Come See Me at Chesapeake College

For those of you in the Maryland area, I will be visiting Chesapeake College on April 16th for a Poetry Panel. Myself, along with two other local poets, will be taking part in numerous poetically themed events throughout the afternoon.

I will be presenting numerous pieces, including ones from my upcoming book, I Am. You can check out the trailer for that here.

I hope you can make it out to the college and meet me!

If you’d like more information, please contact me and I will answer your questions.

3:30 AM

3:30 AM
and I am awaiting the hallucinogenic memories
that slip into my dreams
like we slid,
slick, hot bodies,
across the yellow vinyl of that ugly couch.

3:32 AM
and you are my gateway drug,
the little pill I pop under my tongue
while the shadow growth on your face
rubs a passionless rash
across my cheek.

3:35 AM
and I am as flat and stiff beneath you
as a carcass under the steady,
sharp beak of a vulture,
I pull away from you,
scalded by your touch.

3:48 AM
and your breathing has deepened
to the steady rhythm of slumber
and I dream of yellow vinyl couches
and the first time you slid,
slick, hot body, and shattered me like an ancient mosaic.

I just finished a book, The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve, and without spoiling the story for you, because it is amazing and you should read it, the main character spoke numerous times about passion leaving a relationship as the time past. It inspired this piece, along with the wordle from MindLoveMisery’sMenagerie.

Don’t forget to sign up for my mailing list and receive your free I Am Coloring Book!

Photo by Ales Krivec, Unsplash

Design by Book Genesis

I AM – Official Trailer

I hope you enjoy my new book trailer for my upcoming book, I Am! More info to come soon on a pre-sale date!

Remember to sign up for my mailing list, if you haven’t already for a monthly newsletter with exclusive information on my upcoming works, submissions, sales, signings, and other cool stuff! For a limited time, when you sign up you’ll receive a free downloadable coloring book.

Call for Submissions

How would you like to earn yourself a free e-book?

That’s a silly question. Everyone loves free. And this free is super easy to earn.

I’m looking for submissions to help with my book launch. All you have to do is fill in the blank:

I am ___________________.

I want honest, brutal, poetic truths. I want you to tell me exactly what you would say about yourself. You can look at this image I made up with words others choose to fill in the blank to get some ideas.

How to submit:

a short video (10-30 seconds) saying your line
a photo of you holding your line written on a paper or poster
tweet your line with the hashtag #IAM to @LauraAshleyLord

You can send your submissions over to lauraashleylord@gmail.com and when release day hits you’ll get your free e-book in the mail!

Told you it was easy.

Coming Soon! I AM!

Some of you may have noticed the facelift I gave my site a few months ago. A big part of that change was adding in the big announcement for I AM. I’m really excited about this book and have been working my butt off on it.

Now, I’m at that point all writers can relate to: I don’t want to look at this book for one more minute! I have edited and trashed and scratched and added and changed and read and read and read…I’m sick of it!

That’s where you come in.

I am looking for 20 reviewers.

Why 20? Well Amazon has this whole magic number thing and 20 seems to be it, so until there are 20 reviews on a book it doesn’t show up much in searches. And that’s every Indie author’s goal – to have their book show up when people are looking!

Here’s all the fun info:
– I’m only looking for 20 readers. 20. 2-0. That’s it.
– You get a free e-book copy of my newest book BEFORE it is out for public sale.…
– You get to take part in a super fun Group Google Chat where you can ask me about writing, poetry, whatever you want with the exception of my social security number or first pet’s name.
– I’ll share with you my Secret Guide to Publishing Every Year and Writing Every Day.
– You’ll agree to review my book on Amazon THE DAY it releases live.
– You get a guest post on my blog to share your works in progress, press releases, upcoming books, or advertisements for current sellers.
– You’ll take part in the overwhelming share fest that day so we can drown the web in posts…LOL Not quite that dramatic, but you’ll be given awesome images from Book Genesis to send around the web and share.

So what do you say? Who wants a free copy of my book?

5 Ways to Love Your Self-Published Author

Creative Commons - Caterina.Appia — Creative Commons – Caterina.Appia

By nature, the writing world is a lonely place. Authors need friends and companionship and a community, not only to draw inspiration from, but to help support them in a field that doesn’t exactly make it easy. Here’s what you should keep in mind about your self-publishing friend:

Most likely, they are doing it all on their own. All the writing, the editing, the designing, the promotion, the promotion, the promotion.
They think what they have written is the absolute best thing out there right now. It’s new. It’s daring. It’s theirs, and they’ve been working their butts off on it for so long they forgot their own kid’s birthday until the last moment.
They’ve probably spent more money on the book then they care to admit.
They are basically tossing 50,000 some words out into the ether and praying that out of the millions of titles on Amazon, someone picks theirs.

It all sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it?

So, how DO you love a self-published author?

Read it. I mean, if you hate the genre they write, then there is little helping that, but if you can, read it. They want to talk to people about their work and it would help if you could comment on more than the cover they basically paid an arm and a leg for online.
Share it. The biggest compliment any author can get is someone sharing or recommending their books to others. It’s the equivalent of telling a manager at a restaurant that you just got excellent service from Jane over there and you’ll be coming back again. That just makes everyone feel good.
Review it. A review is complete confirmation that your author friend is on the right track. It is a public praise that brings in more readers. It’s like having the play list posted and finding your name in big letters next to the leading role. It’s important to your friend to know what people really think.
Be patient. Your self-publishing friend is convinced that this time, the two hundred and thirty-third time they’ve shared a post on social media about their book is THE ONE. This post will go viral. This post will get them noticed. This post will lead to a contract or an agent. Be patient with them and try not to get annoyed by the spamming.
Be understanding. This book is like a newborn baby to your self-publishing friend. They have been working on it for so long, and at the end of day they just want someone to pat them on the back and say, “It’s beautiful. You did a good job.”

AVAILABLE NOW! Mirrored Voices: Best Contemporary Poetry

I always consider it such an honor to be asked to submit my writing, and am thankful to be able to promote this collection of very talented poets from all over the globe. A big thank you to Paul Morabito for tracking me down and asking me to participate. I’m honored to be included with all of you!

Please, help support Indie Authors and grab a copy today! Don’t forget to leave a review (that’s the bread and butter for us)!

AVAILABLE NOW

This combined poetic anthology embraces free thinking of the untapped mind and spirit. The vast array of best contemporary poets from around the globe share their voices together in harmony. Various styles and thoughts flourish amongst the pages, bringing emotions to life and creating beauty from nothingness. The writers included in this collection have been selectively chosen to represent the best modern talent of the age. The list of extraordinary poets featured within include such great talent as Paul Morabito, Aric Cushing, Jason P. Hein, Laura Madeline Wiseman, Regina Puckett, Laura Crean, R.M Romarney, Clarissa Simmens, Mark Green, Irum Zahra, Laura A. Lord, Regis McCafferty, Roberto Carlos Martinez, Linda Dobinson, Robert G. Brown, Carolyn O’Connell, Sherry Rentschler, Ben Ditmars, Christopher Meesto Erato, Jill Roberts, Dr. Leesa Abbott, Nichia Morales, Andrea McKenzie Raine, Koyel Mitra, Helle Gade, Terri Cannon, Jerome Michael Bailey, Harika Kottakota, Hafsa Idrees and Kristy Rulebreaker.

FIVE STARS: Great Variety and Talent

“A great collection of authors and a wide variety of poems! There is sure to be something in this book for everyone.”

– Jason Hein

Of Roots and Wreckage Launch!

This has been, by far, the best book launch ever. You…all of you…have made this possible. I won’t bore you with all my slobbery sappiness today, just know that you are all the best fans ever. Ever.

Let’s get to the winner of our super, awesome, Ultimate Giveaway!

And the winner is…

Melissa Senecal

@SweetMelissaFla

And the Rafflecopter winner is…

Eli Pacheco

Thank you to everyone who participated! For everyone who didn’t win on this particular giveaway, you can get your copy of my newest book on Amazon today!

You can get your copy today! Here on Amazon!

Still want to help out? Click the image above to send out a tweet letting everyone know where they can get their own copy of Of Roots and Wreckage!

One More Day

It’s the very LAST day for entries! Get them in while you still can!

Click this image to send out a tweet and let everyone know we’re counting down! I’ll be tracking the tag #wrecktheroots and adding everyone who uses it to an ultimate giveaway! Each time you use the tag, you’ll be entered again! There’s no limit to how many times you can be entered.

The Ultimate Giveaway

a copy of Of Roots and Wreckage, signed

a copy of Wake Up a Woman, signed

a copy of History of a Woman, signed

a copy of The Telling, signed

a copy of Perjury, signed

a free download of Rumble Strip

a free e-book of Loving in Shadow

a Google hangout chat with the author

Want a chance to be the second awesome winner of this giveaway? That’s right! I’m giving away two of these packages! Click below to enter my Rafflecopter giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Two More Days

You all are the best street team an author could ever hope for. Please know you are appreciated. Now let’s earn more entries!

The Ultimate Giveaway

a copy of Of Roots and Wreckage, signed

a copy of Wake Up a Woman, signed

a copy of History of a Woman, signed

a copy of The Telling, signed

a copy of Perjury, signed

a free download of Rumble Strip

a free e-book of Loving in Shadow

a Google hangout chat with the author

Want a chance to be the second awesome winner of this giveaway? That’s right! I’m giving away two of these packages! Click below to enter my Rafflecopter giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Three More Days

Only three more days! Are you excited? I’m freaking out over here.

The Ultimate Giveaway

a copy of Of Roots and Wreckage, signed

a copy of Wake Up a Woman, signed

a copy of History of a Woman, signed

a copy of The Telling, signed

a copy of Perjury, signed

a free download of Rumble Strip

a free e-book of Loving in Shadow

a Google hangout chat with the author

Want a chance to be the second awesome winner of this giveaway? That’s right! I’m giving away two of these packages! Click below to enter my Rafflecopter giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway