Heads Up! Free book!

The Devil of Kilmartin is on sale for $0.00 for two days only at Amazon.

On Monday 12/26/11 & Tuesday 12/27/11 you can “buy” this ebook for nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. Rien. Nuttin.

How?

Amazon US: Click here
Amazon UK: Click here
Amazon Germany: Click here
Amazon France: Click here
Amazon Italy: Click here
Amazon Spain: Click here

Get yourself a little after Christmas present for FREE!

Whee!

Laurin

February is going to be busy!

 

Book Release Info!

Thanksgiving is done and Christmas is upon us (I know not everyone celebrates Christmas but it’s looming large in my household!) and already I’m looking ahead to February.

Now normally February isn’t my favorite month. It’s generally damp and cold and bleak. We don’t even get much snow here in southern Virginia. Snow would make it so much better! At least it’s a short month. 

But this year I’m excited about February. Really. I’ve been told my books Charming the Shrew and Daring the Highlander will be released from Montlake Romance in their all their new e-edition glory in February! I don’t have exact release dates yet, but hey, there aren’t that many days to choose from in the shortest month of the year.

FYI – These two books are available now in my self-pubbed e-edition (or in the original paperback version from used book sellers at Amazon) so you don’t have to wait until February unless you just want the new cover and probably some spiffier page design than I was able to accomplish on my own.  The big change coming from the Montlake release is the marketing muscle they will put to work for me and my books making them easier for new readers to find.

Workshop info!

In addition to that wonderful news, I’ll be teaching my Scene CPR online writing workshop for four weeks starting Feb. 4th. You can get info here: Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter of RWA.

NOTE: FF&P is moving from their old web site to their new one and the workshop info hasn’t been ported over as of 12/3/11 so check back with that link soon.

New additions to the web site:

If you look to the right, just under my smiling face, you’ll see a place to sign up for my new mailing list/newsletter. Please go do that now! I’ll wait right here… go ahead, it’ll just take a sec.  Really. Go.

‘Kay? Good. Thank you!

I’ll be sending out a newsletter when there is news to share - roughly quarterly, but definitely no more often than monthly (and since I really don’t write books that fast I’m not likely to have news all that often) so I promise not to clutter up your probably already overstuffed in-box.  And if I do get annoying (no, not possible, right?) you can unsubscribe at anytime.

I’ve also added an Events & Workshops tab on the menu up above. I’ll be listing guest blogging, book releases, workshops, conferences, etc. on that page so if you aren’t getting my newsletter often enough to suit you (it could happen!) then you’ll always be able to find out what I’m up to on that page at the web site.

All right. I’ll let you return to your shopping and wrapping and decorating now. Just don’t forget to set a little time aside over the holidays to take a little “me time” and curl up with a good book. I recommend a nice fire to sit next to and a hot cup of your favorite beverage to go along with the book. Okay, a little taste of chocolate would make a good addition to your “me time” escape, too!

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

Laurin

Lots of Book News!

So much has been happening lately that I can barely keep up with it!

First, if you look to the right, you’ll see my beautiful new cover for The Devil of Kilmartin, designed by the talented Kim Killion at Hot Damn Designs. One of the real pleasures of independently publishing is that I get to experiment with all sorts of things, including covers, so after a year of wonderful sales with my lovely green Celtic knot cover, designed by Kristin Lawrence, I thought I’d see how my book fared with a more traditional romance cover.

What do you think? Will it attract different readers than the green knot one?

Now, on to even bigger book news: I have signed a contract with Amazon’s new romance line, Montlake, to bring out Charming the Shrew and Daring the Highlander in new editions. That means new covers, new descriptions, new marketing that will go way beyond anything I can do on my own to get my book discovered by new readers. It also looks like these books will once more be available in print while also remaining available for the Kindle. If you don’t have a Kindle, never fear, there are free Kindle apps for most any device you can think of.

I’m looking forward to embarking on yet another new adventure in today’s publishing world and can’t wait to see what the new editions of these books will look like.  Publication dates are yet to be set, but I was told they will be out in early 2012. How wonderful to sign a publishing contract and not have to wait a year or more to see the results!

Stay tuned for more information as soon as I have it.

Oh, and never fear, I’m hard at work on a new Scottish historical romance – the first of a trilogy. I don’t have a title for the book yet, but the working title for the trilogy is The Highland Targe.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and here’s hoping everyone gets lots of good books (and maybe an eReader!) for Christmas!

Laurin

It’s Finally Fall!

Or perhaps this should be titled: What I did on my summer vacation…

Somehow the summer got away from me – wait…wait, oh I remember how it got away from me:

I finished the first draft of my new Scottish medieval romance, yet to be titled because picking titles is hard.

Went on vacation.

Experienced an earthquake (no damage!).

Got my youngest off to college.

Hurricane Irene wandered by for a visit. Thank goodness she only dropped trees into our backyard, not on our house, though a lot of our neighbors weren’t so lucky. Dare I mention that I finally managed to get tickets to see Mary Chapin Carpenter, my favorite singer/songwriter, at Wolf Trap outside DC. It was scheduled for the Saturday night Irene mosied through the DC area. ARG. I’ve been trying to see her in concert for years and it never works out. Next time I will not be thwarted (I hope).

Oh, and all three of my published books went on sale, which I promptly forgot to let anyone know. So, get ‘em while they’re hot. (Links to the right ==>)

But now we’re deep in the belly of September, right at the beginning of fall. Today I awoke to beautiful, crisp, cool fall air and actually got to wear a sweater.

In September.

In southern Virginia.

Okay, so it was a cotton sweater, but still… Swoon.

I know it’s just a tease, but I’m going to enjoy it while it’s here. We’ll no doubt swelter for another few weeks before we truly get fall but the taste is delightful and it makes me think of autumn foliage, apple cider, and reading by a warm fire.  Mmmm. Now I just need to make sure my Kindle is well stocked with great reads!

I hope your summer wasn’t too hot, dry, rumbly, rainy, windy, floody, fiery…  Shall we all just be happy that fall is making its way south? I think so.

It’s finally fall. Can you tell it’s my favorite time of year?

Laurin

eBook Sale!

There’s nothing like the first really hot days of summer to make me want to curl up somewhere cool and escape into a book.  Last week, here in Virginia, we hit 99 and the heat index was over 100 so I thought it was high time to make The Devil of Kilmartin such a deal that you couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity to escape the heat and journey into the Scottish Highlands where the men are braw and the women like them that way.

To whet your appetite here’s a couple of pictures I took on my research trip for this book.

This is the spot where the hero and heroine meet:

Temple Wood stone circle, Kilmartin, Scotland

And here is the castle that inspired my Kilmartin Castle:

Doune Castle near Sterling, Scotland

In true writer’s style, I lifted this castle, moved it west to Argyll,
and plopped it down where a medieval structure once stood.
I fell in love with this castle and my characters really came alive for me within its walls. 

For Monty Python and the Holy Grail fans,
this is the castle the French soldiers threw the cow from.
Really!
 
So please treat yourself to a thrifty trip to
medieval Scotland 
for only .99!
Get your copy of
The Devil of Kilmartin
at
Amazon/Kindle, B&N/Nook  
or Smashword.com

Once you’ve got your copy, pull up a piece of shade, or a comfy chair next to an air conditioning vent. Get yourself a cool drink and enjoy one of the pleasures of summer – reading!

Merry May Backlist eBooks Sale!

It’s been a crazy busy spring so far which explains the dead silence here, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to share this HUGE sale going on for one week only (May 16 – May 23) via Backlist eBooks at Smashwords.com. 

Backlist eBooks is a group of traditionally published authors in many genres who are now bringing their backlist (previously published books now out of print) back as bargain priced ebooks available in just about any electronic format you need or want. 

Smashwords.com allows us to offer sale coupons, and Backlist eBooks has made a list of all the Merry May Sale books with coupon codes and direct links to the book’s Smashwords page.

To see the entire HUGE list of books for sale go to the Backlist eBook Sale Page.  You’ll have to scroll down to Historical Romances and then to Laurin Wittig for my listings but it’s totally worth it. 

All my books are 33% off,

making them $1.99 after the coupon! 

Now that’ll make for a Merry May!

So, whether you enjoy romances, mysteries, suspense, scifi, fantasy, mainstream, young adult, womens’ fiction, or non-fiction, have a little book buying extravaganza at can’t beat prices from established authors to get you started on your summer reading!

Backlist eBooks Merry May Sale: May 16 – May 23

 Please share and/or like this post so all your friends can get in on these ebook deals, too!

Featured @DailyCheapReads

All during February DailyCheapReads.com is featuring those of us who have republished our out-of-print backlist books in digital formats at reader friendly prices. 

Today, Valentine’s Day, my romance novels are being featured there.  Here’s the link: Backlist Books: Scottish Romances by Laurin Wittig

If you haven’t discovered this great blog then rush right over to DailyCheapReads.com and check out all the great info on ebooks under $5.

May your Valentine’s Day be filled with fun, romance, and a good romance novel, too!

Laurin

Hitting the Amazon Best-seller Lists!

I was very excited to get an email late this afternoon from fellow Scottish Romance author Diana Cosby telling me Daring the Highlander (The MacLeods Book II) was sitting at # 80 on Amazon’s top 100 Hot New Releases in Historical Romance list.  That’s the Kindle edition right up in there with print books!  As I write this it’s moved up to #77 (6 PM EST).  I have no idea how these lists are generated, but it’s a huge thrill to find my book on it.

Then I discovered the The Devil of Kilmartin was sitting at #95 on the Amazon Kindle Bestsellers in Historical Fiction list!  (Also 6 PM EST)

Though I don’t know how books get placed on the lists, I know the lists get regenerated every hour so my claim to Amazon best-sellerdom may be fleeting, but it’s still very, very sweet.

This calls for another huge Thank You!! to everyone who has bought my books.  Guess I better get back to work on the new one!

Book Bargains for the Holidays

It’s Black Friday… that has such an ominous tone that I huddle in my home avoiding the masses of shoppers pretty much from now through Christmas.  Do I have my shopping done?  About half.  Will I venture into the stores at all?  Of course, but I specialize in the surgical strike.  I know what I want, where to get it, and I’m in and out as fast as possible.  It helps that I live in a fairly small town (less crowds) and that I pretty much make my own schedule (I can hit the stores early in the morning on week days!).  But at this point, I’ll do most of my shopping on-line.

I thought you might like to do that, too, so I’ve cooked up some bargains to help you out with your shopping.

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