RELEASE DAY AND BLOG TOUR for A CHARMING WISH

It's here!! It's a couple of days early. . .but I don't mind!

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

"Tonya Kappes' A Magical Cure Series, charmed me until the end!" ~ Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

Bubble, Bubble. . .

It seems shop owner and newly appointed Whispering Falls Village President June Heal has it all: Beauty, wits, bewitching powers...Sheriff Oscar Park. Life is good. Because life in Whispering Falls is magical.

Cures and Trouble. . .

But when a member of the community is found dead on the steps of A Charming Cure, June's homeopathic cure shop, and her fingerprints show up at the scenes of local robberies, she is kicked off the village council and her powers fall under scrutiny. Until it's uncovered who is wreaking havoc on the town...June's magic is suspended.

Magic Stirs. . .

With the help of a rather obnoxious genie and Mr. Prince Charming, June's Fairy-God cat, June is determined to figure out who is framing her. Time is of the essence when it becomes clear that the true villain is trying to get rid of her...permanently!

And Trouble Doubles. . .

Oscar Park will do anything to protect June even if that means giving up all of his magical powers. . .or worse, his life.

My blog tour starts tomorrow and I hope you join me! There are prizes and fun to be had!

March 17, 2013
A Charming Wish Book Tour stops at Cozy up with Kathy
March 14, 2013
A Charming Wish Book Tour stops at Mochas, Mysteries & More
March 15, 2013
A Charming Wish Book Tour stops at Cozy Mystery Book Review
March 16, 2013
A Charming Wish Book Tour stops at Omnimystery
March 17, 2013
A Charming Wish Book Tour stops at Shelley Reads & Reviews

March 19, 2013
A Charming Wish Book Tour stops at Musings & Ramblings
March 20, 2013
A Charming Wish Book Tour stops at A Blue Million Books
March 21, 2013
A Charming Wish Book Tour stops at A Chick Who Reads
March 28, 2013
A Charming Wish Book Tour stops at Melina's Book Blog
April 3, 3013
A Charming Wish Book tour stops at Read Your Writes 
April 12, 2013
A Charming Wish Book tour stops at Dru's Book Musing

Be sure to spread the word about this series. Don't forget to join my STREET TEAM so you can join in on the launch fun at my SPRING FLING PARTY where over fifty authors have donated a copy of their novels!

TAG me, LIKE me, LOVE ME!

Over the past couple weeks I have been hearing a lot about tagging and clicking like on Amazon books. This is really nothing new. But it hit me like a ton of bricks!

It's new to all the traditional authors or writers who have decided to let go of the traditional route and self-publish. It's nothing new to the indie community. We have been tagging and liking books for YEARS.

As a matter of fact, this time last year tagging and liking Amazon books (any retailer for that matter) was a big controversy. The issue was how it was misleading to "the reader" when the person tagging or liking the book hadn't even read it. Even Amazon went as far as deleting ebook tags for a little while but then they  brought them back.

I saw it as a BIG BUNCH OF CRAP!

(REALLY GROSS, BUT I LOVED IT!)

I didn't give into the controversy because tagging and liking works for me. I do like the author and I do think they have tagged their books correctly. AND there is a reason those likes and tags are there.

1) The more likes you have your book moves up in the Amazon algorithms which helps with visibility. I'm not an expert on algorithms and I really don't care how they work just as long as I'm in there somewhere. 

2) Tagging your books help readers, YES READERS, find your book. A CHARMING CRIME is my latest novel. I tagged it magical, witches, potions, mystery, woman sleuth plus more. When a NEW reader who hasn't read me types in witch mystery or cozy mystery, my novel will pop up in the search as possible books they might like. BUT you have to have a lot of tags to get up in those algorithms. 

3) Liking and tagging your author friend's book is a GREAT way to pay it forward! It really is easy to do and takes no time at all. I always make sure that when my closest author friend's novel comes out, I go and tag/like the book. 

4) Tagging and liking groups. YES! I'm in a couple groups where we tag and like each other's books. One is a closed group, while the other is on the Kindle Board Author Tag Exchange. It's a great way to get some quick tags when your book is released and climb higher in those algorithms. 

5) Do you LOVE to view the who bought your book bought this book? Guess what? The tagging and liking helps put you in those streams too!! 

As you can see, liking and tagging is a great promotional tool. BUT beware....There is a down side to tagging. Readers can go in and add their own tags. Or even jealous writers can tag your novel. That is a very nasty thing to do, but it does happen. 

So it's super important to make your tags relevant to your books. Go ahead! Tag and like!

. . .Oh! If there was a LOVE click...I'd do that too!

What are your thoughts on tagging/liking? Do you do it?

Happy New Life Free For A Couple Of Days!

Happy New Life is free for the next couple days! I wanted to thank everyone for your support, and the only way I can do that is to offer you a free book! If you have it, please pass it along and let someone else discover Grandberry Falls.

Interior decorator and divorced mom, Liz Day, is living her dream by opening up The Mole Hole Interiors. Life couldn't be better with best friend Jenna Greenlee and boyfriend, Cole Michaels by her side. Until she discovers a deep secret between Jenna and Cole that will change the lives in Grandberry Falls.

Jenna vows to make the new year, the beginning of a NEW LIFE. . .HAPPY NEW LIFE.

"Another wonderful, heart-felt trip through Grandberry Falls. 
Recently divorced all Liz wanted was a place to call home, where she could raise her son apart from the life she was leaving behind.

Life was coming together, finally. Every other weekend saw her traveling, taking her son to visit his father. The rest of the time saw her running her business and falling into place perfectly. Still, something was missing . . . or is that someone was missing. 

Enter Cole. Sparks fly almost instantly between Cole and Liz, but when Liz sees the reaction her BFF Jenna has to him . . well, things get a bit confusing for Liz. Does she follow her heart and check out this connection with Cole that she can't deny is there? Or does she stay true to her friendship and dis him because her BFF has a problem with him, even if she doesn't understand what that issue is? It also doesn't help matters that when Liz moved to town she was talked into getting a dog and Cole just happens to be the dog trainer and local vet. 

I tried really hard to make this book last a few days. I was making sure to only read a little bit each night, and I did good for a few nights. Then last night when I picked up the book, it had other ideas. I started reading and before I knew it, the book was over! 

If you haven't had the chance to visit Grandberry Falls, I highly recommend that give it a go . . you won't be disappointed." Reader, Stephanie Overton

" With Happy New Life, her 4th novel of the year and 2nd in the charming Grandberry Falls series, I can honestly say her work just gets better and better. This is my favorite so far, which is really saying something as I have adored everyone of her completely refreshing stores. I love how this one centers on 2 people brought together by a sweet dog, Tramp. There's a little romance, a little mystery, but above all else it's a heartwarming look at the power of love, friendship, and forgiveness. And set during the holiday season in a picturesque little town is just the icing on the cake. " Reader, Melissa Lapiere

You can download your copy of HAPPY NEW LIFE on Amazon.

Apple making a big MOVE for EBOOKS

It looks like Apple is getting in the game of self published authors this month. Good eReader is reporting that Apple is going to "launch an new digital platform" that will get their share of the success that Amazon (KDP) and Barnes and Noble (Publit) has seen over the last fifteen months.
eBookNewser reports: “There’s no word yet on when the event will take place, but the fact there are 2 inside sources does lend a lot of weight to the rumor. Also, consider the timing of the leak. CES is next week, and once again Apple has managed to upstage the trade show. This is exactly what they did with the original iPad launch 2 years ago. Everyone at CES 2010 talked about the Apple event, and that’s probably going to happen here, too.”
What does this mean for authors? 
This is great for self-published authors because the only way to published on Apple products is through Smashwords. And that can take up to six weeks. With the option to upload to an Apple publishing, the author will be able to get their product out faster like they can do with KDP and pubit.
Is this something we saw coming? YES! As soon as we heard that KDP was coming up with an Amazon exclusive, we knew that some other type of epublisher like Pubit or Smashwords might come up with something similar. But Apple? 
The fact that we do know is that Apple will announce their new venture this month and it has nothing to do with products. 
TechCrunch is reporting that “the event will not involve any hardware at all and instead will focus on publishing and eBooks (sold through Apple’s iBooks platform) rather than iAds. Attendance will also be more publishing industry-oriented than consumer-focused.”Apple "will use the EPUB format and make it very easy for people to convert their documents or existing books to comply with their format."

Why now? The CES, the worlds largest consumer technology tradeshow, is next week in Las Vegas. This isn't the first time Apple has announced something big before the show to steal the thunder. Apple did this two years ago with the IPad. So more than likely, Apple will take the show again with this news.

What do you think? Would you go with an exclusive Apple over Amazon's KDP select?

Ten Things You Should Know About Writers

Ten Things You Should Know About Writers

1. We aren’t eavesdropping. Linguistic training is a part of our job. We listen to speech patterns so we can effectively write dialogue beats.

2. Yes. We do have to check Twitter, Facebook and Seekerville hourly. It is essential to stay up to date on the ever changing publishing world.

3. It is normal for writers to speak in the third person present tense. Deal with it.

4. Don’t ask if we’re published yet. Or if we’ve published anything you might have read. Trust me, it only makes us cranky.

5. As a general rule, writers are not interested in your brilliant idea for a best-seller that we can write for you and then split the profits.

6. We believe there are dumb questions. Where do you get your ideas is right up there at the top.

7. Our favorite words are not The End, they are, I want to buy your book.

8. For every ten words we write we delete six. We get goosebumps when we write the perfect sentence.

9. We are unable to watch a film with out analyzing the plot elements per the Heroes Journey. (Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call…)

10. If you see us sitting in front of the computer/laptop staring at a blank screen for long periods of time without moving, we are still writing. Do not interrupt.

Can you think of any more?