Meet Author Stacy Juba and Her Latest Novel ~ Sink or Swim

Today we get to meet Stacy Juba.  I love reading the interviews, learning more about what makes this author tick, how much alike or different I am. 

Read on and get to know Stacy Juba.
 

And don't forget her excerpt from Sink or Swim will be here Saturday.

SJ: Hey L.A, thanks so much for having me as a guest on your blog. 

LA: I'm so pleased you're here today. How much time do you spend promoting your books? What works best for you? 

SJ: I go through cycles of intense promoting and then I get into a maintenance mode for awhile where I can cut back on marketing and focus on writing. During an average month, I'll spend about an hour per day on marketing tasks such as Twitter, Facebook, blogging, doing interviews, guest blogs, networking with other authors, and coordinating ads. During a big promotional campaign, I might spend a few hours per day for over a month on marketing tasks. 

LA: What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help? Use a publicist?

SJ: I've worked as a publicist so I do it all myself though I belong to some wonderful author networking groups where we help each other out. I've developed campaigns such as the Who Killed Diana Ferguson campaign for my mystery novel Twenty-Five Years Ago Today. I had a series of paid ads and supplemented the ads with blog posts revolving around my murder victim Diana Ferguson as well as a lot of tweeting. I participate on tweet teams with other authors and am active on the blogger community Triberr, in which tribe members share each other's posts on Twitter. I focus on giving different books center stage at different times. For example, I do a lot of promotion for my children's book The Flag Keeper, and my Teddy Bear Town Children's Bundle (which includes The Flag Keeper) in June leading up to Flag Day and July 4th.   

LA: What is your writing routine like? 

SJ: I use an outline and try to stick to the outline for the most part. I know exactly what scenes are coming up when I sit down to write. Sometimes I'll meet another writer friend at the library and we'll write for a few hours, and sometimes I'll type on my AlphaSmart word processor and then send the file to my computer. I get more done when I'm away from my main computer, as I can get easily distracted by marketing.

LA: Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?
SJ: The most rewarding thing is seeing five star reviews from readers who loved the book and they say they're going to look for my other books! 

LA: What themes do you like to write about?
SJ: I write a lot about young women finding themselves and getting on the right life path. My mysteries/romantic suspense novels Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim, for example, are both about young women in their mid-twenties who are at a crossroads about what to do next. The safe, keep-doing-what-they're-doing road will lead to the same discontent, but the other road of taking a chance and going in a new direction leads to the scary unknown. Twenty-Five Years Ago Today also deals with themes of guilt and redemption, while Sink or Swim focuses on trusting others and having the courage to take a risk and "sink or swim."
LA: What is the first thing you do when you begin a new book?

SJ: I sit down and fill out character sketches for the most important characters and determine their strengths, weaknesses and how they need to grow and change by the end of the book. Then I focus on plot and write an outline, but I make sure to track character development in the outline alongside the plot.

LA: You’re having a dinner party. What character from your novel do you hope doesn’t show up? Why?

SJ: Spike, Cassidy's weasly boss from the health club Spike's Muscle Madness in Sink or Swim. He's just annoying. And he has tanning beds in his club, and those are unhealthy as they significantly raise the risk of skin cancer. We'd get in an argument over the ethics of putting a tanning bed in a club that's supposed to be devoted to improving health. Cassidy has that argument with him all the time.

LA: Coffee, tea or other?

SJ: I don't like coffee as it gives me heartburn and I just drink tea if I have a cold. I tend to mostly drink ice water though lemonade is a special treat!

LA: Ha, I get heartburn and still drink the stuff :)  What is your Favorite Chore?

SJ: As my husband will tell you, I don't have a favorite chore....
LA: Societal pet peeve … sound off.

SJ: Children using social networking sites such as Instagram and having hundreds of followers. Children and teens taking their devices out in public and spending the entire time texting and playing games rather than focusing on who they're with. Killing time while waiting for a doctor's appointment is one thing but I see them immersed in it during social functions with friends and family. While technology is wonderful and has helped me as an author, there are drawbacks. I'm really concerned that kids are being robbed of their childhoods.

LA: Children and adults!  When writing, do you listen to music?

SJ: I can't listen to music when I write. I need it quiet to concentrate. But when I'm marketing, I do sometimes listen to Bon Jovi, Katy Perry, and Aerosmith to break up the monotony!

 

 

 

BLURB:
It's hard enough being famous and not rich. When a stalker enters the picture, reality TV has never seemed so real. Ambitious personal trainer Cassidy Novak has gained fame for starring on Sink or Swim, a hit reality show. Not only does she lose and have to walk the plank, but after the game show ends, the terror begins. Upon returning home, Cassidy discovers she has attracted a stalker masterminding his own twisted game. She struggles to focus on her health club job and celebrity endorsement opportunities, but her stalker has other plans.

As her former competitors get knocked off one-by-one, Cassidy refuses to play by the stalker's bizarre rules. She's also being shadowed by hunky cowboy photographer Zach Gallagher, who has been assigned to capture her personal moments for a spread in the local newspaper. She wants to trust the mysterious Zach, yet fears he may not be what he seems. When the stalker forces a showdown, Cassidy must once again walk the plank...this time for her life.

A #1 Kindle Bestseller in the Women Sleuths and Romantic Suspense Categories, a Nook Top 100 Bestseller, and a fun beach read endorsed by contestants from Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race.

Links to Buy Sink or Swim:

Amazon http://ow.ly/kEygv
Barnes & Noble http://ow.ly/kEywi
Kobo http://ow.ly/kEz7K
iBookstore http://ow.ly/kEzdS
Audible: http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_5?asin=B00CO9M4J0&qid=1367976480&sr=1-5
Full list at: http://stacyjuba.com/blog/books-2/sink-or-swim/

BIO:

Stacy Juba has made numerous bestseller lists including GalleyCat’s Barnes & Noble Bestsellers and GalleyCat’s Mystery and Thriller Bestsellers. She has written about reality TV contestants targeted by a killer, an obit writer investigating a cold case, teen psychics who control minds, twin high school hockey stars battling on the ice, and teddy bears learning to raise the U.S. flag. She pursues whatever story ideas won't leave her alone. Browse her website www.stacyjuba.com for more information on her books for adults, teens, and children.

FIND STACY AT:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stacy-Juba/100155471301
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stacyjuba

 

Don't forget to come back Saturday for Stacy's excerpt from Sink or Swim!