Five Secrets from Author Kathleen Kaska

Holey moley (you'll get it when you read on.) These secrets are fun and I'm dying to know the answer to #5.  Welcome back, Kathleen Kaska. 

She'll also be a guest on our Cozy Mystery week, April 3-8. Don't miss it.

Hi Kathleen) please tell us Five Secrets we may not know about you, but will after today!

1. I have a personal editor whom I’ll call Evelyn. She resides in my subconscious and analyzes what I’ve written while I sleep. Sometimes she wakes me up in the middle of the night to let me know I misused a word. For example: “Are you sure you want to use the word cockatoo? You can’t drink a cockatoo, but you can drink a cocktail. I’m just saying.” Or she’ll suggest a way to fix a writing problem. “You should consider shortening the first chapter by leaving out the bird-watching story. You can use that later.” Sometimes the message I receive is a reminder. “Did you send the new cover-image for your guest blog post to Leslie?” Evelyn is never wrong. I often wonder why she doesn’t tell me about all my errors and make even more suggestions; then I realize that if she did, I’d never get any sleep.

2. Since I began running marathons four years ago, I’ve secretly wanted qualify for the Boston Marathon. It seems a pie-in-the-sky goal. I’d have to shave off a minute per mile. So I’ll make my secret wish public—and maybe it will come true.

3. While I was good Catholic schoolgirl, I went to confession once a month—as if I had any choice. The nuns marched us from the school to the church and lined us up in front of the confessional. I made my first confession at the age of seven. I couldn’t think of any sins I’d committed so I made some up. If I’d told the priest I hadn’t committed any sins, he might have told Sister Leonardo and she would’ve made my life hell. I left church terrified because I’d broken The Eighth Commandment—in confession! Later I realized the irony of the situation. The absolution I received included being forgiven for lying about lying.

4. My new release, Run Dog Run, was the very first mystery I wrote. I finished the first draft fifteen years ago. It came close to being published several times, but no cigar. I finally put it on the back burner and let it simmer for a few years. The manuscript has been revised and updated so many times I almost have the thing memorized. Two years ago, I updated it again (for technology changes faster than automobile designs) and sent it out. Black Opal Books sent me a contract, and there you have it.

5. Okay, here’s my deepest, darkest secret: I always wanted to be as smart as Hedy Lamarr, as gorgeous as Marilyn Monroe, and as sultry as Lauren Bacall. One out of three ain’t bad. Which one will always remain a secret.

A peek at Run Dog Run:

After five years in Africa researching the decline of elephant populations, Kate Caraway’s project comes to a screeching halt when she shoots a poacher and is forced to leave the country. Kate and her husband, Jack Ryder, travel to Wimberley, Texas for a much-needed rest. But before Kate even has a chance to unpack, her friend’s daughter pleads for Kate’s assistance. The young woman has become entangled in the ugly world of greyhound abuse and believes Kate is the only one with the experience and tenacity to expose the crime and find out who is responsible. On the case for only a few hours, Kate discovers a body, complicating the investigation by adding murder to the puzzle. Now she is in a race against time to find the killer before she becomes the next victim . . .

Buy:
Amazon

Bio:

Kathleen Kaska writes the award-winning Sydney Lockhart mysteries set in the 1950s and the award-winning Classic Triviography Mystery Series, which includes The Sherlock Holmes Triviography and Quiz Book.  Her nonfiction book, The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The Robert Porter Allen Story (University Press of Florida) was published in 2012.

When she is not writing, Kathleen, a native Texan, spends much of her time traveling the backroads and byways with her husband, looking for new venues for her mysteries and bird watching along the Texas coast and beyond. It was her passion for birds that led to the publication The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane.

Find Kathleen:
Website | Twitter |  Facebook

Take Five With Author Dena Garson

It's a joy to meet new authors & learn about what makes/helps/inspires them to write.

Please welcome Dena Garson and her latest release (yesterday!) When Ash Remains. Sounds fascinating.

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Dena Garson.  Tell us, what inspired you to write your book When Ash Remains?

Two things come to mind – the first thing was a dear friend of mine who suggested (nagged) me to write a story with Native American characters. He just couldn’t understand why I hadn’t drawn on my family roots and done it yet. When I came across the myths about the Skinwalker a light went on in my head. I knew what I had to write about.

Have you been a lifelong reader of paranormal and historical romance?  What are some the first books you remember reading?

I have been a lifelong reader but didn’t discover the romance genre until high school. One of the early books I remember reading was Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. If you can believe it, I still have those books because they are beautiful hardbacks and my mother made sure they weren’t abused.

My addiction to the romance genre started with the Zebra Historical Romances that were passed to me from my grandmother (courtesy of her sister’s monthly subscription service). I remember devouring the books like candy.

What do you do to rev your creative juices?

Reading does more to stir my author creative juices than anything else. Although – if I’m needing inspiration for a craft project, Pinterest is hard to beat!

To you what makes a great romance hero or heroine (you choose or answer both)?

There is nothing better in a romance than a hero who is capable of taking on any villain or death-defying task and coming out on top, yet when he is at his most vulnerable there is only one person in the world he will let near him or show his true nature to – his heroine.

And at the same time, that heroine would die to protect his vulnerability.

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

The villain because, well… I can’t say why because it gives too much away. I’ll just leave say the villain has some issues they never worked through and their choices to resolve them aren’t good for everyone else.

Give us a brief summary of When Ash Remains:

It’s a story about a warrior who is tracking the person who slaughtered his cousin. During his search, he meets an unusual woman from another tribe who can supposedly talk with spirits. It’s an unlikely pairing since he doesn’t believe in anything he can’t see or touch, and therefore hunt. They end up working together to find the killer and fall in love in along the way.

Buy Links: (limit 3 please. Imbedded if possible)

Amazon | B&N | iBooks 

Bio:

Dena Garson is an award-winning author of contemporary, paranormal, fantasy, and sci-fi romance. She holds a BBA and a MBA in Business and works in the wacky world of quality and process improvement. Making up her own reality on paper is what keeps her sane.

She is the mother of two rowdy boys, two rambunctious cats (AKA the fuzzy jerks), and a loving Labrador. When she isn't writing you can find her at her at the sewing machine or stringing beads. She is also a devoted Whovian and Dallas Cowboys fan.

Find Dena: 

Website | Blog | Facebook | Facebook Author Page | Twitter | Goodreads | YouTube | Google+ | Pinterest

Mental Can Openers & Writer's Hash: A Mugging on Market Street

 This month, Brad Leach brings us his musing via a story: 
A Mugging on Market Street.
And yeah, I read it more than once. Wowzer. 

      

      Dreams.  They get lost, get hurt.  When they do, I step in.  I’m a dream private-eye.

      It was all clouds and snow when the old fellow slipped into my office and perched on the chair’s edge with all the confidence of a Swiss candlemaker at Edison’s lightbulb convention.  He dripped.  Claimed he was a writer.  Looked more like a ‘wanna be’, but his money’s green so I listened.

      Fresh from Nine-to-fiveville, he was eager to settle in Write-now City.  He dreamed of being the next Tolkien or Lewis, yada, yada, yada.  I’ve heard the story.

      He said things started out well.  Found a girl called Musie, a slot in a brownstone, a keyboard.  Claimed six months in, his dream got mugged.  I pressed for details.

      He didn’t know much.  Musie said some agent dragged his dream to a platform and caught a blog-train.  Said all dreams have to go down to Market and Madison Avenue.  It never came back.  He eventually found it registered in the intensive care ward, down at General.  Wanted me to find out what happened.  I already had a pretty good idea.

                                   

           I caught a cab down to Madison.  Big lights, big boards, big promises.  Just the place to sap some wide-eyed dream, hoping to be discovered, blinded by the neon covers and movie deals. 

      I walked the couple of blocks up to Market.  Rough crowd here.  These were hard men chasing harder dollars.  Even as I watched, a couple of naive dreams floated in.  Hungry eyes labeled them as marks.  I entered a sunken parlor called Write-a-Blockbuster.  I figured it was the sort of place a writing dream would haunt.

      It was crowded.  Every seat and stool taken, with plenty standing around, hoping.  All of them clutched papers.  A few harried agents moved drinks around, tossing a few elbows when the unwary didn’t make an aisle.  I muscled over to the bar and asked the big fellow behind it if he’d seen the old guy’s dream. 

      He nodded. “I see ‘em all, pal.  They’re all precious, all special.” He chuckled.  “’Round here, special means standard.”  He waved me over to a booth where my first suspects sat.

      I sat down across from Mr. Book, next to Joe Conference.  Book sported the literary look; open collar, the cardigan, a pipe.  Conference had the shark-skin suit.  Book grinned, admitting they’d met Dream. 

      “Yeah, I took him, so what?  He needed books, I sold him books.  Software, subscriptions, contests.”  I glared at him. “Hey, the writer’s golden age is over.  So is the silver for that matter.”  He fidgeted.  “I gotta live, too.”

      Then Joe Conference nudged me.  “He was good fer a few conferences.  Dose types always are.  Dey come in flush with cash, figurin’ ta buy a introduction into publishin’ whit a review and a conference ors two.”

      Sliding out from the booth, I next caught a fellow named Mr. Traditional, finishing pork rinds and a beer.  He’d promised Dream he’d get the book published.  All Dream had to do was research it, write it, change it, edit it, proof it, market it, video it, distribute it, and sell it.  Traditional even offered Dream a whole dime out of every dollar made!  I frowned.

      “He don’t like it?  Let him print it!  I got mouths to feed and this place is shrinking.  There’s hundreds beating on the door.”  I flexed fingers and reminded this “gentleman” rinds weren’t his only meal option.  He gulped, then pointed down a dim hall.

      Dream had gone through the back door labeled E-PUB.  I stepped up and a big gal dressed like an Amazon opened the door, and shoved me in.

      Dreams were jammed in.  Literally millions.  No gravity, they looked like a fog of ghosts.  They were tearing each other, mauling each other.  Scratching towards a vanishing portal labeled “Success.”  Young dreams, old dreams, dead dreams.  Some had books.  Some had none.  I was buffeted, sapped, and shoved back out.                                  On my way back up town, I swung by General.  I promised the nurse that if I could talk to Dream now, we’d do more than talk later.  She smiled.  I smiled.

      I slipped into the room. He looked like a skinned, bruised potato, hooked to an IV. 

      “There were dreams in there,” he said.  “Many dying.  Many better than me.  I couldn’t get across the room.  Some were giving books away!  No one was making it.”  He rubbed his arm.  “This race is hard when you’re late to the line.  I couldn’t keep up.”

      I nodded.  “It’s tough out there, Dream.  Especially when you’re older.  Go home!”

      “I can’t... tell him.  His book is his lotto ticket.  He’s hoping....”

      “I’ll tell him.”  I closed the door.

       I gave the old fellow both barrels, straight.  He took it, nodded, turned to go.  As he made the door, he looked back.  “I have to write you know.  It’s the only thing I’m any good at.” 

      I nodded.  You and two million other retirees, I was tempted to add.  But I didn’t.  He knew.  But he has to try.

~Brad 

Mental Can Openers & Writer's Hash: The Writing Struggle or Don’t Count Your Chickens...

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of owning a few chickens.  I love farm-fresh eggs.  I’d have to build a coop of course.  I can just imagine how flap doors, ramps, pull-out cleaning features...etc., will look.  I see a barn red coop; happy, safe chickens pecking behind coop wire.  Eggs pop out from everywhere with deep golden yolks.  I’m a hit with friends and neighbors giving them away.  Cleaning is always on a sunny, warm day and done in 10 minutes.  (Do I hear laughter?)

 We all know plans can, and do, go wrong.  Building materials are imperfect.  Actual construction requires pounding in lots of nails, cutting wood straight, sanding, gluing, caulking,...   Sawing and pounding nails get repetitive and tiring, then mistakes happen. Wood splits.  Splinters happen (a new bumper sticker?)

Chickens can be loud, uncooperative, dirty.  Disease and predators threaten.  Cleaning the coop and collecting eggs in all weather becomes a drudge.

The above applies to writing a story.  For me, starts are fun.  Great ideas!  Story plotting where the day is saved as time is nicked, cliffs are appropriately hung, love is found, evil is thwarted with a thwack.  I envision excited readers blotting a tender tear, laughing til they snort, excitedly waving others over to read brilliant prose.  Money and offers will roll in like colored eggs on Easter.

Then I start to write it, scene by stubborn scene.  That portion is too short, another too long.  A chapter out of place?  Dull narrative.  Constant sentence length.  Repetitious words pounding like nails.  Or is that my head?  Bright “barn-red” dialogue reads like “grey.” 

Characters run loose; panicked squawking chickens.  Others won’t move at all, and no one’s laying ‘yoked presents’ except the author.  Re-reading, and editing begins to feel like endlessly cleaning the coop of you-know-what.  And rewritten scenes smell like you-know-what. 

It’s been months without a golden yoke.  I’m still gumming cream-o-mush every morning and chasing off weasels of discouragement at night.  Darn, statin-frattin, story-chickens!  Worse, there’s no time clock.  No boss pecking away at me, saying, “Get it done by Friday or else.”  TV beckons.

How is a writer to resolve this?  How do we find Godly motivation?  Where do we find the gentle nudge to continue?

My way to get through this is to take it personally.  Get cranked and repeat...  “I love eggs.  I want eggs.  And I’ll have eggs – even if I have to strangle it out of those stupid, feathered clucks.  My forefathers didn’t struggle up the food chain, plowing the land under a hot sun, so their current progeny, (i.e. me) could be defeated by a flock of flightless fugitives from Chick-fil-a!  NO CHICKEN, NO COOP, IS GOING TO GET THE BEST OF ME!!

Those chapters will line up and salute.  Narrative will be spit-shined and dialogue will sparkle like marine boots on inspection.  Action will be crisp and tension sharp or Character’s heads will roll!  Now, authors fall in at your computers.  (I just love it when the testosterone shots kick in, during a John Wayne movie weekend.)  Sit.  Now write!

How do you stay motivated?

MORE OF BRAD'S BLURB: The Dragon’s Mist Chronicles: The Last Ride in the Moonlight

So how does a boy of fourteen find the female blacksmith, who's half ogre, a willing husband?  Sure, Riddley might acquire a new suit of clothes for a traveling leprechaun who carries his home in a geode, but how does he get the bully-sheriff to pay his tailoring bill?  Or acquire magical wood from a holy tree that’s choking?  Lastly, the fairy queen wants a royal symbol the nasty gremlins can’t copy, and the only male banshee alive needs the tower bell mended.  It seems female banshee’s screaming at him cracked it, and he’s being blamed.

           

Great Expectations Ain’t no Carnival Ride, Harry!

Here is the latest from Brad Leach, my new contributor.  We decided on the blog's name of Mental Can Openers & Writer's Hash.  Onward, Brad....

I had a friend of mine ask me what are my writing expectations?  An excerpt from the movie, Beat the Devil sums it up rather nicely:

Billy Dannreuther: I've got to have money. Doctor's orders are that I must have a lot of money, otherwise I become dull, listless and have trouble with my complexion. 
Gwendolyn Chelm: But you're not like that now, and you haven't any money.
Billy Dannreuther: It's my expectations that hold me together.

Isn’t that true for all of us?  Money really does help with our complexion.  (I bet you thought I was going to say, ‘expectations hold us together.’)  Now, if money does impact complexion, I expect my first writing efforts to supply a face somewhere south of Freddie Kruger.  My own personal rendition of Nightmare on ‘Dell’ Street.

Nobody who has looked seriously at freelance writing proceeds because of the fantastic money.  Making money as a writer is akin to buying a Lottery ticket - a few make wads of money, a few scrape by in grottos and attics, most pay more than they get.   Of course, I would like to make enough to augment a sub-poverty retirement in a dying Kansas town.  You know the kind of place.  They’re still hoping to pave the streets, empty houses are given away as raffle prizes and the mayor is some truck driver who frequents the Interstate diner.  We’ll see.

But beyond money, do expectations really hold us together?  Shakespeare said, “Expectation is the root of all heartache.”  I imagine he was a perfectionist.  I know for me, unrealistic expectations are a plague.  I catch a great phrase on paper, a great idea, and I see the next Tolkien or Harry Potter happening.  Then I write a page, read it and see it isn’t Harry Potter.  It’s not even Harry Potter’s shadow in a London fog. 

I slink away from the keyboard like Charlie Brown when he killed the little Christmas tree.  Someone shot my expectations.  Now heartache’s got the car keys - (gads, another Country and Western classic in the making!  Buck Owens slide over a stool.)  Then I crawl back to the screen for another try.  A great sentence pops out and I see visions of....  I’ve been on this ride so often, the carnival barker pays me. 

I’m slowly learning to leave expectations to God.  (I’m currently leaving the money issues to God as well, hoping He’ll run a cattle drive to Dodge, with some o’ His cows on them thar hills.  Yes, Dad’s up there with His streets of gold, and I’m a shovel-ready project!) 

I also try to find the fun in the story and not worry it’s not at the level of Tolkien.  Why, you’d have to bury my manuscript six feet down to reach his current level. (Rim shot please)  I remember that for 25 years, I ‘9 to 5'ed it, skipping most vacations.  Now, my whole writing career feels like a vacation.  Sure money’s uncertain.  But the only place I know where three meals and a roof are guaranteed is called prison.  Freedom includes freedom to fail. 

Remember what Groucho Marx once said, “You’re never too old to fail.”  Well, move over New York!  If I can stumble there, I can stumble anywhere.  It’s all up to me.  That’s what the big gal in the harbor carries her torch for.  And if the books don’t pay, I might even condescend to be mayor of a dying town in Kansas.  I like truck stop food.

MORE OF BRAD'S BLURB: The Dragon’s Mist Chronicles: The Last Ride in the Moonlight:

First part can be found here. 

Fortunately Riddley can leave his troubles behind and take up a new home and career at Dragon’s Mist, an enclave of magic-wielding chandlers. He just needs a few sponsors. And they want a few simple tasks performed for the good of the castle. But fish wives say, "Simple is found in the hungry dragon’s eyes."

Take Five and Meet Author Sandi Brackeen

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Sandi.  Tell us, what inspired you to write your book Digging Up the Past?

Thanks for having me, LA. I heard about a contest to write a book about what would happen if magic returned to the earth.  I didn’t submit to the contest, but it provided me the seed of the idea for the Tales from Atlantis

What were your experiences as a child or adult that contributed to you becoming a writer?

I have always written.  I wrote bad poetry and rather strange philosophical musings about the nature of words, and I’ve always been an avid reader, and truthfully, I don’t know how not to write, although I get slow at turning things out sometimes because new things keep coming up within the work.

  

What is most difficult for you to write?  Characters, conflict, or emotions?  Why?

I think emotions are the most difficult to write because you have to explore not only the character’s emotions but your own as well to understand what the character is going through.

What is the first thing you do when you begin a new book?

Talk to my characters (develop their bios to see where they are going in their lives), and decide on a villain.

If you were a TV, film or book character, apart from one you've created, who would you be?  And why?

Probably River Tam from Firefly.  She’s badass.

Give us a brief summary of Digging Up the Past:

The Spade of Apocatequil can raise the dead and grant immortality—and it’s been stolen!

When supernatural agents Riley Perez and Jason, her partner at the clandestine government agency DUE, are given the task of tracking down the magical artifact, they discover that the culprit may be one of the workers at an archaeological dig at Shady Shores.

Is it John Braden, the head archaeologist on-site, who was involved in the original discovery of the spade? Or is it Danny Roget, the anthropologist, who claims that there have been strange sightings? 

Riley and Jason’s hunt for the spade is endangered by a rash of sudden, unexplainable deaths of people involved in the dig. Together with Cameron Delaney, the intriguing alpha werewolf who runs Cerberus Security, the company in charge of protecting the archaeologists at the dig, Riley and Jason must find the spade before it can be used to destroy the world!

Buy Links: 

 iTunes | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Bio:

Sandi lives in Texas with three roommates, two Yellow Labs, a Shepherd/Border Collie mix, a Great Pyrenees, a Standard Poodle, and assorted other critters.  Most of the animals were rescues.  Sandi’s full-time job is as the Public Information Officer for the local Sheriff’s Office, and she teaches English part time at the local Community College. 

She says she has a couple of degrees from the University of North Texas lying around somewhere, and she’s been writing ever since she can remember.  Sandi took time off for work and school, and previously her writing has been more geared toward short stories and academic papers. 

Sandi publishes a newsletter and several articles a month in her current position, as well as teaching English at the local community college, but she has now added writing fiction and currently has several more books in the works.

Find Sandi:

Facebook |Website | Twitter  

How to Be an Insanely Great Indie Author: Randy Ingermanson, Recap by Candee Fick

Just Waiting To Be Discovered--A Mind Exploding Experience 

How did you find the last book you read? Through a friend’s recommendation? A best-sellers list? A sale promotion? On social media or an author’s newsletter? Or while browsing at the library or a bookstore? Somewhere and somehow, you discovered the book you never would have read or even known existed. Therefore, for both avid readers and authors, discoverability is the key. After all, one can’t read (or buy) a book they don’t know about.

Last September, I was in St. Louis for the American Christian Fiction Writers conference and had the mind-exploding experience of attending the “How to Be an Insanely Great Indie Author” workshop led by Randy Ingermanson (a physicist, creator of “The Snowflake Method” of brainstorming novels, and the author of Writing Fiction For Dummies and many self-proclaimed “geeky suspense” novels).

In the workshop, Randy defined insanely great as having a period of exponential growth in revenue and unit movement that eventually plateaus at a higher level than before. Being a scientist, he arrived with all sorts of graphs, statistical analysis, and even an equation:

Success = Size of Target Audience x Quality x Production x Discoverability

In essence, an author’s rank and success improves with small changes that add up. Write for a larger target audience. Increase the quality of each book in the eyes of that target audience. Increase production so the author has more books published. And increase discoverability by coming up with a strategy to attract, engage, and convert readers.

Randy’s Radical Discoverability Keys and Tactics:

•         Attract -Readers know that the author exists on the planet. Nothing attracts like a free book, so consider KDP Select or Perma-free options.
•         Engage – Readers become aware this author writes what they like. Nothing engages quite like a novel, which is why series do so well and production is so important. Write what would engage or delight members of the target audience.      
•        Convert – Readers buy another book. Nothing converts like email (except a blurb and link at the back of the book they just read!) Announce to email subscribers that the next book is available and include a link to buy it. Then, at the end of the book include a teaser for the next book (or even the first chapter) along with a link to purchase. 

More Discoverability Tactics Randy Uses:

•     Front matter – Readers want to get into the story faster, but this is a good place for an “Author’s Note” to quickly remind readers what the story is about (because they might be opening it awhile after buying and forgot). Randy then offers a free gift for readers with a link to his website and a chance to sign up for his email list. Why? Browsers may scan the book and not buy this one … but still might go signup anyway and that email could get him a sale later.
•      Back matter – “Dear Reader” letter with 3 specific calls to action. A “what to read next” teaser with a sample chapter and link to purchase. A request for a review with a link to the retailer or Goodreads page and simply ask readers to share how the book made them feel. An invitation to sign up for the email newsletter to get notice of the next book as well as a reminder about the free gift or incentive being offered. Why? Get immediate sales from readers who already love the author’s book, get an email address to notify happy readers about future books, and get reviews to sway potential readers and increase sales ranking so book is more visible on search results, genre lists, or “also bought” recommendations.
•      Build an Email list – Use an incentive of something free that would interest the target audience (like a free novella, list of romantic but cheap date ideas, drawing for a gift card, etc.) to collect a list of readers who already liked the books and want to be notified of the next release. Why? When a new book releases, email subscribers get a personal invitation and link to buy. The resulting quick jump in sales can catapult a title to the hot new releases or category top sellers lists where more future readers can discover the book and the cycle repeats.

What about social media and platform building? Randy actually asked workshop attendees to list which social media tools they would stop using. As he said, “If you hate it and it’s not working, then quit.” I understand his point. While many argue that social media is about building relationships with potential readers, it takes time away from producing more of the books necessary for that success equation. As a scientist, Randy is adamant about return on investment and being able to measure results. Example: The number of Twitter followers does not directly relate to book sales, but one can use Google Analytics to measure the desired result (email sign-ups, clicks to order, etc.) based on a specific tweeted link.

But what does all this look like for an ordinary author like me? I have four indie-published devotionals (in two series: Pigskin Parables exploring faith topics through football and Creation Declares gleaning life lessons from nature), an indie-published book about special needs parenting, and my debut inspirational romance novel will be releasing from a small press later this year. My challenges include stagnant sales on my non-fiction titles and the need to attract the attention of a different (but larger) target audience for my novel.

There are thousands of books just waiting to be discovered, but here’s what I’m doing (or will do) to attract readers to mine:

•     Social media updates – a few minutes every day to build relationships and occasionally point toward my email list or a book on sale.
•     Schedule guest blogs (like this one) for exposure to new readers with links to my website and books, especially around the new book’s release.
•     Maintain my website/blog with fresh content. Update the banner image.
•     Update the covers as well and front and back matter on all existing books.
•     Update the keywords for all existing books to increase relevance ratings in searches.
•     Set my two shortest devotionals as permanently free.
•     Write newsletters to email subscribers – what’s on sale, cover reveals, exclusive contests or giveaways, and more to keep my readers engaged.
•     Collect lists of key quotes from each book – perfect for interest hooking tweets or memes on social media with the title displayed and links to buy.
•     Recruit a launch team to help write reviews and spread the word once my novel is released.
•     Giveaways and contests – on guest blogs and Goodreads. Possibly using Rafflecopter to attract more email subscribers.
•     Organize a virtual launch party closer to the novel release date, then spread the word.
•     Consider buying a promotion with BookBub for my special needs parenting book to glean more reviews and visibility for that small niche audience.
•     Possibly troll reviewers on competitors’ books to find someone willing to review my book in exchange for a free copy.
•     Write more novels with a series (or two) in mind.

Let’s talk. Readers, how do you find out about new books? Do you subscribe to author newsletters and book deal email lists or rely on word of mouth from friends? 

Authors, what do you think about Randy’s tactics? Is what you are doing currently working? What has worked the best for you and your target audience? What are you going to try next?

BIO:

Candee Fick is the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job or writing, she can be found cheering on the home team at football, basketball, baseball, and Special Olympics games. In what little free time remains, she enjoys exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.

Browse her current books at http://candeefick.com/book-table/

TEASER:  Catch of a Lifetime, coming late 2015 from Bling! Romance

He breathes football.

She shudders at the very mention of the sport.

But when a mix-up in financial aid lands her in the middle of her worst nightmare and his star receiver teeters on the brink of ineligibility, the rookie college coach and the bitter tutor must overcome stereotypes and work together to salvage the season. Romance develops, but their growing relationship must remain hidden behind a wall of professionalism. When a scandal erupts, the aftermath could destroy both of their careers.

Can they find a way to capture their dreams and each other’s hearts?

Fun Holiday Novelette From Author Karen Docter

Looking for that cute read to get you into the holiday spirit? Check out Karen Docter's novelette (50 pages), CATCH THAT SANTA. A wonderful stocking stuffer for ONLY $.99!! 

Blurb: 

When widow, Sara Marks, hears her Grams has gone on the lam from Happy Acres Residence on Christmas Eve – on Santa’s arm, no less -- she teams up with sexy stranger, Francisco de la Vega, to chase the couple down with one thing in mind. Keep her Grams from becoming Mrs. Claus. Of course, Francisco's grandfather is not really Santa Claus, but Grams did run off to Vegas to marry him and she's obviously not in her right mind. 

Sara leaves her seven-month-old baby, Lanie, with a friend and she and Cisco head west in the worst snowstorm in decades, chasing his grandfather's '57 Ford Fairlane over the river and through the woods.

Will they catch Santa and his crazy Mrs. Claus before it's too late? Or will love stop them in their tracks?

Buy:

Amazon

Author:

K.L. (Karen) Docter writes two different kinds of romance novels.

K.L.'s romantic suspense novels are filled with romance, although the dangers the hero and heroine face are intense, usually because a serial killer is bent on ending one or both of their lives before they can fall in love. 

Karen's contemporaries are cute & spicy romances. She loves writing about real men and women with dreams and goals that don't allow for a relationship just so she can throw them in each other's path...with a tickle and a smile.

An award winning author, four-time Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist, and winner of the coveted Kiss of Death Romance Writers Daphne du Maurier Award Category (Series) Romantic Mystery Unpublished division, when she's not saving her characters from death and destruction or helping them fall in love, she loves camping and fishing with her family, reading, gardening & cooking. If she can do most of those things over a campfire, all the better! FMI: http://www.karendocter.com