My Black Friday Offer!

My #BlackFriday Offer: Buy #GracesPictures, email or message me proof of purchase dated today through Christmas & mailing address, & I'll send you Brigid of Ireland for free! Pass it on!

Buy: 

You can find a retailer here.

And I will mail you FREE:

New Cover!

Pleased as punch to show you the cover of my upcoming novel with Tyndale House Publishers, the follow-up to Grace's Pictures. The designer perfectly captured Annie Gallagher and her love for stories. Cannot wait to share this with readers. Have to though. It releases next summer. However, I am working on some additional material related to this series and hope to have some of it available early in the new year for my newsletter subscribers.

Are you a subscriber? If not, you can join simply by clicking on the icon to the right of this post. You will need to reply to an email you'll receive in order to be signed up (anti spam laws.) I don't share emails with anyone, and you'll only receive one a month. It's a great way to keep up on my news because subscribers are the first to hear what's going on in my writing world.

The year is 1901, the literary sensation The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is taking New York City by storm, and everyone wonders where the next great book will come from. But to Annie Gallagher, stories are more than entertainment—they’re a sweet reminder of her storyteller father. After his death, Annie fled Ireland for the land of dreams, finding work at Hawkins House.

But when a fellow boarder with something to hide is accused of misconduct and authorities threaten to shut down the boardinghouse, Annie fears she may lose her new friends, her housekeeping job . . . and her means of funding her dream: a memorial library to honor her father. Furthermore, the friendly postman shows a little too much interest in Annie—and in her father’s unpublished stories. In fact, he suspects these tales may hold a grand secret.

Deadman's Curve, According to the Trolly

In Grace's Pictures Owen witnesses a terrible accident at Deadman's Curve in Manhattan. While these events are fictional, I did not make up Deadman's Curve. Here it is:

It was located on the southwest corner of Union Square at Fourteenth Street and Broadway, and as you can see, the trolley tracks had a sharp bend here. At the turn of the century this busy area would see many terrible accidents. It wasn't that the cars picked up speed, but rather that they ran at a constant speed that was fine for straight paths, sometimes perilous for turns, and downright dangerous for a curve like this.

And as this magazine cover depicts, it was a busy place for pedestrians. It's been said that folks used to sit in clubs at windows overlooking Union Square and make bets over how many people would be hurt and/or thrown from the next trolley.

 The Statue of Abraham Lincoln stood looking over many accidents scenes until it was moved in the 1930s, but about 1907 most of the trolley tracks were removed and the intersection saw fewer mishaps. A new Deadman's Curve, however, took its place near Madison Square.

Traffic has always been a problem in New York, dating back to a time when there weren't even any automobiles. I suppose the antiquity of the city's streets and the rapidly growing population made that inevitable. The subway was being planned at the time of my stories, and of course we all know how essential that was and is. The elevated trains came down and the city was safer for pedestrians.

The Good Ole Days, right? :)

On Around Cincinnati, NPR

I had the pleasure of dropping by WVXU in Cincinnati to chat with Barbara Gray recently about my book, Grace's Pictures. You can listen in here:

http://wvxu.org/post/columbus-author-cindy-thomson

Wizard of Oz prior to Judy Garland

I'm Building a Street Team! Details here:

Thank you so much to everyone who read Grace's Pictures and took time to post a review. I’m so happy so many of you liked the book! That is why I’m asking readers like you if you’d be interested in joining my launch team (or street team) for the next book, Annie’s Stories, due out July 2014. It’s critical that this book get off to a great start so that I will be able to continue to bring you more stories. Critical, truly. This is a call to arms! Are you interested in helping?

If so, here is what I’m looking for:

People who…

• ·      Are willing to post reviews as close to the launch date as possible. (I can see that you get an advanced reader copy a few months prior.)
• ·      Have a following of at least 100 people on his/her blog and/or at least 200 followers on Facebook or Twitter.
• ·      Are willing to tweet and/or Facebook about the book’s launch at least once per day during the week of the book’s launch. (Street team members will have access to pre-written tweets and Facebook statuses to copy and paste.)
• ·      Are willing to request that the book be purchased at his/her’s local library.
• ·      Are willing to contact local bookstores to request the book.
• ·      Have creative ideas to help my series reach readers.

Think that might be you? I have limited spots, so please answer the questions below and email (cindyswriting @gmail .com) or message me the answers. I will choose the Street Team members from there, but everyone who responds will get something in return for his/her trouble.

• Are you on any other Street Teams?
• What are your favorite books?
• Are you on social media? If so, what are your numbers on Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Your blog? Etc.?
• Do you have connections with local groups or organizations that you believe you could tap into to help promote me and my book? List them.
• What ideas do YOU have to help promote me and my book that you’d be willing to spearhead?
• Are you able to commit for a full year?

What’s in for you?

• ·      A free signed copy of Annie’s Stories (not just the ARC.)
• ·      Annie’s stories, the short stories Annie’s father wrote to her, mentioned in the novel. I will send them to you as soon as each is available. The first one is nearing completion now.
• ·      One free Skype or Twitter chat with your group of five or more.
• ·      Coffee with me if I happen to be in your area and we can meet up.
• ·      Wee gifts and surprises. :)

Thanks again for reading and rating Grace’s Pictures!

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