Flying Free Won the Heart of Excellence!

Flying Free 

won the  

2110 Heart of Excellence 
Readers Choice Award 

in the Strong Romantic Elements Category!

And the Ancient City Romance Authors 

(RWA Chapter in St. Augustine, Florida)

sent me this gorgeous trophy. 

The only thing better would have been there to pick it up in person.

I think ACRA must have known that when I lived in the Keys

I loved to stay in St. Augustine and walk the old city 

and the beach on my way to the North. 

Flying Free by Amber Polo 

(Treble Heart Books)

Can a meat eating Texas advertising woman find love with a vegetarian Buddhist and get her pilot's license despite interference from her wacky Arizona airpark neighbors?

Reviews 

"...profound and high recommendation for general fiction readers searching for a quirky romance." Midwest Book Review

“[Polo] puts puts two complete opposites together and stirs the plot with a healthy dollop of conflict…Her amazing gift of creating vivid images with only a few words such as "When the cake was crumbs ..." is awesome. …a powerful, and sensually written, very heart-warming story that I'm certain will keep you turning the pages to find out the ending.” Long and Short Reviews 

“Have you ever read a book that entertained and opened your eyes to new and interesting facts? If not then I suggest you take a look at this one. A nifty, sweet story filled with planes, airpark life and a super sexy vegan Buddhist that anyone would find hard to resist. A heart warming tale about discovering what is really important in life.....sometimes a little later than you had hoped, but finding it just the same. Creative, quirky characters really set this story alive and give it a spark. Good work Ms. Polo a true enjoyment :)” Seriously Reviewed 

“Flying Free is a light and pleasant read. Spiritually pure Seth meets and falls for "let's get this job over with and get outta here" Lia. There are villains. There is mystery. And there is love that overcomes all. What I enjoyed about the book is the caring group of folks in the second half of life who live on Airpark Mesa near Sedona. It is there that Lia must learn to fly in order to inherit her late father's estate. The Airpark folks, whose passion is flying, building and maintaining small planes, seem very real. I was surprised to find myself learning interesting bits about the camaraderie of those who eat and sleep flying. There are villains. There is mystery. And there is love that overcomes all.” Story Circle Book Reviews, reviewing books by, for, and about women 

Read an except

Purchase in Print 
and e-formats.

For more information visit my website!

Logo by Connie Lee Marie

How to Host a Booksigning in an Airplane Hangar

Instructions:

   1. Send invitations to neighbors and friends
   2. Order great bookmarks
   3. Order fabulous cake with book cover on top
   4. Move airplane out of hangar
   5. Clean Hangar
   6. Borrow Tables and chairs
   7. Suggest that neighbors "might" be characters in the fictional book
   8. Find friend to handle the money
   9. Make a lot of coffee or delegate this job to a character in your book
  10. Welcome guests, circulate, drink coffee, and from time to time sign books
  11. Have people who have read the book walk around telling everyone how great it was
  12. Have a great time!
  13. Clean up and put the airplane back

Other supplies: plates, forks, and napkins. Juice, apples,
almonds for the healthier folk. Hot water and selection of
teas. Sugar and cream. Price list showing sales tax and
final book price. Cake server. Change.

Best  Tip 1: As people paid for each book, assistant placed a
heart-shaped sticky (Office Max) on each book with the name
of purchaser or the name of person the dedication should be
for. (This is a huge benefit and prevents confusion of what book
belongs to whom and how to sign the book.)

Best Tip 2: Keep prices simple. For Example:

Flying Free $11.95 + $1.02 + $12.97 (which we will call $13.00)

Romancing Rebecca $12.99 = $1.08 = $14.07 (which we will call $14.00)

When you invite the Mayor and Town Council of your town
whose only income comes from the sales tax, don't fudge.

Amber's Contest

Leave a comment to win a .pdf copy of Flying Free.

Contest ends Midnight 
Saturday, Oct. 3rd

Do I Write as an Excuse to Research?

This week's it's time to interview me!
What a great excuse to display the beautiful new cover for my romance, Flying Free, coming out next month from Treble Heart Books.

So Amber, as a novelist and recovering librarian, how do you research your books?

Thanks, Amber, I'm glad you asked that question.

Once upon a time, when I was a young librarian, I believed everything could be found in books. Now it's tempting to believe everything is available online.

When I started writing Romancing Rebecca, I knew this paranormal was going to be funny and set in Sedona. What could be funnier than a woman who falls for two men in the same body? So, I created my hero as a channeler who has a problem with welcome and unwelcome entities taking over his body. Actually, the plot is kind of ordinary by Sedona standards where shop clerks miss work because they’re out on Bell Rock waiting for an alien space ship.

I’d been around a lot of psychics and spiritual types, but when asked if I had seen someone channel, I had to answer “No.” I did some Internet research, then headed to the Sedona Public Library to select a variety of books from their shelves on channeling, from the popular Seth books to some how-to-do-it guides. I sampled, read, and listened to audiotapes to obtain a feel for the channeler’s language.

The books and tapes were helpful, but I still felt I was writing from second hand knowledge. The Well Red Coyote, my favorite Sedona bookstore, has local author workshops. When Summer Bacon, a slight blond channeler, went into a deep trance and turned into a believable fat old man who died in 1922, I was impressed.

I signed up for her channeling workshop and watched Summer go into two more trances and heard her discuss how she became a channeler. Finally I purchased her book, This School Called Planet Earth, and a DVD entitled, “The Incredible 10 Year Anniversary Open Session.” The DVD was the best. I could replay ten historical entities entering her body in a short period and watch the physical changes. I felt like I was there and after seeing her go into trances I was certain the video wasn’t a fake. I was ready to write Romancing Rebecca.

This week as I finished checking the galley for my new novel Flying Free I listed some of the research topics I pursued writing this book.

Of course I used books and websites but also maps, air charts, and my personal favorite, field trips. Here's a sampling: Montezuma Castle, Monument Valley, flying lessons, hand massage, experimental airplanes, Ninety Nines, Bisbee AZ, airplane crash investigations, saging, meditation, Native American pottery, brownie recipes, fear of flying, spiritual centers, moviemaking, CAM corders, County property records, rodeos, animal cruelty, advertising agencies, Arizona artifact laws, Alaska, Alaskan Malamutes, and father daughter relations.

Maybe I do write as an excuse to research a wide variety of topics.


Thanks, Amber, for taking time from your busy schedule to visit WordShaping. Good Luck with your new release. I'm looking forward to reading Flying Free, again.

You're welcome, Amber, it was fun! And don't forget to visit our website.