Tag: new release

insecure writers support group

Book Launches #IWSG

Jennifer Lane
Join our monthly blog post for the Insecure Writers Support Group, created by Alex Cavanaugh.

Thank you to this month’s co-hosts PJ Colando, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and Natalie Aguirre!

March 4 question:

What elements do you include in your book launch? Or what do you have in mind for your future book launch? Or what advice do you have to offer to others planning to launch a book?

I’m choosing to focus on the marketing efforts involved in releasing a novel into the world. My book launches have endured many changes over the years. There were many steps to set myself up as a new author before a small publisher released my debut novel, With Good Behavior, in 2010. I started this blog/website and signed up for Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. Book blogging was much more of a thing then, including virtual book tours and review requests. I was fortunate to garner wonderful support from online readers that led to a Goodreads nomination for best romance.

Later releases involved less fanfare. When I transitioned to self-publishing for my New Adult sports romance Blocked in 2014, book blogs and blog tours began to fade. Though I never developed a “street team” or group of beta readers to help market my novels, I benefited from Facebook launch parties in my page and pub sisters’ fan groups. The flurry of posts felt frenetic as fellow authors and I hosted giveaways and games throughout launch day. In particular, I give a shout out to Nicki Elson, Nancee Cain and IWSG writers who have helped promote my novels!

I have hired blog tour companies to host cover reveal and new release tours. I also paid a reader friend to design ads and publicize my brand as a personal assistant. Other marketing efforts have included Goodreads giveaways, Kindle countdown sales, and Amazon preorders. I have used Amazon KDP for all of my novels except for my 2025 releases: Low Water and Behind the Catcher’s Mask, which I published wide on Draft 2 Digital.

Image by Robert Cubitt from Pixabay

With book launches and marketing in general, I believe it’s important to 1) stay current and 2) be persistent. Unfortunately, I don’t follow either piece of advice! Readers have told me I should market my books on TikTok (especially BookTok), but I have no interest in joining yet another social media platform, especially one with ties to China. I also don’t have the motivation or patience to spend money and time on constant promotion of my writing. Instead, I focus on my fulfilling day job and family and friends.

What has worked for you?

insecure writers support group, writing

Alternates to Writing Plans #IWSG

Jennifer Lane
Writers, join our monthly blog hop, started by author Alex Cavanaugh.

Thank you to this month’s gracious cohosts: Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray!

January 7 question – Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn’t get done in 2025?

At the moment, I’m feeling rather discouraged about writing due to anemic reader response to my latest novel. Sales have been pathetic despite the wonderful support of this group. I wish reader response didn’t affect my motivation as much as it does, but that’s my reality.

I am enjoying a break from writing including the freedom to travel, entertain, and catch up on streaming TV over the weekends.

First was a drive to Orlando to meet my friends’ poodle Franklin, then to Key Largo to join my bestie on her college swim team’s training trip, where we swam with manatees.

Then my sister, niece, and I traveled to nearby Charleston, SC to visit the aquarium.

Back home, I always have fun assembling breakfast for my niece!

Finally, I’ll host book club to discuss Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere, a story about female astronauts, and I found this hilarious Space Cats wine from a book club guide:

Here’s to a great 2026, writers!

insecure writers support group, writing

Gifts for Writers #IWSG

Jennifer Lane

Happy December, writers! Join our monthly Insecure Writers Support Group blog hop, where we vent and lift up. It’s a wonderful community started by author Alex Cavanaugh.

(this is a blog post, not a newsletter, but that reindeer is so dang cute that I had to feature her)

Today’s co-hosts are some of my favorites: Tara Tyler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Liza, and Natalie Aguirre!

December 3 question – As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?

Gifts of support have made the greatest impact on me:

🎄The Insecure Writers Support Group! IWSG is a big factor in keeping me in the writing game, and it’s been a blessing getting to know cool writers like you. A special shout out to Ronel Janse van Vuuren (today’s co-host who invited me to discuss domestic violence on her blog), Natalie Aguirre (also a co-host today, thanks, Natalie!) Louise Barbour (wonderful post), and Alex Cavanaugh for spreading the word about my new release.

🎄My self-publishing team. I’m grateful for pub sisters like Nicki Elson (Bev), my critique partner extraordinaire. I also met editor Jessica Royer Ocken and book designer Coreen Montagna through the small publisher who released my first four novels. Working with a professional editor has definitely sharpened my writing skills.

🎄The gift of readers. That old adage, “You don’t know what you got till it’s gone”? Sadly, I’m living it! Sales for my new release, Low Water, have been deplorable. I’ve heard book sales are down for many authors, but JEEZ. I guess it doesn’t help that it’s been four years since I last published. Or maybe a book about recovering from trauma isn’t commercially appealing. But I have felt fortunate whenever readers have devoted their precious time to try one of my novels through the years.

What are the coolest gifts you’ve received?

cover reveal, new release

New Release LOW WATER

Jennifer Lane

Happy release day to my 10th novel, sport psych suspense Low Water.

Amazon US

Universal Book Link

Two lives marked by trauma. One chance to rediscover hope.

In the sun-drenched Lowcountry of South Carolina, a swim coach haunted by tragedy and a psychologist devoted to healing cross paths just as their lives unravel.

He once believed Olympic-sized dreams and awful dad jokes could get him through anything, but waves of grief threaten to pull him under. She has built a career navigating others through pain, yet she struggles to confront her own.

When their worlds collide, Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD forces the question: is it possible to dive into the past without drowning? Neither expects the other to become a lifeline. But with connection and courage, they search for a way forward—one stroke at a time.

Striving, tender, and surprisingly funny, this is a story about resilience and learning that the best way out of the deep end is together.

The exciting climax of Low Water takes place on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Behind the scenes: Why did I write this book? 

It’s been four years since I published sports romance Rivals. In the meantime, I’ve strived to help psychotherapy clients heal.

Have traumatized book characters led you to despair? Did you ever wonder, “How will they ever recover from this tragedy?”  

As a psychologist, once I learned a powerful PTSD treatment called Cognitive Processing Therapy, I now feel hope that EVERYONE can recover from a traumatic event. When I read about characters stuck in trauma, I want to yell at them, “Go get CPT!”

Witnessing trauma survivors turn their lives around inspired me to write a fictionalized version. Due to my background as a college swimmer, I chose a swim coach as the protagonist. His psychologist faces her own drama when she meets a mysterious man while speed-dating.

~*~

Thanks to fellow author Ronel Janse Van Vuuren for hosting me on her blog to talk about domestic violence and PTSD.

cover reveal, insecure writers support group, new release, writing

Low Water Pre-Order #IWSG

Jennifer Lane

Happy November, writers! Join us for the Insecure Writers Support Group, a monthly blog hop that’s the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh.

I’m thrilled to co-host today along with my teammates Jenni Enzor, Renee Scattergood, Rebecca Douglass, Lynn Bradshaw, and Melissa Maygrove!

Today’s question: When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way?

I started on a lark with zero expectations about life as a “writer“. The word felt pretentious and unfamiliar to me. It was simply a delight to create fictional worlds shaped by my characters’ whims. The words poured out of me without much knowledge of structure or point-of-view.

Three years later, in 2010, when a small publisher took a chance on my debut novel, I experienced a mix of imposter syndrome along with incredible support from online friends, authors, and readers. I bounced from envisioning “best-seller” status to feeling like the heel of the shoe worn by those best-selling authors.

Surprises have ambushed me from quite a few corners, like:

  • Finding my own voice. I used to compare myself unfavorably to other authors, and sometimes I still do. But I heard somewhere that NOBODY writes like you do, and that sentiment has stuck with me. There aren’t many psychologists/ authors (psycho authors) out there, and probably none who share my obsession with swimming, volleyball, Pinterest food creations, and curse words!
  • I will survive if readers don’t like my books. Reading preferences are so subjective. I’ve found that writing is just like school, work, sports, and relationships in that I perform better by focusing on the process (writing what I want to write, learning the craft) instead of the outcome (reviews and sales).
  • I always knew I could persevere. Swimming thousands (millions?) of laps while staring at a black line on the pool bottom, as well as my neurotic need for achievement, strengthened my sense of grit. But I never predicted that I would publish ten novels!

Which brings me to my NEW RELEASE on 11/14/25: Low Water!

Cover by Coreen Montagna

Haunted by the past. Healing in the present. Hoping for a better future. And telling cringey dad jokes along the way.

I shared my blurb last month, and it’s available on Amazon as a pre-order. Have you ever felt hopeless about healing after tragic events? I used to. But then I learned a powerful treatment called cognitive processing therapy, and I want everyone with PTSD (real or fictional) to start the therapy, stat. CPT inspired me to return to writing after a three-year hiatus.

Two questions for you, writers:

  1. Would you be willing to publicize Low Water around the time of release day (Friday 11/14/25) on your blog or social media?
    • If you’d like a special blog post about trauma (sudden death, domestic violence, etc.), cognitive processing therapy for PTSD, writing about sports, or a topic of your choice, please leave your email address in a comment or email me at jenniferlanebooks at gmail.
    • If you want to share a social media post, here are options:
    • Two lives marked by trauma. One chance to rediscover hope. New Release LOW WATER. Psychological suspense. https://www.amazon.com/Low-Water-Jennifer-Lane-ebook/dp/B0FYV32BV4
    • Trauma survivors, there’s hope! Combine the thrill of competitive swimming with the power of cognitive processing therapy to heal PTSD. Pre-order “Low Water” by Jennifer Lane now and rediscover strength. https://www.amazon.com/Low-Water-Jennifer-Lane-ebook/dp/B0FYV32BV4
    • Trauma survivors, listen up! I’m Jennifer Lane, psychologist & author. My new ebook LOW WATER reveals how cognitive processing therapy can heal PTSD. Pre-order now and rediscover hope. https://tinyurl.com/2vbzx668
  2. What are the pros/cons of publishing the ebook on KDP Select vs. wide? Ronel Janse van Vuuren helped me try to figure out Draft 2 Digital to publish wide my novella earlier this year, but I’m still unfamiliar with the site compared to Amazon. (I’m trying to publish the paperback on D2D and don’t know how to set the margins to 8.5 x 5.5 while using my own interior pdf, for example.) I’ve had all my books in KDP Select for years, which might make more sense for romance novels, but my new release has only a side element of romance.

This insecure writer thanks you for stopping by!

insecure writers support group, new release

Feels Great to Finish! #IWSG

Jennifer Lane
Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh started The Insecure Writers Support Group. Join us!

THANK YOU to the co-hosts for the October 1 posting of the IWSG: Beth Camp, Crystal Collier, and Cathrina Constantine!

I appreciate your encouragement last month, fellow writers! I was able to finish my 10th novel, Low Water, in the nick of time (I hope) to have print copies published before a book event on November 1. My critique partner, Nicki Elson, has provided wonderful support, as always. I sent the manuscript to my editor today, and my book designer is working on cover designs.

Research for the climactic action scene took me to Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island, where I snapped this photo (which might become part of the cover?)

Blurbs are always a challenge, ugh. Nicki helped me craft this one:

Two lives marked by trauma. One chance to rediscover hope.

In the sun-drenched Lowcountry of South Carolina, a swim coach haunted by tragedy and a psychologist devoted to healing cross paths just as their lives unravel.

He once believed Olympic-sized dreams and terrible dad jokes could get him through anything, but waves of grief threaten to pull him under. She has built a career navigating others through pain, yet she struggles to confront her own.

When their worlds collide, Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD forces the question: is it possible to dive into the past without drowning? Neither expects the other to become a lifeline. But with connection and courage, they search for a way forward—one stroke at a time.

Striving, tender, and surprisingly funny, this is a story about resilience and learning that the best way out of the deep end is together.

I’m hoping for a November release date.

What’s your favorite dad joke? Here’s one from my swim coach character, Jordan:

What does the buffalo tell his son in the morning?

Bye, son!

I look forward to reading about the favorite thing you’ve written.

Last Update for my Novel in Progress: Low Water 88,500 / ~87,000 words

insecure writers support group, writing

Making Progress Hell or Low Water #IWSG

Jennifer Lane

Join us for the Insecure Writers Support Group, where we share our doubts and celebrate our victories. Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for starting (and maintaining!) the amazing group.

The wonderful co-hosts for the September 3 posting of the IWSG are Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Diedre Knight. You rock, ladies!

This is the second question of the month that involves A.I., which I know nothing about, so I’ll abstain from answering. I need to get with the times and learn more.

I finally feel some momentum with my novel–thanks to the group for your suggestions for getting unstuck! I have about 15K more words to write. I would love to publish Low Water before an author event I’m attending in Savannah, GA on November 1 (since the novel is set nearby.) It’s probably an unrealistic timeline. But the only space my editor has before February of 2026 is in early October. Therefore, I’m going for it!

If you would like to join me for a writing sprint in the month of September, please let me know.

How was your August? I visited my sister in Chicago, where we took in a Savannah Bananas game. Have you heard of Banana Ball? It’s like the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball:

We also saw the air show from a boat on the lake. *sings* Highway to the danger zone

Novel in Progress Update: Low Water 72,500 / ~87,000 words

new release

New Release: Edited Out by Rebecca Douglas #mystery #series

Jennifer Lane

Congratulations to Rebecca Douglas on the launch of her third Seffi Wardwell Mystery: EDITED OUT!

Pre-order price is $3.99—a short-time special offer ending Oct. 1.

Purchase links: 

UBL: https://books2read.com/u/bMMM58

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FLB4MDN2

Series Blurb: 

Retired science teacher Seffi Wardwell is making herself a new home on the Maine coast. She has a flower garden to keep up to the stiff local standards, a tough job ahead breaking down the locals’ suspicion of outsiders and making friends—and a distressing tendency to find herself in the middle of murder investigations.

Edited Out blurb:

Working part-time at the local inn is fun, until everything goes sideways. When a uniformly disliked writer-in-residence turns up dead, the local police ask Seffi to use her botanical knowledge to figure out what killed her. And could she hurry up, before the inn’s business tanks, and takes the bakery down with it?

Author Bio:

Rebecca M. Douglass has lived, worked, and hiked around the American west for more years than she’ll admit, while raising two children to adulthood and dreaming up interesting ways to bump people off. Thanks to good friends in Maine, she has also spent time on the other side of the country and has fallen in love with that coast. Since retiring from work at the library, the author of the Ninja Librarian series for younger readers and the Pismawallops PTA mystery series lives in Seattle, where she is writing the Seffi Wardwell mysteries. She has also had short stories published in a variety of magazines and anthologies. When she isn’t writing, Ms. Douglass likes to go hiking and backpacking or to travel to discover new places or revisit old favorites, including the Sierra Nevada mountains, the desert Southwest, and of course Maine, where so many of the best cozy mysteries are found.

insecure writers support group, new release

Softball Romance New Release and Fave Fantasy Character #IWSG

Jennifer Lane
Thank you to our founder, Alex Cavanaugh. Join us!

I’m excited to co-host this month along with L Diane Wolfe, Jenni Enzor, and Natalie Aguirre. Happy writing to all.

April 2 question – What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with, or have a beer/glass of wine with?

I would like to have a beer with Westley from The Princess Bride (without iocaine powder added, I hope!) Not only is Westley clever, funny, mysterious, and tough, but he also portrays an air of vulnerability that draws people to him. Most endearing is his lasting love for the princess that helps him persevere through countless adversities.

*** New Release ***

My second short story, young adult sports romance BEHIND THE CATCHER’S MASK, launched on 3.29.25.

This story was part of the 2019 IWSG Anthology, Masquerade: Oddly Suited.

Thank you to Ronel Jansse van Vuuren for helping guide me with publishing wide for the first time, and I also appreciate fellow co-host Natalie Aguirre as well as IWSG founder Alex Cavanaugh for spreading the word!

It was nice to see the short-lived orange banner on the Amazon site for the obscure category I chose.

Novel in Progress Update: Low Water 45,000 / ~85,000 words

new release

New Release: BEHIND THE CATCHER’S MASK by Jennifer Lane

Jennifer Lane

I’m excited to launch my second sports-romance short-story today.

Who Can Help Her Meltdown on the Pitcher’s Mound?

Fast-pitch softball is Andie Wilson’s life. She’s a fierce pitcher hoping to score a college scholarship, and she hates the annoying distraction of cocky baseball players crashing her high-school charity game. But she doesn’t anticipate the impact of one baseball player: Colt Turner. As Colt stares at her through his catcher’s mask, his steadfast gaze may be just what she needs to guide her through a crisis. And Colt may need Andie, too—to cope with the secret hiding behind his mask.

Universal book link

Amazon

I’m grateful to author Ronel Jansse van Vuuren for featuring her review on her blog! And stay tuned to authors Alex Cavanaugh’s blog and Natalie Aguirre’s blog for spotlights.

Thank you to early reviewers Michelle and Kate for 5-star reviews!