Showing posts with label Six Degrees of Lost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Six Degrees of Lost. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Six Degrees of Lost - On Sale - .99

Happy May, everyone! Start your e-readers . . .

I've got a great promotion on one of my books to tell you about!

Six Degrees of Lost is only .99 from May 1-15.


 
A Lost Dog, A First Love, A Journey


Olive’s mother is headed to jail and her brother to join the Army, so thirteen-year-old Olive is uprooted from sunny California and dumped in Washington State like a stray. That's exactly what she feels like surrounded by her aunt’s collection of homeless dogs, cats, and horses.

Fourteen-year-old David’s future is already carved in stone. From a military family with two brothers serving overseas, he’s been pointed towards the Air Force Academy his entire life - but a rafting trip gone awry might ruin his chances.


When a runaway dog is almost hit by a car, the search for its owner leads Olive and David, two teens from entirely different backgrounds, to an unlikely bond. Will their growing attraction to each other be enough to keep Olive from a foolhardy journey to find her mother? Will David risk his family’s plans to save her?


Have you read this one yet? I hope you'll take advantage of this awesome price to buy a copy for yourself, or give it to someone else. Here is a short excerpt:


“So what’s with all those dogs barking in the back yard?”

“They’re foster dogs. My aunt takes them in when they get too crowded at the animal shelter. Some of them aren’t adoptable, and would be put to sleep otherwise.”

“Really?” I gulp.

“We’ve also got six cats in the house, plus the horses out back. Come on, I’ll show you.” The yellow dog jumps up and down, begging for the stick. Olive flings it down the driveway. I see a small shelter out back, with sagging fences. Olive is already headed that way, taking short barefoot steps on the gravel, so I follow.

A sway-backed pinto horse with a mouth full of hay sticks his head out from the shelter and then turns and goes back to his breakfast. It looks kind of bony.

“Wow,” I say. “Skinny.”

“Yeah, that’s Paintball.” She grins. “Well, that’s what I call him. He was found wandering loose up in the National Forest. Aunt Trudy says somebody just dumped him there.”

Olive shrugs. “I know. Hard to believe, huh? I guess they couldn’t afford to feed him, but still, that’s just mean.”

A huge brown horse wanders over to the fence. “Who’s this one?” I reach between the strands of wire and pat his head. He’s just as skinny as the first one.

“My aunt says he’s ancient, and we’ll probably never get his weight back on. They found him tied to a tree in front of the animal shelter, but they don’t really have any facilities for horses there, so he came here instead. He’s sweet, huh?”

“Yeah, he seems nice.” The old horse pushes his head underneath my hand, clearly enjoying the attention.

“I call him Shakespeare. ‘Cause he looks so noble and elegant.”

Elegant? I think. That’s a stretch. “Can you ride them?”

“I don’t know. Aunt Trudy says we don’t really know that much about them. Anyway, it’s been too hot, and she’s always busy. She’s a clerk at the animal shelter thrift shop, and she takes turns working down at the shelter, besides feeding all these animals here at home.”

Olive talks so fast she makes my head swim. She barely takes a breath, and rattles on. “So besides the ones she takes in from the shelter, my aunt is always finding animals, too. She says there must be an invisible sign at the bottom of the driveway that says: Lost Animals Stop Here.”

“Is that how you found this dog?” I stroke the big lab’s ears, and he presses against me.

“He was standing in the middle of the road,” she says, “and almost got hit by a car.” She smiles. “Maybe he was reading the sign.”


So, go! Snatch up your copy while the price is right. It's up on Amazon now, and should be on sale at some other sites soon. Here's the link:
 
Thanks so much, everyone. Really appreciate your support!!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Addicted to Print?

For those of you who've been waiting to read my two newest books in print: Good News! I'll soon have some promotional, limited edition copies of both The Girl Who Remembered Horses and Six Degrees of Lost - hot off the press.
These promotional copies will be available through contests, book signings, or you can get them from me in person.

And there's a contest right now, over at Goodreads to win them. Three print copies of Six Degrees of Lost are up for grabs, and it runs through July 26th, 2012.




Goodreads Book Giveaway


Six Degrees of Lost by Linda  Benson

Six Degrees of Lost

by Linda Benson


Giveaway ends July 26, 2012.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Two print copies of The Girl Who Remembered Horses are available, and the contest runs through July 27, 2012.



Goodreads Book Giveaway


The Girl Who Remembered Horses by Linda  Benson

The Girl Who Remembered Horses

by Linda Benson


Giveaway ends July 27, 2012.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win



I think you have to be a Goodreads member to enter these contests. If not, let me know. But Goodreads is a fun site, especially if you're an avid reader like I am.

Can't wait to read them? They're available right now in digital format (links on the right) and The Girl Who Remembered Horses is already available on Overdrive. Ask your favorite library to add it to their digital collection.

Good luck, everyone, and keep watching here for more chances to win a Print Copy of my two latest books!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

The Scene You Missed

Aren't you lucky? You get to read a scene that didn't make it into my newest novel, SIX DEGREES OF LOST.

Actually, I am resurrecting this post from April 2010, when I was still working on this novel. Here's the original post, if you'd like to read it: http://lindabenson.blogspot.com/2010/04/killing-my-darlings-er-scenes.html

I loved this scene because it's about horses (of course!) But it's actually still there. It just starts right after this point in time, and is told from David's point of view. Sometimes it's fun to see how your actual writing process happens - what you keep, what you delete to keep things coherent.

Hey - if you enjoy this scene that didn't make it into the book, you might want to actually read the whole book!

Swede brings an old saddle over from his house along with a saddle pad. He tightens the cinch on old Paintball and I’m suddenly nervous. And it is still raining. But suddenly the clouds part and a brilliant blue sky appears.

“Put your left foot in the stirrup,” he instructs. “Then grab the saddle horn and hoist yourself up there.”

I feel like an IDIOT trying to climb up on the horse. It always looks so easy when you see cowboys do it, but I feel like a total klutz. Swede helps push me up and finally I’m mounted on Paintball’s back. He adjusts the stirrups and starts leading us around.

“Don’t let go of him,” I say.

“I won’t.” Swede holds onto the horse’s lead rope. “I believe this old horse is gentle as a kitten. He didn’t even flinch when we saddled him.”

Maybe, but that doesn’t make me feel any better. It’s fun, though, to be up so high. I can see a long ways. Out across the corrals and the back pasture, and all the way past the clear-cut behind Aunt Trudy’s five acres. I’m holding onto the reins, but Swede is actually the one controlling Paintball. “Look at the rainbow,” I say. “Wow. It’s a double one.”“It’s always a lucky day,” says Swede, “when you see one of those.”

We start down the driveway toward the main road. This is only the second time I’ve ever been on a horse, so it’s not like I actually know how to ride. It’s exciting but scary at the same time, and I feel jittery every time Paintball takes another step.

“Swede,” Aunt Trudy hollers from behind us. “Don’t take her too far. You don’t know what that old horse might do.”

“Just relax, Trudy. We are not going to do anything except walk.” Swede looks up at me and winks. “Your aunt’s a worry-wart, isn’t she?” he whispers.

"I heard that,” calls Aunt Trudy. “And darned tootin’ I’m a worry wart. This girl is my responsibility, and I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“Trudy, this horse is so old and pathetic he probably couldn’t spook if he tried. If he moves too fast he might fall down.”

FALL DOWN? Great. Paintball lifts his head up and stares at something moving up the road. I grab the horn of the saddle for safety, but he doesn’t spook or skitter sideways. He just keeps on walking calmly.

As the figure in the road gets closer, I can see it’s someone running. It almost looks like that boy I met in the driveway a few weeks ago. DAVID.

My face turns pink when I think about him. I barely knew him, but I remember telling him practically everything about myself. About Pendleton, and about how I got my name. He probably thinks I’m a total DORK. I almost wish Swede would just turn the horse around and head back to the barn, before the boy gets here.

As he jogs closer, I can see David’s t-shirt is soppy and wet. He must have been running right through the rain. It would be awesome if I was riding Paintball all by myself, but instead I’m sitting up here like a little baby being led up and down the driveway. I sort of automatically lift my hand to wave, and then immediately wish I hadn’t.

Maybe he’ll just jog right on by, but David slows to a walk and turns in the gravel driveway. Why did I WAVE at him? I suddenly wish I could just crawl under a bush and HIDE.

“Hey, I didn’t know you knew how to ride,” he says, walking close.


Soo - if you think you might want to read what DID make it into the book - the purchase links are just to your right! Enjoy!!!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Happy Release Day!

It's out. It's out. It's finally available!
Six Degrees of Lost is now available from Musa Publishing, and I'm very excited. (Can you tell?)


This is a young adult novel that I've worked on for a very long time. It's particularly dear to my heart, because the setting is similar to the rural area where I live in the Pacific Northwest, and one of the story lines (involving helping lost animals get home) was inspired by some dear friends and fellow animal lovers.

But aside from that, it's a story about Olive and David, and how a friendship develops and blossoms into young love. Oh, and then there's the raft trip, and boys behaving badly, and two horses named Shakespeare and Paintball, and also the peacock, and, well I won't give everything away. There are dogs and cats, too. And puppies. Okay, you just have to read it now, don't you?

It's available three places right now:
From the publisher, Musa Publishing: http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=297

at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Six-Degrees-of-Lost-ebook/dp/B0087XI14E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338598593&sr=1-1

and from Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/six-degrees-of-lost-linda-benson/1111343513?ean=2940014702775

It will soon be available at most other online booksellers, including Kobo, Diesel, Ominilit, iTunes, and many others. I'll add those links to the right sidebar as they become live. But for now, all formats of the eBook are available on the Musa Publishing website.

Like to read paper? Stay tuned. We might just have a contest soon to win your choice of paper or eBook of this exciting new novel.

But I hope you get it NOW. Read it and tell me what you think. That's all. I'll quit jumping up and down with excitement now. Time to go Celebrate!!

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Two More Days!

Isn't this a great picture?

I don't have any elephants in my books (yet) but this picture just makes me smile.

I do, however have dogs, cats, puppies, horses, and even a peacock in my new book,
 SIX DEGREES OF LOST, which comes out in two more days!!



That's all. Oh, if you like Facebook, I now have an Author Page there, where you can find my most recent news. It's right here: https://www.facebook.com/LindaBensonAuthor

Have you ever read with an elephant??

Friday, April 27, 2012

The Making of a Cover

I am very excited to show you the cover for my newest novel, Six Degrees of Lost, which releases as an eBook on June 1, 2012. Egads, that's coming up fast!

One of the nice things about working with Musa Publishing is that authors actually have some input on cover design. (Often, when working with a publisher, this is not the case.)

Because the plot features two teens struggling to make sense of their lives and find their place in the world, we wanted teens on the cover. My preference was to have no faces, because as an avid reader myself, I really like to form my own impressions of what the characters look like.

The plot line also features lost dogs, abandoned puppies, rescue cats, a raft trip down a river, and two ancient horses.
The setting is the Pacific Northwest, with tall trees and hay fields.
There are wonderful secondary characters in the story, too, including a hay grower, an animal rescuer, boys that make bad choices, and more.
Could we get all that on one cover?

We tried to fit some of the above, but in the end, it was much too busy.

So we chose simple. The simple story of Six Degrees of Lost is about two kids, Olive and David. Here's what we came up with.


Sometimes you have to take a journey to find out where you really belong.

Coming June 1st.
You can read the synopsis on Goodreads, right here.

So tell me - would this cover make you want to read the book?