hand in August and left the second half of The Cameron Chronicles just sitting to be done. So I need to finish that. NaNo will push me to do so. Didn't you say you were trying to write something but couldn't stay focused? This would be a great chance to do that."

"I don't have the money."

"Uh...dude...it's free."

"Oh. Well. Uh..."

"Come on...just sign up and try. To be honest, it's how I met my writing group. They're just wonderful people and I truly think it was one of the best things I've done in years...joining NaNo. I love these girls to death. I just can't really tell you how great it is, as a writer...a solo activity most of the time...to have a support system of great gals (and some guys) to help you and encourage you. Best thing I've done in years. Honestly."

"Hmmm...I did really want to write that story I started last year..."

"Then come on and join! You'll have an excuse to do something other than go home and watch TV. AND, they have Write-Ins you can go to so you're writing with other writers!"

"Yeah...but I live in Queens. Coming to Manhattan at night to write would be difficult."

"They have Write-Ins all over the NYC burroughs. I think Queens is Tuesday...but you know my memory...go online and check it out! It's at www.nanowrimo.org ... sign up for free and then, on November 1st...we start!"

"I don't know..."

"How about this, tonight is a kick off party at No Idea Bar on 20th Street between Park and Broadway. Come with me. Meet some of my friends. I think you'll change your mind."

"What time?"

"It starts at seven. Free pizza and prizes too! I even offered up a free copy of my book as one of the prizes. Eeek! Hope whoever wins it likes Fantasy! Ha!"

"Okay, I'll go. And ya know what? I'll sign up to do this. Can't hurt, right? Even if I don't finish, it'll be fun, I'll meet new people, and I'll make some headway on the story. It's a win win win. See you tonight!"

----------------------------------------------

So....will I see YOU tonight at the NYC NaNo kick off party? Not joined NaNo? You should! Trust me, I meant what I said in the above invented conversation. You won't regret it.

Anyhoo...time for me to get back to work!

Hope to see you tonight! And if you can't make the party...hope to see you at a Write-In in Manhattan...Sunday afternoons and Monday nights! Woot!

Cheers!

Tamsin :)

Win a FREE, signed copy of my book, "THE BETRAYAL"

So, here's the deal...

In order for my newly released book to be available for Amazon's "Print on Demand" option, I need to sell 25 more e-books! Many of my friends want to get my book, but sadly don't have an e-reader. Hence, we MUST SELL 25 MORE BOOKS ASAP so they can get a printed copy through Amazon!

In order to try and push this along I am going to offer up a free signed copy of the printed version...here's how this will work...

TWO WAYS TO ENTER! (And you can end up entered multiple times. Read below!)

Option #1: Buy my e-book and let me know you did (either comment on this blog post or email me at tamsinlsilver@gmail.com). You will then receive a question about the book to verify it was actually purchased (something simple like, "On page __ what is the first word?"). Answer correctly and you're entered! Yay!

Option #2: Say you already own the book...convince a friend to buy it! Have them shoot me a message that they picked it up on YOUR recommendation (either by commenting on this blog post or emailing me at tamsinlsilver@gmail.com). They too will answer a silly question to verify purchase and then both they and YOU, the one who sent them to buy it, will get entered into the contest. Yay!

So you see...the more of your friends that purchase the book and tell me, the more times you are entered into the contest.

Where do you send them to buy the book? EASY! Send them to the TAMSIN SILVER WEBSITE. On the top left of the home page you'll see three links. They can purchase it through my publisher's website or they can go straight to Amazon Kindle or B&N Nook.

Easy. As. Pie.

The contest will last over the next week. I must receive emails from those who bought it saying they did so by 8pm next Sunday night.

So go forth and tell folks to spend the $6.99 and help me qualify my book for print!

***NOTE: If we do not reach the 25 goal, I can't get the printed copy for the prize so we MUST get those 25 copies sold!***

Thanks so much!

Tamsin :)

P.S. I'll totally pay the price of shipping for the book if you win the copy and do not live in NYC. GOOD LUCK to both you and me! LOL!

New York Comic Con 2011

Ah yes...my 2nd year at NYCC. I was so exhausted (plus I had no voice left) I took Monday off. Employers must just loooove their nerd employees this time of year. I took of both Friday and Monday and a lot of folks I know took off Thursday and Friday, seeing as that NYCC now is four days long vs. three.

Many who heard I was planning a book push for Comic Con thought I had a table. Oh no. My publisher isn't big enough to have a spot at NYCC, so instead of selling myself on the corner to afford a 3x3 space at NYCC, I made postcards, got dressed up, had Lauren dress up too, and we WALKED that bad boy for 3 days. Mind you, 2 days were for selling, the 3rd day was for fun.

I'll try and keep the events short and to the point.

Day One - 10/14/11 (Book Release Day)
Lauren and I got dressed up in gear (me in a waist cincher, a low cut top and a short skirt with heels boots and ripped up tights while she was in a small suede vest and low rise jeans with the long, curly black wig from the photo-shoot in June) and arrived at NYCC by noon. We worked our way over to the Vampire Freaks table (Jet got a primo spot this year in the aisle next to the HUGE Marvel display) to see if we could trade work for bag storage. Luckily they were willing to help us and so in turn we handed out TONS of Vampire Freaks cards/stickers/etc along with my postcards. We even went down to Autograph Alley to put them on every table.

The first thing Lauren and I did was wander Artists Alley. Met some wonderful people. One in particular I think you should check out is LOADED BARREL STUDIOS. These three men (2 of which are brothers) have created this amazing company where they film a story and then use the stills from that to create a graphic novel. I'm currently reading "GREY" so I'll review it when done.

After Artists Alley we decided to wander down to Autograph Alley as Lauren desperately wanted to see the deal on getting Mark Hamill's autograph and I had a few ladies I wanted to meet as well. Specifically Felicia Day (The Guild, Dragonage, Buffy), Eliza Dushku (Buffy, Tru Calling, Dollhouse) and Jewel Staite (Firefly, Serenity, Stargate Atlantis). I wanted to also give them a copy of my book for free. So I paid the money (oh yes, you pay for that autograph and that moment to say "Hi, I love your work.") and met the two of the three on Friday (met the third on Sunday) and gave them my card, letting them know if they wanted a free copy of my book to have their agent or manager email me. The most excited about that was Felicia Day. I learned later that's because she has a huge following on Goodreads. Yikes! I hope she likes the book. If not, I might be in trouble, huh? Oh well. I only gave it to her cause I thought she'd like it. My way of showing my admiration for her work. Here's a picture of she and I.


She took pics with anyone who asked. She was the only one who did this. Everyone else had signs that said no pictures. So HUGE props to Ms. Day!

I also visited with Eliza Dushku on Friday. Now, as some of you know, I've met (and actually hung out with) her before. I'm aquaintences with one of her brothers as he used to direct theatre here in NYC (he has since moved out to LA)...and I adore him. She and I hung out at a dress rehearsal of one of his shows. She's a very lovely, smart, sassy, woman with a sweet nature and a spunky attitude. I can see why she's gotten as far as she has. What was really great was after I said, "You probably don't remember me," she said I looked familiar and when I mentioned her brother she DID remember. Funny when something so small makes your day. What a darling lady. I even got to say hi to her beau, Rick, again. He's such a wonderful man. We chatted about his appearance on the TV show "Body of Proof."

After these two awesome encounters I decided to suprise my co-worker (Let's be honest, I did drag Lauren away from work and school for three days on her feet to work for me at this thing). She wanted nothing more than to meet and get Mark Hamill's autograph. Problem was his autograph cost $100. No kidding. So, I split it with her so she could afford it. Problem was, by the time I did this, he was done for the day. We'd have to come back tomorrow. Oh well.

By this point it was closing time for the show rooms and galleries. We'd have stayed and done some panel's but we both had to be up early and back the next day so we headed home for some rest.

Day Two - 10/15/11 (Book Release Party Day)

This was the day Lauren and I dressed up to the nine's. The pics at the top of this post of us is what we had on. And yes, we wore corsets from about 11am to 1am on Sunday. Let me tell you...not rushing to put it on again anytime soon.

Anyways, day two. We headed to the Vampire Freaks table, secured our things, picked up flyers/stickers/etc., and began to wander in areas where we'd be the most seen by photographers. The plan was if you wanted a pic you took a postcard for my book. We wandered the floor and to be honest, I lost count at 50 pictures, most of which were of either Lauren and me or just Lauren. After we did worked the floor (that sound dirty), we stopped by to visit people we'd met the day before (Jared with Loaded Barrel Studios and Ashliegh who was working for the Just Dance 3 exhibit) This is Ashliegh:


















This is what Ashliegh had to deal with all day:














Lauren and I made a point of stopping by to watch people dance and chat with Ashliegh each day, multiple times. It looks like a really fun game! I think Lauren is asking for it for Xmas! Yay!

Anyhoo...where was I? Oh yes...we headed down to Autograph Alley again...where we ran into these guys:


















We then got in line for Lauren to meet Mark Hamill. Here's what she had him sign:














He remembered seeing her in Felicia Day's line with me the day before. Awwww.:) I shook his hand and thanked him. He really made her day.

When this day at NYCC was done, we grabbed a cab and headed to the venue for the Book Release Party. I'll do a blog entry on that seperately so stay tuned for pics of that. Just know that it was a wonderful night. I'd secured the whole back are at Vintage Bar/Restaurant for the event. It was candle lit with comfy couches and great food/drinks. A lot showed up and we had a loverly night. Vince Lingner took a lot of pics so be warned...I'll post a lot! :)

Now, my buddy Matt was in town from Boston visiting and that party had us out until 1am-ish. Thankfully he bought us a cab ride home. We were out cold by 2am.

Day Three - 10/16/11 (Casual Day)

Today we were determined to dress comfortably, me especially, since I'd worn corsets/waist cinchers for two days straight. The day was just so we could wander and I was looking for a specific T-shirt (which I found) that says, "AND THEN BUFFY STAKED EDWARD. THE END." Awesome.

This is how comfy we dressed:

















We also took Matt to his first NYC Comic Con!

















And we OF COURSE visite with Ashliegh:













(Note: The head band thingy Lauren has on was a free gifty from Just Dance 3...yeah, we know it makes her look like Olivia Newton-John).

After roaming a bit I found my way down to Autograph alley again, this time to meet Jewel Staite. She's is an amazing sweet lady. I had typed up a letter for Sean Maher with concern to his recent coming out of the closet since the events on why he waited so long to "come out" mirrors a show I'll be directing in the spring. I wanted to see if he'd mind if we dedicated a night to him. I asked her to give him the letter. She said she would. I hope she does. I respect him and his decisions (as well as his work as an actor...he's about to be in Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing" so keep an eye out for him, he's playing the villian). Anyhoo...I had her sign a pic from Firefly and gave her a free copy of my book as well as the name of a great wine/cheese place she should try in town (if you don't know, Jewel has a great foody blog HERE).

It was a very exhausting weekend but in the end, we distributed 600 postcards for my book, I got to visit with Eliza Dushku again, I got to meet Felicia Day and Jewel Staite, I got my letter to Sean Maher delivered, shook hands with Mark Hamill, chatted with Rick Fox, made new friends, and hung with some old ones. It was visually amazing and to be honest...a lot more busy than last year's Comic Con!

I will say though, by the time Lauren and I got home...all we could do was sit there in silence and look through all our stuff from the Con...as our brains could no longer make converstion. Which was very likely for the best as I woke up with NO voice the next day. Ha!

Until next year's Comic Con, I leave you with a pic of Lauren and one of her fave Sci-Fi characters of all time:



Cheers!

xo

Tamsin :)

The book is OUT! The video is UP!

What...a...day.

It's been an emotional ride.

To sit down and pull up Amazon on the computer, do a search for my name, and see my book was surreal. I wasn't prepared. I was shocked (in a good way, of course) and then I was giddy. Then it all really hit me and I cried. Yes, happy tears. Then I went back to being shocked and giddy.

I've wanted to be a writer since I was in high school...and we won't talk about how long ago that was **clears throat**. Just know it's been awhile. :) So to have my work up there for people to buy...hell, let's be honest...if it was up there being published for nothing...it'd still had the same effect. I'm published. Holy crap, I'M PUBLISHED! How does one wrap their head around that?

Anyhoo...the long weekend coming up where I will be working the New York Comic Con floor will be exhausting fun. PLUS...I have friends coming in from outta town for the Con and the party I'm throwing on Saturday night, which makes me super happy. So its all win/win from here!

But, without further ado...go to MY WEBSITE and you'll see on the new home page (which looks GREAT right? HUGE props to Alexis Daria and Douglass Malone-O'Meally) links where you can buy the book! It's at Eirelander Publishing and Amazon...and it WILL be up on Barnes and Noble in the next 24-48 hours (I think). You can also see all the pics from the shoot under Photo Galleries! YAY!

Oh...and if you do read it and you like it, let me know! Tell your friends! Write a nice review online! If you do a nice review, or find a nice review, email me at tamsinlsilver@gmail.com and I'll link to it OR send it to me on Twitter and I'll re-tweet it! My twitter handle is @tamsinsilver

Now for the FUN portion of this post: Go HERE to see the video of the Living Dead Girl Photoshoot! While you're at my YouTube page you'll also see a inrto vid of me chatting about the shoot AND the video from last year's Moon Over Manhattan photoshoot (if you've not seen it before). BTW...you can get to my vids via a link that says "Videos" on the new homepage of the website too. :)

And last but not least...if you're at NY Comic Con on Saturday....swing by the Vampire Freaks booth (we're over by Marvel) and say hi! Lauren and I will be there dressed up in goth attire having folks sign up to win a FREE copy of my book!

Have a great weekend all! And go pick up my book if so inclinded! It's only $6.99! Woot!

xo

Tamsin :)

Roman A. Pierce

Roman Pierce (Model: Greg Lucas) is the head Vampire for The Great Order Council, handed down to him from his sister, Elizabeth, who has died just before the first book of LDG begins. His best friend, and personal assistant, Stephan Throneburg, live in an old, two story, white farm house (complete with wrap around porch) outside of Boston and are the two gentlemen that meet Atlanta and recognize that she's a witch, not a "misfit toy"...as my friend likes to say.
Picture: Roman speaking with Stephan

So so many of those who have read this book (or the following two that I've finished that follow it) ask me things like, "Do you hate Roman?" or "What did he ever do to you?" or "Is he based on an ex-boyfriend you hold a grudge against?" and so on. The answer to all of those is NO. I love Roman but he, like some people, needs his views on things widened.

For example:
*Sean learns things the hard way.
*Jensine jumps to learn things.
*Gray seems to skip process of learning and just, by osmosis, understands the things put into the air (ie: feelings, problems, etc.).
*Atlanta learns too quickly and skips things she needs to go back to later.

And Roman?

Well, he has trouble re-learning things. He's of the old mind-set of how The Order is to be run...with its laws and hell, its bi-laws. He's very stuck in the old world; the way his dad saw it. So it seems he's a bit reluctant to learn sometimes.

This will eventually cause issues for he and Atlanta...pictured below when things weren't so bad...

That said, I think Roman will be the character to change the most. He has to. His world, as the story begins, centers around the death of his sister and the laws that hold his world together. One a painful item and one a rigid one. He needs to work through that pain and hate and love/forgive himself as much as he needs to find the softer edges of the law and see where things can be changed for the better.

In many ways Atlanta cannot fully make her journey without Roman AND Sean at her side. Two very different men, both with perspectives she will be able to see and eventually admire and possibly understand. I firmly believe she needs both to make it through the war that's coming so don't hate her too much when the lines of "choice" become blurred for her. And don't feel too bad for Roman...everyone needs to go their own path to find contentment...his is just a bit more harsh than others. He can handle it.

Fun Note: I originally named him Alastair Hawkins (Name was changed due to too many "A" names. For example Grayson used to also have an "A" name, it was Alex). I'd chosen the name Alastair from a kid star I had a crush on when I was younger. Can any of you guess what his full name is and what cable TV show he was on? Hints: It was on a kids station AND if those kids did something wrong they were slimed.

Winner of this question gets...uh...I'll think of something good...trust me, I will. :) Just guess and see who gets it first...maybe I'll see if I can print up one of your fave pics from the shoot or a free signed copy of a book!
Oh...and just so you know, I've actually spoken more than once to the real Alastair...back then the long distance charges were a bitch. I got in BIG trouble. LOL! The point here though is that I FOUND him before the web, so take that, internet! Ha!

Anyhoo that's my full-on with concern to Roman...coming up next will be Stephan and Valencia so stay tuned!

xo

Tamsin :)

Blog Changes & What's Coming Up Next...

New pic curtosy of Alexis Daria, the graphics designer who is 1/2 of the team re-doing my website. This graphic will be the avatar for the LDG Series. It's cool, isn't it?

Anyhoo...on to my point of writing today...

You might notice that the Character Profiles have been re-posted with an October "post date"...even though I wrote them, posted them, and you read them back in July/August.

Why is this?

Well, simply put...seeing as The Betrayal is coming out in ONE WEEK from today (Wow, I still cannot fathom this), I wanted the readers to find these profiles easier and faster...so they're now at the top of the blog and in a manner of speaking, backwards? For example, though I would've written about our lead (Atlanta) first she's showing as most recent. Seeing as blogs go from more recent post to latest I have listed her as latest post so she shows up first.

Am I making sense? It's been a long day. :)

Anyhoo...that's the scoop! Stay tuned to www.tamsinsilver.com as of 10/14/11...it's going to have some HUGE changes! :)

AND...stay tuned HERE! Coming up on the blog:

1) The video from the photo-shoot will be the next post I do!
2) The links on where to buy the book will be posted on 10/14/11! Woot!
3) Pics and stories from New York City Comic Con! (Con is from 10/13-10/16/11)
4) Pics and stories from the Book Release Party! (Party is 10/15/11)

So be sure to keep an eye on the almight BLOG for the next two weeks for cool stuff!

Psssst! Plus...I'll be giving away a free copy of the book so STAY TUNED!

Have a great weekend!

xo

Tamsin :)