Tag Archives: Close Up Magic

Standing on the Verge: Another Release Day

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Today’s the day. Release day for Close Up Magic, yet another book I’m cutting the cord on and sending out into the bittersweet world of readers. I’ve called Close Up Magic the book of my dreams, the one I’ve always wanted to write, and it’s true. So today as I stand on the edge of the cliff getting ready to jump into who knows what, I know it matters a lot what happens from here. I’m throwing myself behind my book with all my weight. I’ve already started two more in this series, so the fate of Close Up Magic really does matter a lot. It’s time to put up or shut up.

Release day has to be nerve-wracking for all authors. You know, to the reader it’s another book to pick up or cast aside. But to us, it’s much more. It’s our heart and soul. It’s not ink that book is printed in. It’s blood and sweat and tears.

So here goes. One step and I’m off. Just one link to post and the ball is in your court. But before I do, I’d like to point out that advance readers and reviewers have said Close Up Magic is “magical”, “insightful”, “smart”, “fun to read”, “entertaining”, “humorous” and “passionate”, among other complimentary adjectives. I neither threatened these people nor paid them off, and none of them are related to me in any way. So maybe you’d like to check out Close Up Magic, and just in case you’re of the “try before you buy” mindset, you can read the entire Chapter 1 right here: Close Up Magic Chapter 1.

And with no further ado, here’s my leap. Buy Close Up Magic Now on Amazon!

Final note: Don’t forget to join me on Twitter and Facebook today for pictures of me in fabulous Las Vegas holding a copy of Close Up Magic! And check back a little later to find out who won the Kindle Paperwhite and the $20 Amazon gift card giveaways!

For the love of it: Reviews and the Writer

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Reviews. What would we writers do without them? It’s really the only method we have of getting into our readers’ heads for a glimpse an idea of what we’ve done that works…and what hasn’t. Just recently, I discovered a new review on my book Ducks in a Row that revealed a lot to me of how it’s been received. The reviewer wrote that the book’s subject matter put her as a reader in an uncomfortable place emotionally because it deals with a marriage in trouble and an extramarital affair. She winds up with what might be my favorite line from any review any of my books has ever received:

“I highly recommend this unsettling book.”

Why does that line appeal to me so much? One reason. I intended the reader to be unsettled. Not only by the subject matter, but by the emotions of my characters. Human beings are not perfect, and married ones can be less perfect than most. Marriage is hard work. No matter how idyllic your ideas about love and marriage might be, you remain human after you say your vows. And eventually you end up hurting each other in ways both large and small.

That was what my book was about and this reviewer got it.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been working hard to secure reviews for my contemporary romance Close Up Magic. It’s harder than you might think. For every ten people you offer a free copy of your book to, you might get three reviews.

That’s pretty darn understandable, if you consider that most book reviewers don’t actually get paid for what they do. They do it for the love of reading, whether they blog their reviews or just post them on Amazon and Goodreads. So when I ask somebody to review my book, I’m asking them for several hours of unpaid labor, for which I will pay them with my sincere thanks…and hopefully an enjoyable read.

To date, I have six reviews on Amazon and several more promised, so I’m not doing too bad. Here’s what some of the reviewers have said:

“Family and forgiveness play their own parts in Close Up Magic, both in ways that are insightful and also leave you with a sense of the good in humankind.” — Five stars

“The magic element of the book made it fun to read. I have always been a skeptic when it comes to magic, but the story had me believing that maybe Andre did have something special.” — Five stars

“Michelle Garren Flye does a fantastic job of putting her readers into the heads of each of her characters – her words making one feel so profoundly their desires, their reticence, their range of emotions as they fumble towards each other and true love.” — Five stars

“Close Up Magic is an enchanting story that will make the reader believe in romance and magic!” — Four stars

“An overall compelling and magical story that fans of contemporary romances are sure to enjoy.” — Four stars

“Whoa…I do believe in magic and the incredible ambience it creates in this wonderful romantic story.” — Four stars

My thanks to all my readers and especially all my reviewers!

If you’d like to read more from my reviewers of Close Up Magic, click here: Close Up Magic
If you’d like to read the whole review of Ducks in a Row, click here: Ducks in a Row

Join me June 1 for the Close Up Magic Release Day celebration!: What’s magic to YOU?

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Join me June 1 for Close Up Magic’s official release day celebration! It’ll be magic and books and magic books and…LAS VEGAS!!!…all day long. I’ll be posting pictures of me in magical Las Vegas locations all day on June 1. You’ll be able to find me on Facebook, Twitter and right here! Best of all, I want you to be part of the action. I’ve got a list of locations I want to visit in Las Vegas, but I want you to help me out. What about Vegas is magic to YOU? Is it the magicians? The casinos? The over-the-top architecture of places of like Caesar’s Palace and The Venetian? Leave me your suggestions of the best places to use as a backdrop for a picture of me holding Close Up Magic and I’ll do my very best to get there. Plus, if you suggest a place for me to go, I’ll enter you to win a $20 Amazon gift card that you can magically transform into merchandise from Amazon!

I will be posting on my blog all day, but here’s a list of other places where you can find me on June 1:
Twitter
Michelle Garren Flye Facebook Fan Page
Close Up Magic Facebook Fan Page

Look forward to seeing you there!

The Countdown: So Much to Do, So Little Time!! (Exciting news at the end!)

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June 1. The release of my contemporary romance novel Close Up Magic. I feel it coming like the blind curve in a roller coaster. You know the one at the top of the long climb that curves around a partition and you just can’t tell what’s past it? Yep. That’s the one. It might be a plunging fall, it might be more twists and turns. It might be a climb to a higher peak.

Oh my.

When I took on the quest of self-publishing the novel of my dreams, I don’t think I fully appreciated what I was doing. It’s so much easier to turn a book over to a publisher and let them do the work. Let me tell you three things I’ve discovered over the course of the past month.

1. If you’re really gonna do everything you can to sell a book, you’re not going to have time to write.
2. I can survive on four hours of sleep a night, but only if I don’t drink wine.
3. There are some really great people, both in the Twitter-verse and in my own back yard that are willing to help me.

Now that June 1 is right around the corner, I’m looking forward to breathing at least a little sigh of relief. Because no matter what I find around that blind curve, I’ll finally be AROUND it, you know? Success or failure or just more of the same awaits me there, and I plan to embrace it no matter what. Because at least I’ll be there.

So what have I been up to in the world of writing?

1. Finishing up my posts for the Close Up Magic virtual book tour starting on June 3. It’s gonna be loads of fun, so stay tuned!
2. Rounding up reviews. If you missed them, you can find links and excerpts to some of them on the Close Up Magic page of this blog. Here’s a link: Close Up Magic. There are also more on Goodreads and Amazon! BTW, you can also read the ENTIRE first chapter of Close Up Magic on the blog page!
3. Speaking of Goodreads, you can register to win a copy of Close Up Magic here: Goodreads Giveaway.
4. Finalizing and proofreading advance copies of Close Up Magic. I want it to be as perfect as possible for those who buy it!
5. Writing guest posts on friends’ blogs. Many thanks to my friends Zoe Dawson, Donna Steele, Nancy Lee Badger and all the wonderful romance authors at the Contemporary Romance Cafe for allowing me to voice my thoughts on their blogs over the past couple of months!
6. Organizing my thoughts about magic and some of my research in some interesting ways. Want to know more? Check out my Goodreads magic history quiz, my Listmania list of magic books, or my Close Up Magic Facebook Page.

Don’t forget you can still enter to win a Kindle Paperwhite! Like my Facebook Close Up Magic page, Tweet (and tag me) about my book Close Up Magic, post about my book Close Up Magic (and tag me) on Facebook or blog about my book Close Up Magic. Each one is an entry and you can enter as often as you like. Just make sure I know about it. Winner will be announced as soon as possible on June 1.

How can you make the Close Up Magic release day even more special?

Wonder of wonders, guess where I’m going to be on June 1? Las Vegas. The actual setting of my book! This has got to be fate. Karma. I absolutely did NOT plan it. My husband and I are going to Vegas for our anniversary, which just happens to fall at the end of May. And we’ll still be there June 1! I’ve been looking for places to visit in Vegas, which, as most people know, has a rich history in the business of magic. So far I’ve come up with a few, but I’d love to have some more suggestions. I’m inviting everyone who reads my blog to suggest a magical place for me to visit while I’m in Vegas. I’ll go to as many as I can, take a picture of me with the book and then Tweet and blog the pictures on June 1. And everyone who suggests a spot for me to visit gets entered into a drawing for a $20 Amazon gift card! Can’t beat that, can you? So come on, send me your suggestions! Email to michellegflye (at) gmail (dot) com, leave them on my Close Up Magic Facebook Page or right here in the comments!

The Magic of History: My Close Up Magic Facebook Page

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When I decided to write about magicians, I started out the way you’d expect: I started researching how it was done. With very little research on the internet, you can easily find out everything from how to do card tricks to how to vanish the Statue of Liberty. I found the simplicity of it both startling and disillusioning, and I realized something.

I don’t want to know this.

So I turned my attention from the “how to” articles on the internet to the “who did that and when” articles. The people who have populated the world of magic are fascinating. The pioneers of magic, the great illusionists, the tricksters, the card wizards…if they devoted their lives to the art of magic and making people believe, their stories still entertain.

And that’s what I’m putting on my Close Up Magic Facebook Page. Here’s today’s post:

In the 19th century, spiritualism, or the use of mediums to contact the dead on the spiritual plane, claimed a portion of the audience of many of the magicians of the time. Many so-called “mediums” used methods of illusion to convince their audiences that they could establish a connection with the spirits of dead loved ones. While spiritualism had its illustriuous followers including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Queen Victoria and possibly even three American presidents (Lincoln, Grant and Johnson), many magicians took it on themselves to debunk the mediums’ seances. Houdini held shows in which he recreated entire seances in order to expose spiritualism as a fraud.

If you’d like to check out some of my other posts, you can find them here: Close Up Magic Facebook Page.

Taking the Magic on the Road: Publicity Whirlwind Begins

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Okay, today I’m going to do my vanishing act again, but not before I say a few things:

1. I’m over at Nancy Lee Badger’s blog today being interviewed about Close Up Magic, why I write and what I’ll be doing next. Check it out and say hello!: Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Michelle Garren Flye.

2. You’ve probably noticed I’ve been conspicuously absent from here. That’s partly because I’ve been so busy writing guest blogs and interviews for next month’s release of Close Up Magic. I’ve also been having a great deal of fun over on Twitter making friends with some pretty interesting people who are making careers out being magicians. I’ve even started a little thing I call “Magic Hour” at four o’clock a few days a week. I haven’t actually established a schedule for it yet. It’s when I think I’ve got time to come up with some good tweets about and retweets from my magician friends. And also, I’ll admit, a fun way to promote my book.

3. If you haven’t read my interview with magician and filmmaker R. Paul Wilson yet, you’ll want to. I “met” him on Twitter, saw his fantastic short film “The Magic Box” and heard about his latest project “Our Magic” all on Twitter. You can find the interview here: R. Paul Wilson Interview.

4. I also had a bit of fun making a new video for Close Up Magic on Vine. Check it out here: Close Up Magic Vine Promo. Vine, I’ve found, is fun and nerve-wracking and not for those with control issues.

5. Finally, I miss my musing mornings over here, but I’ve resigned myself to having most of my fun elsewhere for a while. And it is fun. I enjoy talking to other people about magic and romance and writing. And with a little luck, it’ll mean more people finding my books and liking them. So I’ll work hard on keeping this page up-to-date on where I am and when, and you guys come join me when you can!

Musings on Magic Memories and a Few Announcements without Alliteration

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I’ve been reading some “how-to” type books about magic and it got me thinking. When did I really get interested in magic? It feels like I’ve always been fascinated by magical things, and I can’t ever pass up a magic show, whether it’s on the corner of a street fair or at a birthday party or in Las Vegas. If somebody wants to get my attention, they just need to whip out a pack of cards and tell me to pick one.

But when did it all begin? Well, I’ve mentioned the magic show my mother took me to way back when I was a little girl. I was probably about five or so, because the memory is very dim, as if most of the lights are out in that particular room of my memory attic. I remember bits and pieces of the show. I think he may have pulled some animal or other out of a hat…maybe a rabbit, maybe a dove. I know I remember the rings because they glittered and fascinated me. But the best–and worst–part of the show was the end.

All the little kids had been told to pick a carpet square to sit on in the front of the audience. Normally I was a timid thing that wouldn’t have wanted to leave my mother’s side, but I had done it for this show. I wanted to see the magician and his beautiful assistant up close. I think the carpet square I selected was tiger striped, but my memory may have added that. I know I was sitting stage left.

For the finale, the magician announced one of us was sitting on a magic carpet and his assistant would come down and get us and help us make the carpet fly. Of course this was very exciting to a room full of children. Who was the lucky one? To my childish amazement, the assistant came directly to me, led me onto the stage and handed me over to the magician.

He probably asked me some questions. I can’t really remember. I’m sure he asked my name and how old I was. I think he asked me if I wanted to fly. I do remember he lifted me onto a carpeted table and told me to sit very still and close my eyes. And not to open my eyes until he told me I could. Of course I obeyed. I was no rebel. I’d been taught to behave myself and listen to adults. Of course, if I’d opened my eyes, I might never have believed in magic again, because I probably would have seen the trick.

And that’s the real magic I remember from that day. Of the fifty or so kids in the audience, how did he and/or his assistant know to pick me? I might have been the only child out there too timid to do anything other than what the adults told her to. Most kids would peek. Most kids would open their eyes unless you duct-taped them shut. My daughter would. But I would never have thought to do such a thing, and so I sat still, eyes tight shut while I heard the audience ooh and aah and clap. And then the magician, smiling in triumph no doubt, helped me down and told me to take a bow.

That’s not just my favorite magic memory. It’s one of my favorite childhood memories, and it’s definitely the beginning of my lifelong love for magic.

On to the announcements.

You may notice some slight changes to my blog. On the right side of your screen, you’ll see a lovely new JPEG announcing my virtual book tour in June. Watch this space for my blog tour engagements. I’ll get them up soon.

Also, I’m thrilled to announce I’ll be hosting fellow romance author Donna Steele, who’ll be discussing her newest release and writing and whatever else she takes a mind to this Friday. Meanwhile, I plan to insinuate myself into her blog over at SteeleStories.com and blab about magic and Close Up Magic and whatever I can get anyone to listen to. Hope you’ll check in both places and say hey!

Finally, a reminder! You can still enter to win the Kindle Paperwhite. Enter as often as you like. You can enter by tweeting about Close Up Magic and tagging me (@michellegflye), liking the Close Up Magic Facebook Page, posting about Close Up Magic on your Facebook page and tagging me or the Close Up Magic Facebook Page, blogging about Close Up Magic…etc. I’m doing my best to catch every entry, but go ahead and make it hard for me! I like a challenge.

Having Fun With Magic…Wanna Join Me? Contest!

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Dedication page of Close Up Magic

Dedication page of Close Up Magic


As I mentioned earlier, for the next couple of months, I’ll be tweeting magic, blogging magic, posting on Facebook about magic and generally having lots of fun. And I want you to join in the fun.

I’ve decided to give away a Kindle Paperwhite on June 1 to celebrate the publication of Close Up Magic. To sweeten the deal, I’ll also gift you my books Weeds and Flowers and Ducks in a Row, both of which have very good reviews on Amazon. If you’d like to enter, here’s how to do it:

1. Leave me a comment here or on one of my other magic-related posts.
2. Like Close Up Magic on Facebook. (If you’ve already done this, you’re automatically entered.)
3. Tweet about Close Up Magic and tag me @michellegflye.
4. Join me on one of my guest posts between now and June 1 (I have four lined up and I’ll announce them later on).
5. Post on Facebook about Close Up Magic and tag me.
6. Mention Close Up Magic on your blog and email me a link at michellegflye at gmail dot com.

You can enter as many times as you like. The point is, I love talking to people, and this should be a great conversation starter!

I’ve already been hard at work promoting Close Up Magic, although my silence over here might seem to indicate otherwise. You see, while researching Close Up Magic, I accumulated a lot of unusable but fascinating data. And I’ve decided to put it to work. Everyday I post a little tidbit of the history of magic over on the Facebook fan page I made for Close Up Magic. For instance, just this morning, I posted about the first magician to perform the Sawing a Woman in Half illusion. Don’t know? Head on over and find out: Close Up Magic Fan Page. And tell your friends!

You see, writing Close Up Magic was so much fun, I figure promoting it should be too. It’s all bringing back to me that original childhood excitement I felt when I saw my first magician at the age of five and he made me fly on a magic carpet. I had a string of magic sets as a child. Each time I got one, I was certain I could become the most famous woman magician of all time (more about women’s place in magic on my Facebook page this week). Of course, that never materialized. I always turned to a book to read or a story to write, but, hey, it was fun while it lasted, right? And maybe this is my contribution to the world of magic.

Close Up Magic to be released June 1

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CloseUpMagicI’m a little behind the eight ball in putting the cart before the horse here (ahem) because I couldn’t wait for my blog to catch up to my progress! I’m in the last stages of getting my new book, Close Up Magic, ready for readers, and I’m super excited about this one. It’s not that it’s deep or has anything to do with anything real in my life. In fact, it’s a pretty superficial, straightforward romance. And it’s set in Las Vegas, not North Carolina!

Every book I’ve published so far is a story that wanted to be written. I often feel like I have very little to do with them other than fixing a word or two here and there. I hear other writers talk about the “craft” of writing, and I try to relate it to the process I go through. I don’t create story arcs. I create the characters and they tell me their stories. I’ve found that the further I delve into what makes my characters tick, the easier their stories are to tell.

I may be digressing, but that’s what I went through for Close Up Magic, so I’m going to leave it. The moment I decided to write a romance with a magician hero, Andre Hawke began to form in my mind. Because of my lifelong crush on David Copperfield, he started out looking like a young David, but before I knew it, his eyes changed color, he gained weight, got brawnier…all good stuff, no insult intended to Mr. Copperfield, who remains the epitome of a magician in my mind. I gave Andre quite a colorful family background (and yes, he hails from North Carolina. I had to get that little tribute to my home state in!), and of course, nothing can bring on trouble and controversy quite like family!

Bring on brassy, sexy, hard-boiled reporter Stacey Matthewson. She’s the type of reporter I always wished I could be, but I was too timid and accommodating to do manage it. Stacey knows what it takes to get her story, and she’s willing to do it, even when it comes to exposing her own idol’s darkest secrets. Stacey hasn’t had much reason to believe in magic in her lifetime. She’s got family problems of her own, a career that may be going down the wrong path and one last chance to redeem herself. But then Andre Hawke, the only man who’s ever persuaded her to believe in magic, offers her a chance to go another way, and she finds she’d rather help him than get another story. And that’s just the beginning of their story.

For the next couple months, I’ll be writing and thinking and breathing magic around here, and I’ll probably be posting a couple of excerpts from Close Up Magic, too, but if you can’t wait, click on the cover picture and you’ll be magically transported to a preview, featuring the first half of the first chapter of Close Up Magic.

Writer Beware? My thoughts on Amazon’s return policy…and a review. :)

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Authors are petitioning Amazon to change their return policy on ebooks, and an unfortunate line has been drawn between writers and readers.

I signed the petition, not because I have a huge problem with people returning my books, but because I see why it was started. Currently, Amazon allows the return of an ebook within seven days of purchase. Readers say it is a fair policy, even if they’ve read the book, if they find the book is sub-par for some reason. And most readers don’t abuse the policy, it’s true. But the fact remains that the loophole is there, and some people will abuse it. Many people won’t even think of it as cheating. Remember back when women used to buy a dress, tuck the tags out of sight, wear it and return it the next day? How many of those women would have been shocked if you’d called them a thief? Most, I’m betting.

Most stores have now put a stop to this sort of practice. My last purchase from Nordstrom’s came with a red tag attached in a conspicuous place which, after removal, rendered my dress non-returnable. Good for Nordstrom’s!

Maybe I feel the way I do about this petition because I do not a have a “borrower’s” frame of mind, which is weird since I have a master’s in library and information sciences, right? But I don’t go to the library on a regular basis now that I don’t work there, and I HATE library fines, so I frequent book stores (and Amazon) instead. I buy my kids books and exchange them at the secondhand bookstore after they’ve outgrown them. I buy myself NOOK and Kindle books. And yes, a few of those have been regrettable. I did not return those.

To the readers I may have offended by signing the petition, I ask that you look at my side of the fence. I am a reader and I am raising readers. I am a librarian, and I believe in libraries. I have no real problem with Amazon’s lending feature, either, although I don’t utilize it. But if you buy an ebook you need to understand something. Whether the author is J.K. Rowling or me, a lot of work went into that book, and if you buy it and return it after you’ve read it, you’re stealing.

CloseUpMagicPersonally, I believe in giving readers lots of chances to read my stuff before they purchase one of my books. That’s why I post excerpts on my blog, have a Free Fiction Page, and have been known to give away books. I currently have four copies of Weeds and Flowers up for grabs on Goodreads, for instance, and I’ve given away four copies of Ducks in a Row over there recently. Over the course of the next couple months, I’m going to be promoting my new release Close Up Magic. I’ll be posting excerpts and quotes and (hopefully) a few advance reviews. I’m going to give you lots of chances to decide if you want to read the whole book before you hit that all important “Buy” button.

And I’m going to be hoping that those who do hit the “Buy” button will take into account that I gave up sleep to write this book. I cursed and sweated and bled on the pages. I endured a lot to bring those voices to life. Don’t cheat me out of the few dollars I earn off each copy I sell.

For an advance preview of Close Up Magic, click here.

In Other News

I was fortunate enough to obtain another review of Ducks in a Row the other day. Steph at Book-A-Holic Anon gave it 4.5 stars! Here’s a little taste of the review and a link, if you’re interested in checking it out:

“…a tragic story in some ways with a glimmer of hope that even at our bleakest moments real love can conquer all.”
—Book-A-Holic Anon

Steph is brutally honest in her review that Ducks may offend some readers. And it might. I knew it when I wrote it, but the story wanted to be told. This review might be one of the best I’ve ever read of one of my books, because it was honest, blunt and to the point. And beyond that, she really got what the book was about. The above quote sums the story up perfectly. I love it when a reviewer really understands where I was coming from because it means I did my job as a writer. Thank you, Steph, for giving me that moment.