Category: Uncategorized

Christmas Eve :)

Good chilly morning to all… I do hope everyone is ready for Christmas. I’ve still got some baking to finish and payroll to complete, but the gifts are bought and wrapped. Well all but one and I tripped over it this morning in the bedroom, LOL. I’ll wrap it when I get back from delivering payroll. 

‘Tis the season to be jolly and why is it that most people this year are not jolly? My son and hubby are not in the Christmas spirit. It’s driving my insane. I’m going around singing Christmas carols and decorating everything that’s not standing still. They just sit and look at me like I’ve lost what’s left of my brain. Well, maybe I have, but it all went into my books. 

Last night I was thinking of spending it finishing up the latest manuscript that’s captured my little brain and then it hit me. “I’ve got to put some Christmas spirit in these men of mine.” So I whipped out “Frosty The Snowman” and “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” and told them to sit down and enjoy. Of course I giggled like a school girl and they just sat there and made fun of Rudolph’s red nose. Oh well, I tried.

Speaking of manuscripts, I’m hoping to spend some time off from accounting this week and finish up “Finding The Right Time”. It’s been taking over my brain this week. While I was up and down last night with my pulled back muscle I played with the idea of pulling out my laptop and just working through the night, but my back told me otherwise 😦 

So here’s hoping you all have a wonderfully Merry Christmas Eve and hope Santa is very good to you. Remember to smile at someone you don’t normally smile at, hug your loved ones and sing carols even if they’re out of tune. Put the Christmas spirit in your whole day and enjoy the season of joy. Don’t forget the reason for the season as you celebrate with family and friends. Tell Jesus Happy Birthday!

 

As always good writing and May God Bless You…

Merry Eve before Christmas Eve

Well it’s been another rainy day here in Georgia, but now the temperature is dropping and it’s feeling more like Christmas. As I sit here by my Christmas tree with a crackling fire I’m thankful for so many things. 

First off I’m glad to be almost rid of the cold I’ve been figting for over a week, hence the long stint without a blog. Now I have a pulled muscle from coughing, sneezing and all that comes with a cold. Oh well, could be worse 🙂

Second I’m excited because tommorow is Christmas Eve and if you’ve followed my blog for the last two years you know I love Christmas. I get to be with family and friends being all Merry and happy. 

Third I’m working on several manuscripts getting them polished up for a after New Year’s release. My writing has been an inspiration and a big stress reliever. I’ve gained so many new friends and fans through this blog and my writing. I’m excited about what 2014 holds for my writing. At the bottom of this post I will be giving you a sneak peak at the cover for one of my newest works that’s coming out after New Year’s. 

Christmas spirit is filling my heart and soul. I almost want to write another Christmas romance but alas it’s a little late for that. Maybe it’ll keep until next year. I’m ready to celebrate the Savior’s birth on Wednesday. It’s a wonderful time of year to do something nice for someone else. Make sure you tell everyone you love them and give them a hug. Give a little Christmas spirit everywhere you go.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Here’s a sneak peak at the cover for Finding The Right Time. It’s a time travel romance and I’m really excited about this one. Take a look at this awesome cover that my cover designer created. We spent several hours on this one and I think it’s our best yet. 

Image

Romancing the real world…

In this world of tech savvy readers and writers it’s hard sometimes to gain the interest of fans. With so many wonderful romance writers the competition is large and wide. But the wonderful thing is that as a writer we get to write our own niche. We get to change the world of writing because if you are your own person then that’s your niche.

I’ve talked to many fans that say you’ve got to be different to stand out. Well, maybe your writing is different. Some publishers say go with what’s popular, but what you really need to do is stand out in the crowd. If you want to write about cowboys and everyone else is writing about vampires then go for it. Make your voice heard loud and clear. Give it your whole heart.

As for me I write mostly about cowboys and horses. That’s my niche and my fans follow that niche, thank goodness. I’ve got a couple of books that don’t include cowboys, but only a couple. Cowboys are what’s comfortable for me and inspire me, so with me you know what you’re getting. But I do try to go a little different in the angles of my stories.

Take for instance my newest Christmas book, Open The Heart. It has a handsome cowboy, horses and romance, but it’s based in snowy Switzerland on the side of a mountain in the Alps. That’s a niche in its self. So carve out your niche and make it spectacular. Give it your whole heart, not someone elses. Write about what you love and it will show.

Today’s reader is complex and they’re looking for that special romance that will warm their heart and in some instances curl their toes. Some readers want hot, steamy sex scenes, but others just want that warm fuzzy feeling you get from a real world romance. That’s what I try to carry on to my readers. A romance that could actually happen. Something real and reachable. Try it and you’ll be rewarded with smiles.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Picking the right cover photo

I know I’ve harped on this before but I can’t stress enough the importance of a great cover. I was looking at some of the new books on Amazon and to tell you the truth a couple of the covers were non imaginative. They were just bland and didn’t exactly go with the book description. But of course there were some that I was just stunned at the creativity and dare I say ‘beauty’. 

Your book cover is the first thing potential readers see. If you go the extra mile it will help you tremendously. Like right now I’m scanning photos for my newest work in progress. I have in my mind what I want and it has to be perfect. I’ve looked at thousands of photos and let me tell you, it’s a lot of work, but the payoff makes it worth it.

If your cover doesn’t fit the book, why even go there. If you write a Christmas romance and put a Easter bunny on it, well you get the picture. Don’t give away too much with your cover either. This means don’t put a picture of the ending on the cover. If all the way through the book you keep the reader in the dark about if the couple is going to marry or get pregnant, you might not want to put them in a wedding dress or looking pregnant. But then again that could increase sales. Sometimes it’s a catch 22, you just have to know how to make it work.

Also, one last thing that’s a huge, big piece of advice. For next to nothing you can purchase a picture from a reputable site and make it really pop. Don’t just pull something from the family photos and make it work, unless it really goes with the book. I use several sites, but my favs are bigstockphoto.com and istockphoto.com. There are several, but these are the two I use.

As always, good writing and may God Bless You…

By the way, don’t forget that my publishing service designs great covers. Check out the tab above for Horseshoe Publishing…

Putting tags on your book…

This is very important for your books. When you set up your books this is a part of it. But unfortunately this is a hard part, well it is for me. How do you tag your book where it’s not lost in the crowd? Well here is some ways I figure this out:

1: Sit down and write down every key word you can think of that goes with your book.

2: Go on Amazon and search each key word. See how many are listed there.

3: Pick the top key words that aren’t bogged down by thousands of selections already.

4: Sometimes the oddest keyword is the best choice, but make it a logical keyword.

5: Hint: Romance is bogged down, make sure you put more detailed descriptive keywords.

 

As I always tell you, these are just suggestions. I don’t guarantee these will work for you, but they did for me.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Monday morning ramblings…

Well it was a busy weekend for me. Our Church put together showboxes for the local Family Children Service and then yesterday I had the Children’s Ministry Christmas party. Which this meant that I had to start my Christmas baking. I baked cookies, made rice krispy treats and smores. Not to mention red velvet and cream cheese bites. Needless to say it was a busy weekend.

As I sat yesterday afternoon just enjoying being with my family and having nothing at all to do, I received a call. It was my cousin calling to tell me a friend of ours has cancer. It was hard to hear. I’ve known him all my life and we’ve always been friends. It’s always hard to hear that word ‘cancer’. I prayed for him and knew he was in good hands. 

My writing has been in the forefront of my mind lately. I have a couple of books in the works and am impatient to get them completed. I guess that’s just the life of a writer. I have to keep my focus on the writing instead of the finish. If I focus on the finish too much my writing will lack some of it’s luster. I don’t want to rush through the last couple of chapters. 

I don’t know how one of the books will end exactly. Most of my books I have them mapped out in my mind and usually have a good idea how they’ll end, but this one book has changed as it has unfolded. As each chapter develops and the characters get their chance at the story it’s changed and evolved. I’m happy with the many changes, but am anxious to see it to the end.

Several fans are chomping at the bit for the 2nd book in the Alpine series. It was such an exciting book to write. I can’t wait to get started on it. All of my books are on sale for .99 until December 26th. I want to do this as a thanks to all my devoted and beloved fans. It’s been an awesome year for me and my writing.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Christmas Spirit, Love and Sharing

Image

Today’s post is a step away from my normal writing and publishing blog. I want to ask you a simple question, Do you have the

Christmas Spirit this year? I’m not talking about the I’ve got to go shopping today, the ornaments are up , but the Christmas Spirit.

You may be saying, What are you talking about? Well, it’s quite simple really. Have you done something for someone less fortunate this Christmas season and not just to get a tax benefit, but from the heart? Have you spent time with family and friends and thought about someone or something other than yourself?

I went with my family out to eat last night for Christmas. It was great to be with my uncle and aunt and couisins and their families, not to mention my mom, her friend, my brother and his family and my hubby and son. I sat there looking around the table thinking about how much our family has grown. We’ve gained lots of new members in the last twenty or so years. But it was nice to take a moment out of our busy lives to just be together. Yes it was crowded in the small room we’d reserved but the point was to be together. As we left I felt sad that we didn’t get to spend more time together, but life takes over sometimes. 

Tommorow at Church we’re getting together as a Church family and putting together boxes for the families at the local family and children services. These families won’t have much for Christmas so we try to give them something special to unwrap on Christmas morning. Some gifts are as simple as a doll or car, toothbrush and toothpaste. Actually things we take for granted but they’d be thrilled to have. Even hairbows and brushes, pencils and school supplies, things that they need but don’t have. It warms my heart to help with such a special cause, but it’s never enough. Why can’t we just spend a couple of dollars to help those less fortunate?

It’s not about the huge, pricey gifts. It’s the thought. No child should wake up Christmas morning without at least one thing under the tree. Christmas is by no means just about the gifts, it’s about our Savior’s Birth. But we need to teach our kids the spirit of giving which He spoke of so often and for some reason we’ve stepped away from it. 

It could be something simple like a warm blanket and coat. You may be warm in your house, but what about families that can’t afford heat. Give them something warm to wrap up with. 

But why not all year long. Why do we only think of those less fortunate at Christmas? We should keep the spirit of Christmas in our hearts year round. We should follow His word and give to those in need all year. Think of the troops that are away from home. They are not just away at Christmas, they’re away for months to years at a time, but most only think about them at this time of the year.

So my challenge to you is this. Do something nice for someone. Maybe set a goal to do something for someone every month of the year. Plan a special project you can do for someone in need. It could be as simple as cooking a meal for a shut-in or just collecting cans and donating them to a family in need. The smile you’ll receive and the feeling will get contagious and dare I say it, you might become an habital giver.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobalt220/5239194817/”>Rdoke</a&gt; via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>cc</a&gt;

Advertising and Promotions?

Well I forgot to turn the heater on in my office this morning. It’s a balmy 25 outside and inside my office it’s real close to that. My fingers are numb, but I ran into the house and warmed up my sweater by the fire. I’m sure my neighbors think I’ve gone nuts running back and forth between the office and the house, but it’s too cold to merely walk.

On to this morning’s writing topic. How do you advertise or promote? Well you may be saying, what’s the difference? I’m going to give you my view of the differences and then a few pieces of advice. To me advertising is something you pay for and promoting is getting your book out there via any channel you can get your two cents in.

Advertising

Advertising is a hot topic among authors. Do you pay a hefty fee and hope that someone will see the ad and buy your book? It’s a catch 22 really. I believe that you need some paid advertising to get your book in front of a different audience than just Facebook, Twitter and various other places. But choose wisely. I’ve heard of too many authors that paid for advertising and never saw the ad or much less found it on the site. Don’t choose too quickly from an exciting email you get from a “advertising firm”. 

Take for instance, yesterday I received an email from a company that said they’d put my book on many sites for a fee. They went on to paint a pretty impressive picture of their company. Funny thing is when I Googled their firms name I didn’t find anything, nada, nothing! That was a major red flag for me. They then went into their fees. WHOA!!! Let’s just say, I’d have to sell hundreds of books to even make it back. Needless to say I deleted said email and went on my merry way.

If you find a reputable place to advertise and it’s fairly reasonable for what you’re getting, then by all means go for it. If they say their service tweets and facebooks your ad, go to Twitter and Facebook to see the traffic they garner. If they only have 10 followers and no responses or few retweets you’d best move on. ‘Nough said.

Promotions

Now this can be fun and tedious at the same time. Don’t over promote in a day. The reason I say this is, I’ve tried to analyze the results from a study I did. I tested this theory on Twitter and was amazed. I spent two days just blowing up Twitter with nothing but promotional stuff from my books. I tweeted from every book site I had and yada yada. Then I watched as my Twitter followers started dropping off like wasps in a nest after they met Raid. Well, it’s obvious that this wasn’t a good plan. Then I did this in a more laid back way and gained several new followers. I only tweeted a couple of times during high traffic times and added in books from other authors and funny sayings or just daily writing tips. Amazing the difference. Even had several nice retweets, especially thankful ones from the authors I tweeted. Yes, the first test garnered a couple of retweets, but only from my most dedicated Twitter followers. 

A lot of sites say they’ll do the tweeting and posting for you, but let’s get real, we can do that ourselves for free. Well, that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

Here’s a couple of the places that I’ve done paid advertising and seen results:

http://www.rwa.org/ Romance Writer’s Of America – I put an ad in their monthly magazine and had some great results. It’s not very expensive and it reaches many readers that actually read my genre. They’re really easy to work with and totally worth it. Also join their organization to get the monthly magazine and all their wonderful help on their website.

http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/about-ian.html The Independent Author Network. This is a great site also to promote and advertise. The authors here work as a team to tweet and retweet each other’s books. I always notice a big upswing in views and sales when I go in and help other authors. Very reasonable to join.

http://bookclubreading.com Book Club Reading is a new one I’m using for both areas. They help you to get your name and books out to book clubs. Their advertising is fairly reasonable and it’s helped with sales of my Christmas book.

Promotional sites I worked with that are free and easy:

http://www.prlog.org This is a press release site. I use the free option and they produce great looking press releases that you can send out to all your social sites and they put them into several channels. It’s fairly easy to use and set up is easy.

Goodread.com Goodreads is a great promotional area. Set up events for upcoming promotions and join groups that are in your genre. It promotes your name and get’s you some great advice to boot. 

Shelfari.com Shelfari is a great place to put your books and gained followers. You can download your books directly from Amazon and even your reading list. I’ve made some great friends on this site.

http://worldliterarycafe.com/ This site is a wonderful promotional tool and I’ve learned a lot from them. Join their group on Facebook and ask what you need to know or just read what others have asked. Of course on the Facebook group don’t promote your books. That part of their site is only for Q & A or helpful hints. 

Now these are just a couple. There’s so many great sites out there and I know I didn’t mention even half of them.

As always good writing and May God Bless You…

 

 

45 years of Blessings…

Many people try to ignore birthdays. For me I’m so blessed with each year I’m given. The fact that I got up this morning is a blessing in itself. I have so much to be thankful for.

This morning I woke to my wonderful husband and son wishing me a Happy Birthday. Then when I opened my computer my email was blowing up with Birthday wishes from family, friends and fans. It’s amazing the support I’ve received from my family, friends and my adoring fans.

The Birthday wishes have been coming in from all over and it’s such a blessing. My writing has been a blessing and to be able to publish my long, hard work. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a teenager and guess what, I’m a published author. This blessing has gained me so many new friends and I’ve met some great authors that I’ve been reading for years. It’s been such an awesome time.

So many don’t realize their blessings. They leave them in a closet somewhere and refuse to acknowledge them. Blessings are meant to be acknowledged, appreciated and thankful for. But most of all they are meant to be passed on to others. It’s like the Christmas Spirit should be kept in your heart 365 days a year. Celebrate life daily and be glad for every minute in our short lives. That’s why all my books are .99 through Christmas. I want to give something back to my readers.

Have a wonderful day and know I’m passing on my blessings and well wishes for you all.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…