This Summer on Homeschool Authors....

Read-to-Win challenge!

How would you like to get a lot of books at a discounted rate?

Would like to help authors by leaving reviews on their books?

Would you like to win a brand new Kindle?

This summer, Homeschool Authors is hosting our first ever summer reading challenge and giveaway!

Every week a different author will be stopping by and their Kindle book will be discounted to $1.99 or less.

What could you win?

First Prize

Kindle loaded with a book by each of the featured authors

Second Prize

 Five digital books (winner gets to pick from a list)

Third Prize

Two digital books (winner gets to pick from a list)

Forth Prize

One signed paperback book

 Here is how you earn entries:

Buy the book on Amazon (make sure you get it while it is discounted)

Write a review at least 100 words long

Post that review on Amazon

Enter the link to your review in the Rafflecopter box

Requirements

For this huge giveaway, we will be verifying every entry. Make sure your entries fall with in these guidelines so they are counted.

The book must be a verified Amazon purchase (which means it was bought through Amazon)

The review must be at least 100 words long

The review need to be posted between June 1-August 31, 2014. 

Why are we making this a little more difficult than other times? Because we want to make sure that all entries are valid entries, and not just some people making things up to get a Kindle. We want YOU to win or at least have a really good chance. 

Are you ready? Here is the list of authors and books that will be featured (More details coming soon)

June 2 – Katie Daniels (Superhero of the Day)

June 9 – Jordan Smith (A Purple and Gold Afghan)

June 16 – Amber Schamel (Healers Touch)

June 23 – Jessica Greyson (Captive of Raven Castle)

June 30 – Nicole Sager (Hebbros)

July 7 – Jaye L. Knight (Resistance)

July 14 – Rachel Star Thomson 

July 21 –Elisabeth Grace Foley

July 28 – J. Grace Pennington (In His Image)

August 4 –Aubrey Hansen

August 11 – Rachel Rossano (Duty)

August 18 – Sarah Holman (A Different Kind of Courage)

August 25 – Alicia Willis (From the Dark to the Dawn)

Details Coming Soon!

Why We Write

Guest Post By Jason McIntire In an early chapter of my current work-in-progress, a visual arts instructor starts off his class by having the students write down a one-sentence summary of their own personal motivation. I believe that any endeavor should start this way - not necessarily with pen and paper, but at least in our own minds. When we start a project, we should know why. Otherwise, we'll quickly get lost in the middle, and in the end have no idea whether we accomplished our goal. So, what is my motivation for writing? In part, it's simply the pleasure of doing it. Writing is frequently fun, particularly when I'm on a roll and the story seems to tell itself. But other times it's like walking uphill through sand while carrying a can of garbage in each hand. These un-fun times aren't frequent (thankfully) but they are discouraging enough that I would almost certainly quit if pleasure alone were my goal. The pleasure of others is also a motivator. It gives me considerable enjoyment when reviewers describe The Sparrow Found A House with words like "interesting," "climactic," and "exciting." But then again, there are literally millions of interesting, climactic, exciting stories people could be reading - most of which are more so than my own work. Entertainment for its own sake is ultimately of limited value anyway. For some (few) writers, there is of course the profit motive. Personally I could not make a living selling novels if I tried, for the simple reason that I don't write the kind of fiction the mass market wants to read. In any case, we have chosen to give away complete digital versions of all our books for free, pretty much killing anything of a profit motive that might have remained. And this brings us to my greatest motivation, the one thing above all else that keeps me sitting down to write even when it's hard. That motivation is eternal impact. The real satisfaction for me comes when I hear feedback like this from a reader: "This book is not just entertaining, but an exhortation to all Christians. I will admit, this book was the first fictional one that caused me to seriously contemplate the way I live my life for Christ." That's why I write. That's also why I'm thankful that the Lord has allowed us the freedom to give away our work, something not every author has the luxury of doing. Writing is usually enjoyable for me, and it's always fun to hear that someone else liked my work. But it's only when someone's life is touched eternally that it all becomes truly worthwhile. Thanks once again to Sarah Holman for having me on the blog, and for hosting this giveaway of my book. Remember, you can also download "The Sparrow Found A House" for free when you visit elishapress.com. Enter to win below: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Opportunity for Authors

Calling all homeschooled authors!

Would you like to see your books for sale at the Oregon homeschool convention? This year, I am organizing a booth of books by homeschooled authors for the OCEANNetwork Conference (June 20-21, attended by approx. 2,100 adults and their families).

Here’s what’s in it for you:
-Because I am splitting the booth fee among multiple authors, your books can be in a homeschool convention for the fraction of the normal cost
-Your books will be at a homeschool convention without you needing to travel
-Your promotional materials may be seen by over 2,000 new potential fans
-You may choose to offer a book or books as a giveaway to gather new e-mail newsletter subscriptions
-If your books sell out, I can take backorders upon your guarantee of order fulfillment within 2 weeks of the convention and an offer of free shipping to convention orders

Here’s how it works:
-Your portion of the booth cost would be $22 x number of your titles participating.
-You would send me copies of your books--the quantity is up to you. You are responsible for shipping costs. 
-You would send me any promotional materials (bookmarks, business cards, coloring pages, etc.) to include on the booth, as well as one book stand to prop up a “demo” copy of your book.
-I will set up and run the booth (to be titled “Homeschooled Authors”) for both days of the convention: June 20-21. I am passionate about homeschooled authors, so I will be a knowledgeable, diligent, and dedicated saleswoman.
-I will oversee any giveaway(s) you may choose to offer.
-After the convention, I will return any remaining inventory to you along with the money from sales of your books minus any associated credit card processing fees. You are responsible for return shipping costs. If your inventory sells out, I will pass on backorders for you to fulfill. You may choose to have me return any unused promotional materials (at your cost) or to have me attempt to place them at local libraries, bookstores, etc.

HURRY! If you would like to participate, please let me know no later than May 17th. Because this is a joint venture, all plans are contingent upon participation. Please note: if, by May 17th, there are not enough participating authors, I will not proceed with the booth purchase. All participating authors will be updated on the status of the booth purchase. (Also note that I reserve the right to deny any title's participation in the booth for any reason and without explanation.)

Please let me know if I can answer any more questions or provide any more details. Contact me at thdbook (at) gmail (dot) com.

I’m looking forward to hearing back from you!

Sincerely,
Perry Elisabeth Kirkpatrick