Category: Uncategorized
#IWSG Marketing Tips from Bestselling Authors
Time for November’s Support Group hosted by Alex J Cavanaugh.
Recently I attended a writer/reader event, the Queen City Indie Con, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The author marketing panel was particularly good and I want to share their tips with YOU.
(The photo on the right shows authors Abbi Glines and Tara Sivec but I also learned from Tonya Kappes, Jayne Rylon, and MR Polish.)
1. Do you have a newsletter? (I don’t at this time.) All the authors encouraged emailing a newsletter to your readers to inform them of new releases, giveaways, appearances, etc. If you rely on social media to spread the word, you give up control. For example, few Facebook fans now see posts on your page, and word on the street is that Twitter will also become more monetized.
2. Is your book on sale? How do you get the word out? Use Book Bub, a daily email alert sent to over one million readers. Getting a Book Bub ad is expensive but well worth it. Your book needs a certain number of reviews (including negative reviews!) to be accepted.
3. Is your ebook on Smashwords? If so, you can sell it to libraries through OverDrive. Check it out HERE. Most of my books aren’t available on Smashwords but I just looked at my free novella and it’s available at 36 libraries without my lifting a finger.
4. Will you attend a book conference? Partner with another author to purchase tote bags with your names on them.
5. Want to interact with readers? Schedule a Kindle chat, or post to the Kindle Author’s Forum, like “Kindle Books Under $5.00 by Indie Authors”.
6. Do you want to spread your swag around? Send it to Leena’s Goody Room and they will share it with readers.
7. Want to engage readers? Host a giveaway to be a character in your book.
8. Do you want to offer unique swag? Where else can you get a shirtless man cookie? And I also have a swim cap for my swimming romance Streamline. What are some unique swag ideas you’ve developed?
So my fellow writers, keep fighting the good fight to share your words with the world!
The Jeweler by @BeckAndersonID : #Review and #Interview
Today I have the pleasure of hosting excellent author BECK ANDERSON! Her new release The Jeweler is zipping up the charts just as good things are happening for her debut novel Fix You.
I’ll share my review of The Jeweler, followed by an interview with Beck. But first I want to alert you to a super generous giveaway Beck is hosting: win a Kindle Fire!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Beck is also giving away an ebook of The Jeweler to one lucky commenter for this blog post. Please leave your email address in your comment.
The Jeweler by Beck Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Intriguing Plot, Quirky Characters
I loved Beck Anderson’s debut novel Fix You, so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of her second novel, The Jeweler. When I heard about the clever plot, I was even more excited.
Fender Barnes is a cynical jeweler who regards his eager, love-struck, engagement-ring-buying customer Brad with disdain. Love isn’t real, right? But then Brad dies in a car accident right outside the jewelry shop, and Fender knows he needs to get the ring to its intended recipient: Ginger Stevens. But Fender never does anything right or easily, and when he sees the grieving woman at Brad’s funeral, things go pear-shaped.
Ginger is a ski instructor who’s stunned by her boyfriend’s death. She’s “love, light, green eyes, and freckles.” Just like in Fix You, the author’s portrayal of grief is authentic and eloquent:
The house was filled with his things, their things together. What upset her was looking at all the mundane stuff. Toothbrush. Who cared about his toothbrush? How could she get rid of it, though? A person accumulated stuff, never figuring he wouldn’t be around to tie up the loose ends. Brad had arrogant, unfinished stuff, like half-drunk Gatorade bottles in the fridge.
In Fix You, the heroine’s husband died. In The Jeweler, the heroine’s almost-fiance kicks the bucket. Which begs the question: is Beck Anderson’s husband worried at all? 😉 I hope he’s exercising and taking his fish oil.
There’s a host of wacky side characters, including Fender’s dad “Pop”, a man with some romantic tricks up his sleeve, and his bff Sam, a slovenly guy who shows his affection the best way a male buddy can: by insulting the hell out of Fender.
As per usual, Pop focused on the woman in the conversation. “Fender went after a girl? Really? Does this mean little Sandy didn’t make you swear off women forever?”
Sam brightened. “I’d almost forgotten about Sandy. Isn’t she the one that wrote I HATE YOU with weed killer on your front lawn?”
I love the understated humor.
Jewelry customers Jimmy the mobster and his bling-seeking girlfriend Naomi provide some color as well. Naomi has a heart-to-heart with Fender:
“That’s what my therapist says. She says no woman should be bought for a shiny piece of glass.”
Fender realized he was in the wrong profession, obviously. He should be blowing smoke up somebody’s ass for a hundred bucks an hour.
Hey! Therapists make way more than $100 an hour now, hehe.
This is a sweet and subtle love story, and I encourage you to give it a try!
View all my reviews
And now an interview with author Beck Anderson:
Bloggers Talk Blocked: Review Tour and #Giveaway
The week since my college volleyball romance BLOCKED released has been fantastic.
We started off with a Facebook party–thank you to these hosts with the most:
Debra Anastasia (author of Poughkeepsie who alerted me to a key technological problem)
Nicki Elson (author of Divine Temptation)
Darcia Helle (author of No Justice)
Matthew Alan (author of What We Leave Behind)
Jennifer Locklear (co-author of Exposure)
Rumer Haven (author of Seven for a Secret which I’ve just started reading–great!)
Gwynn Evans Harrison (my bff who revealed all kinds of secrets about our time swimming and playing volleyball in college!)
Julie from AToMR Tours
(I just alerted the winners of the Release Giveaway … scroll down for the Review Tour Giveaway including a $15 gift card.)
Speaking of AToMR Tours, they’re hosting a Blocked Review Tour the next two weeks.
Check out this fun review from Bookaholic Fairies.
And I also loved this review from Momina at Novelty Books.
Thank you to all the wonderful friends and bloggers taking the time to promote, read, and review Blocked. I deeply “dig” you.
Come back next week for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group on 11/5 when I share what I learned about book marketing at the Queen City Indie Con!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Blocked and Queen City Indie Con
It’s an exciting week with a new release and a fun book event.
My fifth novel, a college volleyball romance, launched on 10/21/14. It’s been a blast to read early reviews, like Mitsy Princell’s “This is one hot, sweet, smart, exciting, and fantastic story!”
I’ll sign print copies of Blocked and my other novels at the Queen City Indie Con.
Each purchase of Blocked gets you a special Blocked cookie in Cincinnati! And I’ll also have Streamline swim caps for my other sports romance about swimming, the US Navy, and murder.
Don’t forget to enter three giveaways for gift cards and books HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Jenny on the BLOCKED! New #College #Volleyball #Release 10/21/14
I started writing Blocked over a year ago, and release day is finally HERE.
Want to win stuff? Attend these events to win books, gift cards, cookies, and bookmarks!
FACEBOOK Party Tuesday 10/21 11:00 – 3:00 EST HERE
AToMR Tours Release Event with over 30 blogs participating. Enter the giveaway HERE.
Blocked Review Tour, including another giveaway, HERE.
Add Blocked to your Goodreads shelf.
And find Blocked on Amazon.
Lastly, if you’re near Cincinnati, Ohio this weekend, stop by the Queen City Indie Con where I’ll sign books and give away Blocked cookies and Streamline swim caps.
Spooktacular #Giveaway Hop
Thanks to Kathy for hosting the 5th Annual Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!
Halloween is a fun time, and it’s even more exciting for me due to the release of my college volleyball romance BLOCKED available for pre-order HERE.I’ll offer more Amazon gift cards HERE for the release event and review tour.
Today I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card, Blocked ebook, and Blocked bookmarks so you can have abs, abs, abs for yourself. Enter on the Rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
#Interview and #Giveaway of Shadow’s Dangers by Cindy Mezni
Today I have the pleasure of welcoming awesome reader friend Mitsy Princell to the blog, to interview creative storyteller Cindy Mezni about book one in her Last Hope series: Shadow’s Dangers.
Appearances can be deceiving…
Losing a loved one is never easy. Although Deliah learned to live without her parents when fate took them from her as a young girl, history repeats itself and causes her to face even greater challenges when Tess, the woman who raised her and was like a second mother to her, passes away. But even worse than dealing with her loss is the coinciding arrival of inexplicable nightmares that haunt Deliah’s nights.
She becomes consumed with images she didn’t understand and a recurrent dream about her parents’ car accident. Oddly, this dream details different versions from what she had always been told about the accident.
But when a new family, The Wates, arrive in town and begin to pay close attention to her, even stranger events follow. Now, Deliah must not only face her nightmares, but the possibility that a world she never suspected exists. And this world may cost her everything.
I met Mitsy on Goodreads and she’s a wonderful supporter of authors. Mitsy is super excited about Cindy’s work, and wants to share her love of Shadow’s Dangers with YOU. And onto the interview–take it away, ladies!
Reader Mitsy Princell (MP): How long did it take you to write Shadow’s Dangers?
Author Cindy Mezni (CM): Writing the first draft took me between 3-4 months. It’s modifying and rewriting some scenes and even some chapters that took a lot more time.
MP: Where did you get the idea? It’s so completely different and imaginative.
CM: I’ve always been a fan of paranormal books and I really wanted to write my own but I didn’t want it to be another vampire or werewolf story. And then, one day, I heard about polymorphs and after that, it didn’t take long for me to develop the story of The Last Hope series.
MP: How many books are going to be in the series?
CM: There will be four books in The Last Hope series. Book 2 is written but I still have some changes to do on the story and book 3 is partly written.
MP: When is book two coming out?
CM: There’s no release date yet but as soon as I have one, I’ll post something about it to let everyone know.
MP: On Facebook, your profile is all in French so are you writing your books in both English and French? First author I’ve ever known that could write in both languages. Impressive. 🙂
CM: In fact, my profile is in French – and sometimes in English, even if I had another Facebook page for my English-speaking readers – and yes, I’m writing my books in both languages. Actually, I first write them in French and then, I translate them in English. And thank you for the compliment and for the interview 🙂
Excerpt from #College #Volleyball #Romance BLOCKED
Only one week till the release of BLOCKED on 10-21-14. We hope to have it up for pre-order soon.
Until then, here’s an excerpt from Dane’s point of view.
New Release: A Little Faith by Emma James
But now it’s time to put my walls up, make them impenetrable.
It’s the only way to survive.
~Faith
Six Years Later…
Harley, the protector. Retro, the straight shooter.
Keanu, the funny bone. Levi, the model. And Text, who can’t seem to find himself.
All their lives were permanently altered by one event.
With a pact made, these five best friends need something from Faith.
Is she ready now to give them what they have been waiting for?
Join Faith as she goes on an emotional and heartwarming discovery where all may not be what it seems.
But with every ending, comes a new beginning, a second chance.
You just gotta have A Little Faith…
Welcome to Ocean Beach.
Emma James lives in Queensland, Australia with her smexi husband, three children and a big black Labrador. Life is busy and most entertaining in the James household. She often bounces ideas off her family and gets very creative responses. She loves to read as much as write. Daytime for writing, night time for reading.
Emma hopes to surprise you with her debut book, A Little Faith.

























