Category: Promotion

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Promotion Writing Life

Oh, no, it’s a year end post! Wait, not really.

But it’s a post on New Year’s Eve so it counts, I guess?

Spouseman & I are ringing out the old year with leftover steak dinner from yesterday, plus lots of popcorn and hot apple cider, while watching a 2021 movie–Black Widow. Which is nothing wild or partylike, but it’s basically the kind of thing we usually do on NYE. Cozy & quiet. That’s my brand, I guess?

Earlier in the day garage cleaning occurred (EXCITEMENT!) and some visiting with a friend, and there was also writing in front of the fireplace with the cat. More progress on Serena’s dog story was made. Snacks were enjoyed. And Pippin snored a lot.

photographic proof of fireside presence.

Every time I took a writing break and surfed through the news I saw people sharing their big accomplisments from 2021. AND I AM NOTHING IF NOT A FOLLOWER. SO.

The big thing I did in 2021 was send my new book out into the world.

The Sharp Edge Of Yesterday, in case you have somehow missed all my posts about it until now, is a fantastical novel set in a world much like this one except that 10% of the populations develop unexplainable powers when they hit middle age.

It’s a story about family, secrets, mistakes, and betrayal, it’s about the power of trust and cooperation, it’s about the evil of dehumanization, and it’s about redemption. There a characters ranging in age from radical teens to badass grannies, and it stars a wicked heroine who takes charge of her own life.

Or, as my wonderful author-friend Shannon Eichorn puts it, it’s about middle-aged moms with superpowers making the military very nervous. What’s that? You think that book sounds epic excellent and want a link to find it? Here ya go: bit.ly/sharpedgekmh

It looks like this. Isn’t it pretty?

Sharp Edge didn’t get a release party, because pandemic, and for the same reason I only got to show it off at two conventions, one big, one small, but somewhat to my surprise, it released really, really well. Best of my six books so far by a long shot.

People bought it–LOTS of people, people who’ve never heard of me & didn’t know anything about the book except its blurb–they reviewed it, they bought copies for other people, and they told friends to buy it. That’s as good as it gets as far as I’m concerned.

Would I like more reviews? Of course I would. I want 100 reviews for each of my books. Why? WHY NOT? It’s a nice round number. Also a ridiculously ambitious one. Some great novels take years to hit that. Some brilliant ones never do.

On a practical level a book needs 25+ reviews specifically on Amazon before I can begin to promote it through most of the best channels available to me. (I only have 1 title over that threshold, alas, and it isn’t Sharp Edge.) And would I like more sales? Hell yes, of course, what recovering bookseller doesn’t love seeing their book fly off shelves virtual or physical?

But honestly, I only care about that part because sales mean readers, and no story circle is complete without that happening. I love the idea of sharing this world I’ve dreamed up and squeezed into existence out of nothingness. I can talk about my characters and their conflicts all day long, and I have a hundred more stories to tell about them. Hundreds more. At least.

ANYway. That’s a good place to wrap this up. Black Widow is over, and now I need to watch some Marvel What If?

Good-bye, 2021, (aka 2020 the sequel) hello, 2022. May there be new stories completed, nw stories begun, new friends made, and many good times shared.

Until later!

Categories
Furbabies Promotion Writing Life

How my books are like my cats: a study in surprising similarities.

I’ve raised six cats so far in my life. I’ve written & published six books. There are some entertaining parallels. Check it out:

Here’s my first novel, and also Jake, the first cat who was mine, not a whole-family shared pet.

Ways they’re alike:

  • a bit messy
  • rough around the edges not to everyone’s taste
  • took a long time to mature
  • hold a special place in my heart
  • more about the novel here: bit.ly/controlleddescent

2nd novel & 2nd cat, Banshee:

  • bigger than the first one
  • slightly goofy
  • lots of running around & tail-chasing
  • never gets much respect
  • more about the book here: bit.ly/FlightPlankmh

Third book, third cat:

Alexander Batwing Spook got stuck with “Kitten” as his callname. Like Weaving In the Ends, he was:

  • sleek, dark, & handsome
  • full of attitude
  • in love with yarn
  • more popular than the one who came before him.
  • there’s more about the book here: bit.ly/weavingends

If you look closely at cat 2 & 3, you get an idea of their relationship. That’s Kitten’s foot kicking Banshee in the chin. This perfectly illustrates the relationship between the two books as well.

Onward to the 4th enty.

Like my novella Novices, Bruce, our 4th cat, started off short & got longer (plot for the story, hair, in Bruce’s case) More parallels:

  • did not plan on getting another cat, did not plan on writing this book
  • LGBTQ+
  • sometimes cuddly, sometimes prickly
  • unsophisticated but sweet
  • never went according to plan
  • further book details here: amzn.to/3gMYzUp

Book 5.

This novel was a big change in direction & was unlike any story before it. Scooter, was a new adventure too. More things in common:

  • able to convince people into picking them up
  • thought-provoking
  • dark
  • but sometimes also silly & comic
  • curious? go here: bit.ly/roughpassages

And now, this!

Pippin is my big, bold, gorgeous new cat, all fluffy & huge & complicated. He’s full of goodness, sticks with you, & never goes does what people expect. Just like my latest novel. Which you can find here bit.ly/sharpedgekmh, if you’re interested. One last thing they have in common:L very long tails.

That’s all. I expect there will be a new cat fairly soon, and eventually there will be more novels. It’s gonna be fun to see how (or if) the trend continues.

There’s no deep meaning to this post. It’s winter solstice, my sleep patterns are all thrown off by the long dark nights, and that leaves me antsy & tired at once. I decided to amuse myself, and this happened.

Until later. Happy holidays!

Categories
Authoring Promotion Writing Life

People Recommendations!

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Writing is a solitary activity. Creating a book takes a village.

Getting my stories from draft to print takes loads of effort from many talented, dedicated, highly-skilled creatives. Somewhere along the line I fell out of the habit of shouting from the hilltops about the people who helped me bring six books from pixel-dreams to page-reality. It’s time for me to correct that error. Visibility matters.

Here be a list of professionals whose work I wholeheartedly, enthusiastically recommend:
(listed in reverse alphabetical order)

EDITING & DEVELOPMENT:

COVER ART & DESIGN:

CHARACTER ILUSTRATION & ART:

  • Dex Greenbright (yes, here too, he’s multi-talented)
  • Daniel Govar at danielgovar.com/
  • Many more great illustrators names are available on request. Check out the Character Art tabs in the site menu to see some of their work.

SOCIAL MEDIA REP:
Lauren Masterson: linkedin.com/in/lauren-masterson-199688108

NOTE1: Rave testimonials with specific details are available on request. (Such a request is what alerted me to my failure to provide praise on my own, in fact.)

NOTE2 : Apologies to anyone I’ve forgotten, and I probably have blanked on super important people because that’s how my brain doesn’t work sometimes. Some have been left off this list because they have moved on, moved up, changed priorities, & no longer do the kind of work they did for me–so it didn’t seem fair

NOTE3: I’ve also benefited from many supportive websites & social media resources. Too many, honestly, to list in full. Honorable mention to Writers Write on Facebook & the site NoWastedInk.com.

I’m wrapping there. What did I goof up or forget? Message me & I will fix any mistakes or oversights ASAP.

That’s it for this post. Until later!

Categories
Authoring Promotion Writing Life

Day of Twos, now with twice the gratitude

Photo by Aleksandr Nadyojin on Pexels.com

We are are launch plus two weeks & two days since The Sharp Edge of Yesterday released, and it has TWO 5-star ratings on Amazon now! It may have had the second one for a while, but there’s no review with it, so I didn’t see an alert. That may be small potaotes in the the greater world of publishing, even for indie authors, but hey, I knew my audience reach would be tiny from the get-go. Two ratings is a third of the way to the lifetime total for some of my other books.

Today also a BIG THANKS day to the folks who’ve finished the book already & reached out to say they loved it. (or enjoyed it, or at least were satisfied by it.)

Positive feedback does soothe my constantly-jangling “BUT WHAT IF NO ONE LOVES IT LIKE I DO?” nerves. I don’t doubt the quality of my writing. I don’t doubt its appeal as a general concept. But no story is ever fully complete without an audience, and I have no way of gauging whether a given story will touch many hearts, or only mine.

Fun fact 1: writers do not know if you’ve read their works unless you tell them. That’s one of the emotional reasons reviews are important. A sentence or two like, “I loved the banter and the descriptions,” or “some of the scenes made me really laugh” are more than marketing tools. They’re replies to the message in a bottle that we set drifting away from our little isolated islands.

Fun Fact 2: in my case, if you do not bring up the fact that you’ve read my writing, I will never ask. Even if you told me you planned to read a thing, I don’t remember. My brain is a sieve. Not a joke. Even if you’ve told me (multiple times) that you’ve read ALL my work and love all my characters, unless we are in regular communication about writing, and/or you’ve been a beta reader for me, I WILL forget between interactions.

I can apologize for that all day long, because it’s probably hurtful, but I can’t change my brain, and my brain capacity for “who’s read my books?” is a constantly shifting list of about two dozen people. It’s like I can juggle

How bad is it? Welp, I forgot Spouseman had read Weaving In the Ends, and I’m married to him

One small fringe benefit: my memory issue gives everyone in my life the easiest of easy outs for avoiding book-related social awkwardness.

I hope everyone I know is reading my books. I hope you love them. BUT. There will be no quiz, no assigned book report, no interrogation. While I do absolutely love to gush over my stories with readers, no matter how much I am bursting to talk about the fabulous things my characters do, to discuss the deeper themes, and the direction the series is going… I won’t start those conversations.

People seem to think I’m going to ask, “Have you read my new book” or “How did you like my book?” because they preemptively inform me that they are going to read one, or offer me excuses for not finishing one they told me they were going to read.

I won’t ask. Ever. Those are two of the the most painfully awkward questions imaginable. Forcing people to make excuses or find something Painfully Positive & Reassuring like “it was interesting, but I’m just so busy right now” or “it didn’t grab me, but it was well written,” is about as appealing as stabbing myself in the eyeballs.

No, thank you. Stilted, forced compliments might as well be gut punches to people have rejection sensitivity issues (THANKS FOR NOTHING, ADHD) And the idea of pushing someone into promising a read out of social guilt makes me feel filthy.

ANYway. I loathe making people feel cornered, so I won’t do it. If someone has DNF’d (did not finish) a book of mine or was totally unimpressed, that’s their business and none of mine. No book is right for everyone, and no one should dhave to feel like they need to justify their reading or non-reading. Period. No need to apologize for not reading my books or for not liking them. It’s easy to let forgotten dogs lie, so to speak.

If you’re planning to read Sharp Edge or any of my other books, I am ecstatic for you. I write fantastic books. They will give you Big Feels and make you ponder important Life Stuff. I want the whole WORLD to

And if you want to talk, hit me up.

All that, in summary, is why I am so wildly, gloriously grateful to everyone who does reach out to share moments of squee or tidbits of joy re:my books. Every share is a fresh, lovely surprise and a big boost to my confidence. I truly am thankful for all my readers & love you all.

Even if I don’t remember the specifics for long.

And that’s all until later, except for the wrap-up ads. (buy my wonderful books, join the Exclusive Good Stuff mailing list, etc, etc.)

The Sharp Edge Of Yesterday

Moms with superpowers making the military nervous.

Working mothers, radical teens, & cynical Marines team up to battle bureaucracy & bigotry. Also contains gardening tips, family secrets, carrots, kittens, and more. Ebook & Paperback

LEARN MORE

Rough Passages

Enter a world where every midlife crisis could cause a national disaster.

Where it all began: a novel in eight stories about five people whose lives are upended–for better or worse–when they receive mysterious new abilities. Ebook & paperback.

LEARN MORE
Two of everything means twice the random cats.
Photo by Aleksandr Nadyojin on Pexels.com
Categories
Authoring Promotion Writing Life

Eels, dear readers.

Photo by Diego Sandoval on Pexels.com

My brain has a bad case of “Hahaha no focus for you!” today.

It’s book release nerves. I know that. Knowing doesn’t help. (WHY, NERVES? WHY? YOU ARE POINTLESS.)

Being antsy will have zero effect on The Sharp Edge Of Yesterday’s ultimate fate. Either it will land in a cushy safety net built by happy readers who write reviews and make word-of-mouth recommendations, or it will quickly sink into the yawning void of the internet, mostly unseen and unloved except by my elite cadre of awesome fans.

That’s out of my hands. What’s in my hands is a lot of work.

Well. It should be in my hands. It’s languishing undone. I still need to write social media promos to boost the release. My email list needs love. The website will need updating. Boxes need mailing–suffice to say, there’s a lot more on the list.

Then there’s all the Life Stuff that doesn’t stop just because I write books. Bills need paying, a million little things need fixing, the cupboards are kinda bare, the laundry (AUGH LAUNDRY)

I know I need to choose one task and start it, but they all feel so slippery inside my head it’s impossible to get a grip on them. Seriously. Each task is a slick, slimy, squirmy eel of an idea that gets slipperier the longer I try to hold onto it for evaluation. Is slipperier a word? Spellcheck thinks so. ANYway.

Forget brain weasels. Today I have brain hagfish.

OK,, fine, hagfish aren’t eels, but WORK WITH ME HERE, will you? They’re figurative hag eels. Or something.

I could keep wrestling with them, or I could keep scrolling social media for funny memes, write a blog post, & wait for one of the tasks to dry off enough that I can pick it up. Guess which strategy I’m going with.

Oh, and the book on sale I mentioned? ROUGH PASSAGES $0.99 ebook right now. Moms with superpowers, activist teens, & heroic Marines. You want it. Unless you have it already. You probably do.

But if you don’t:

amazon.com/rough-passages for Kindle
books2read.com/rough-passages for everything else.

Sharp Edge of Yesterday (like Rough Passages, only bigger, longer, & with MOAR POWERS) has its own linkie page: linktr.ee/SharpEdge.

Okay, that’s more than enough for now. Probably too much.

Until later!

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Bonus kitteh picture for everyone who got this far.
(Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com)

PS: EXTRA life points for anyone who knows the song I paraphrased in the post title.