The Stories of Scott D. Southard

December 31, 2013

My 6 Favorite Blogposts of 2013
First, I want to thank everyone this year for my supporting my blog and writing! Cheers!

It’s been a great year for me with the publication of two books. The year also ended on a high with the publisher of A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM having an eBook sale which put me into the top 100 for the book’s genre (reaching as low as 44). I’m pretty pleased by that. The response to the book over the year has been very encouraging; hopefully more will find it in the next year.

In the next year, I plan to do more blogging (keeping it to about 2 to three posts a week) and focusing on my next book, PERMANENT SPRING SHOWERS. My hope is to find an agent for it soon (fingers crossed). I’m pretty proud of the book and I hope to have it published before the end of 2014. Then there is the inevitable question of “What’s next” to deal with… Well, that is the fun of New Year’s, the possibility of a fresh year ahead.

The Stories of Scott D. Southard

Every year, I like to stop and take a look at my life and the year that just was. And one of the great things about having a blog is it makes it quite easy to do just that! I get all of the highs and the lows, they are all there in easy to read formatting… sometimes even with cute pictures.

How did I feel about being a parent or on a child’s birthday, it is there. It’s like a personal photo album, but it is available for all to share. I just hope I am not that annoying friend who is showing you slides of their last family outing. That is the blogger nightmare, I guess.

Looking back, 2013 has been a great year for me. I finished writing a new novel (Permanent Spring Showers), I had two very well-reviewed books published (A Jane…

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December 29, 2013

Only 1 Day Left! A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM on sale for only 99 Cents!
“I found myself thinking of it as a love letter to all of her novels…. Well, when we need a tale that makes us laugh and hope for love we read Austen. Now I will also read Southard.” -Kelly Fitzgerald, Austen Hill

Only a few hours left for the holiday sale of A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM, my latest novel. It is only 99 cents for the Kindle on Amazon!

You can grab your copy here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU).

“A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM by Scott Southard, a fictionalized account of Jane’s life, is a book that should be placed on the shelf of every book-loving fan of Jane Austen because she’s absolutely “alive” on the pages of this book.” -Julie Valerie’s Book Blog

If you would still like to learn more about the book first, you can do so on this page for it (https://sdsouthard.com/a-jane-austen-d…); read interviews, exclusive excerpts, and editorials….Wait… Did I mention it is only 99 cents???

A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM is published by Madison Street Publishing.

“An excellent concept and a great achievement, a must read for Austen fans open for a playful read and those who wish Austen had written more. This is like a little welcome encore for us fans.” -Christoph Fischer, author
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December 24, 2013

On sale for the holidays! A Jane Austen Daydream is only 99 cents for Kindle!
“I consider this novel one of the best not only in regency era literature, but also in mainstream fiction.” -NovelTravelist.com

Just in time for holiday travels, long flights, new Kindles, and quiet evenings by the fire, A Jane Austen Daydream is on sale for Kindle on Amazon!

For a limited time it is ONLY 99 cents! You can find the book here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU).

“If asked to sum up this book in one word, I would have to choose “unpredictable”… you will, in the end, be rewarded by a quick paced novel unlike any you can ever have read, which injects new ideas and possibilities into the world of Jane Austen.” -The Jane Austen Centre

All her heroines find love in the end–but is there love waiting for Jane?

Jane Austen spends her days writing and matchmaking in the small countryside village of Steventon, until a ball at Godmersham Park propels her into a new world where she yearns for a romance of her own. But whether her heart will settle on a young lawyer, a clever Reverend, a wealthy childhood friend, or a mysterious stranger is anyone’s guess.

Written in the style of Jane herself, this novel ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years–did she ever find love? Weaving fact with fiction, it re-imagines her life, using her own stories to fill in the gaps left by history and showing that all of us–to a greater or lesser degree–are head over heels for Jane.

“Southard has taken the facts about the great author and woven them into a credible, touching, and also entertaining portrait of a life.” -Historical Novel Society

If you would like to learn more about A Jane Austen Daydream, you can do so on this page for the book (https://sdsouthard.com/a-jane-austen-d…); read interviews, excerpts, and editorials. A Jane Austen Daydream is published by Madison Street Publishing.

“…Scott Southard’s Jane is a delightful creature. She is clever and witty and determined to do the best she can for herself, even when things take a turn for the worst….her thoughts and comments had me smiling (and even laughing) on more than one occasion.”-Austenprose.com

“…Lovely, thought-provoking novel. Fans of Austen will adore this book.” – Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List.
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December 23, 2013

“Bad Christmas Songs, Grinches, and Accordions!” My Christmas Blogposts
So last night my wife and I were woken up by a bright light and then a bang. Then there was silence and darkness…

Yup, we are one of the lucky people who lost their power in the big ice storm of ’13. The rest of our evening was spent huddled in our living room listening to branches falling from the giant tree outside our house. To emphasize the lack of power one of the branches decided to take out the wire as well connecting our home to the grid. Merry Christmas!

Anyway, I’ve snuck onto a computer to share some of my holiday posts. Writing about the holidays is always one of the things I get a kick out of doing on the site, and I do everything from comedy to serious topics. For me, fighting the cold, it’s nice to know people are still checking out my writing while I am living the life of a hermit… in my own freaking cold home.
- Book Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (This is the review I did of the book on WKAR last week. I’m really proud of this one, I hope you check it out)
- Losing the Grinch: When I Became a Who
- Neil Diamond’s “A Cherry Cherry Christmas” is the Worst Christmas Song Ever! A Holiday Musical Rant.
- The Christmas Accordion: Holiday 2012 Thoughts
- Why The Littlest Angel is the worst holiday story… ever
- The New Kid in the Audience: A Holiday Confessional
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December 20, 2013

New WKAR Book Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Just in time for the holidays!

Today on WKAR I take on one of the greats, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

I’m really proud of this review and I hope you will check it out. You can listen to the review here:

http://wkar.org/post/book-review-charles-dickens-christmas-carol

If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.

This was my twelfth appearance on Current State and you can hear/read my other reviews via this page on my site or on the Current State site here. I have reviewed other classics as well as contemporary books.

I hope you enjoy my book review… and Merry Christmas! (more…)
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December 19, 2013

“…a thought and a giggle” A new interview about A Jane Austen Daydream
Today, there is a new interview about my novel A Jane Austen Daydream and my life as a writer for you to check out. This time I am being interviewed by author and blogger Meglena Ivanova (that name is just made for the main character in a novel, isn’t it?). It was a really fun interview and it was a thrill to do it.

Here is an excerpt from the interview (which you can read here). This is my answer to “What comes first? The character’s story or the idea for the novel?”

I pity anyone who attempts to read my yellow notepads. Because I usually get a few ideas at a time when I am working on a story and things mesh together on the page. I write sideways, upside down, I use squiggly lines to link ideas as they arrive. So, in a way, I am saying that once I have latched onto an idea everything comes together quickly. Kind of like an accident in a snowstorm. It starts with one car sliding and soon there is this pileup.

Many of my ideas come from images to start with or an absent thought that grows. My most recent novel A Jane Austen Daydream started as a thought and a giggle. The thought was the idea of doing something for Jane, give her something that might make her laugh. The giggle part is the twist in the book, and I don’t want to ruin it here. I’ve done some research after writing this book, and there is a very good chance it might be the first time such a twist was attempted.

You can read the rest of the interview here. Thanks Meglena!

A Jane Austen Daydream can be purchased in print ($13.46) or as an eBook for the outrageously low price of $3.99 for Kindle. You can find it on Amazon here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU).
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December 18, 2013

Only a little longer to win a signed copy of A Jane Austen Daydream!
There are only a few hours left to try and win an autographed copy of my latest novel A Jane Austen Daydream!

At 12:00 AM (PST) on December 19 the giveaway shuts down. (That’s only hours away!) You can enter and learn more about the giveaway via this link.

My novel is being showcased as part of the Best of 2013 Blog Hop Giveaway. On the site (besides the contest), blogger and author Kathryn Treat interviews me about the creation and inspiration behind the book. I hope you will check it out and enter the contest soon… or now… now is good.

If you want to learn more about my book as well, there are excerpts, reviews, interviews, and more fun goodies on my page for the book here. A Jane Austen Daydream was published by Madison Street Publishing in 2013.
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December 18, 2013

Losing the Grinch: When I Became a Who
I have a personal Grinch. I have never met him, but I know he is out there; and he knows I’m out there as well. We are connected, we share a history. And it is not a history I would have chosen for myself… obviously.

No one wants to be a Who

When my son (my first born) was only a month old, we stayed at my parents’ house for Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we raced home, looking forward to sharing our first Christmas as parents of a perfect and beautiful baby.

I first realized that something was wrong when I pulled into the driveway. Something was off. The air around me was different. A sickening feeling suddenly tightened my stomach. Once I was out of the car, I quickly surmised the awful truth of the situation. I told my wife to stay in the car with the baby and the dog.

I asked her to call 9-1-1.

Our house was broken into on Christmas Eve and our first Christmas as parents was forever ruined. (more…)
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December 16, 2013

Celebrating Jane Austen’s birthday with My Jane Austen Book Club
I was thrilled to be asked to contribute to My Jane Austen Book Club‘s celebration of Jane Austen’s birthday! For those that are fans of Jane Austen and don’t know it, it is a great site and has been a good friend and supporter to my novel A Jane Austen Daydream since its publication.

Over the course of the day, authors and fans have been sharing their insights and feelings towards Ms. Austen with a new post each hour. And for those interested in inspiration, regency, or simply the power of the written word, these entries are a great read. Some are fun, some are very serious, and some are quite moving. You should check them out by scrolling through the site. Truly, there is something for everyone there.

For me, my entry can be read via this direct link… and it includes a flying DeLorean.

My own tribute novel to Ms. Austen, A Jane Austen Daydream, can be purchased in print ($13.46) or as an eBook for the outrageously low price of $3.99 for Kindle. You can find it on Amazon here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU).
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December 12, 2013

New WKAR Book Review: We Are Water by Wally Lamb
Today, on WKAR’s Current State I reviewed the new novel by popular writer Wally Lamb. It is called We Are Water. You can listen to my review online here:

http://wkar.org/post/book-review-wally-lambs-we-are-water

If you would rather read my book review, you can do so below.

We Are Water can be found on Amazon.com here. If you would like to hear/read more of my book reviews you can do so via my page for my Current State reviews here.

I hope you enjoy my new book review!

(more…)
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