Put the FIRE in your MARKETING!

As an author, have you really thought about how you can use the E-reader to network with your true reader?

I'm lucky in the fact that I have a Nook, Ipad, Iphone, Kindle and Kindle Fire. But the Kindle Fire has an amazing feature that allows you to connect straight to your target audience. . .your READERS!! The actual people who bought your novel!!

Yes!!

The THOUGHT feature allows you to not only see what readers have to say, but to schedule an author chat! How cool would it be if you were on the THOUGHT feature of your favorite book, and the author got on and responded back?

NOW THAT'S PRETTY COOL!

How does the feature work?

Open your book in the FIRE and tap on the screen. The menu bar will come up at the bottom. You will see the symbol of a house, notes, and a bubble (plus more).
Tap the bubble.
It magically takes you into your book.
The title is SHARED NOTES AND QUOTES.
You can also share your THOUGHTS with Twitter and Facebook by clicking the boxes.

Before I decided to host a FIRE BOOK CLUB, I wanted a few answers from Amazon. Why? Because I put the invite out to a lot of random people:


Book club meeting for A CHARMING CRIME!! Tonight at 9-10 pm EST on the Kindle Fire!! It's for everyone ♥ AND some surprises too! Hope to see you there!


When I asked Amazon the question about etiquette issues, they sent me this link to refer to. It's the same link that has their rules for reviews. Another question I had was how long does the THOUGHTS stay connected to the book and if the THOUGHTS can be downloaded.

Amazon informed me that the chat is there for the lifetime of the book or if the owner of the THOUGHT decided to delete it, they could delete by going into the chat and clicking on the X by their THOUGHT. Unfortunately, it can not be downloaded.

I looked around at some of my favorite books to see if anyone had any THOUGHTS, and was pleasantly surprised to notice that they had. I hadn't seen it used as a review site for the books, but a way to share a passage you might love or quotes. I'm sure there are negative THOUGHTS out there, but I think if an author interacts using the cool THOUGHT feature, it will help negate those negative people.

Readers can simply type a THOUGHT  or go into the book and share one of their highlights by clicking the share button after you highlight the passage.

Anyways.....
I decided to host a BOOK CLUB CHAT with my STREET TEAM members and Facebook friends. It was great getting "my friends" feedback when I first announced that I wanted to do this.

Why did I do this?

First and foremost it has everything to do with me connecting to my reader on a more personal level, and making them comfortable alongside other readers.

I wanted it to run just like a book club chat. When someone came into the chat, I welcomed them for that personal touch. Once everyone said hello, it started.
I asked them a few questions about the book, the plot, and where they saw the series going.
It was great! They were enthusiastic about the series and told me some things they like to see as the series progress.

At the end of the very quick hour, this is what I found out:
1) Everything I typed was seen on Twitter and Facebook because I didn't uncheck their boxes.
2) Every time I wrote a THOUGHT, I had to refresh the page to see what everyone else said.
3) I have some FREAKIN' GREAT readers!!!

All in all, it was a learning curve. I found it to be a great way for readers to connect with a favorite author and vice-versa. I also think it's a great tool to put in your toolbox if you are in introvert! It made me wonder if this was the new book signing..... Go on and look in my book! Open up A CHARMING CRIME and hit the bubble. Read through our chat and see how to interact effectively using your FIRE!

What about you? Is this a new way to be involved in book clubs? Or the new way to connect with your readers?

Sample Sunday HAPPY NEW LIFE

ONE

Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and hard to forget.

~Author Unknown

“How are you doing in there?” Beth Harrison shouted between the wooden slats of the dressing room door. “I’m leaving a couple more out here for you to try-on.”

Liz ignored her and looked at the black-sequined dress in the three-fold mirror. There was no way the image staring back at her was really her.

She’d been in The Figure 8 several times over the past year. She’d stood in front of this very mirror many times, but she’d never seen this person.

She smiled. This was the one, she thought with a faint sigh of relief.

The hinges creaked as Liz slowly opened the door.

Beth brought her hands to her mouth. “Perfect. Jenna made me swear I’d help you pick out something perfect, but I think we’ve hit it out of the park.” Beth brushed her long crimson hair behind her shoulders. Her green eyes were popping with envy.

Beth ran her hands down the side of the sequined dress, along Liz’s frame. At the hem, she folded it under, making it a little shorter.

“Let’s take it up a few.” Beth winked. “You’ve got great legs.”

“No, I’ll take it exactly the way it is.” Liz sashayed back into the dressing room, letting the hem fall back to its original place.

She took one last look in the full-length mirror and her smile broadened.

Maybe Beth and her twenty-something-year-old friends would wear the dress shorter, but Liz wouldn’t be comfortable.

“Thank you, thank you,” Liz whispered out loud. A trickle of excitement swept through her lost soul.

How in the world had she let Jenna Greenlee talk her into co-hosting the annual Mothers Against Drunk Driving New Year’s Eve fund raiser? Jenna had always hosted it alone. Why did she need Liz? At least it would be better than in past years when Liz rang in the new year crying in her bed.

This is the one, she smiled again because she knew what Hayes would say.

Hayes, her twelve-year old son, constantly asked her why she always wore black. She’d tell him it was more professional, and professional was the image she had to maintain in order to court her clients who pay her to decorate their houses.

Truth be told, Liz liked the way her caramel highlights seemed to look creamier against black. She may be forty, but she could still pull off the long, straight Demi Moore look.

A year ago, the town folk didn’t know what to think when Liz Day blew into Grandberry Falls, Kentucky and opened up The Mole Hole Interiors.

She had, of course, done her homework before she uprooted Hayes and moved two hours away from her hometown, away from family and long-time friends.

The quaint town of Grandberry Falls had appealed to her. The waterfall in the center of town was like magic to her soul. The first time she stood on the charming brick road in front of the waterfall, she felt a peacefulness settled over her that she hadn’t felt in the past couple of years. Not to mention the old Victorian homes that lined the streets were way past their prime and in desperate need of a makeover. These were signs to her, and she believed in serendipitous signs.

But coming up with a name for the shop to fit in with Grandberry Falls, was another story. She couldn’t name it any old thing when the shop was surrounded with stores like The Fatted Pig Restaurant, The Purple Cow Bookshop, The Trembling Cup Café and, The Thirsty Turtle Bar.

It had to be unique and quirky and she knew it. This was a town with a sense of humor.

‘Name-the-shop’ was a game Hayes made up where they threw out different animals in silly phrases. They laughed especially hard at The Great Goatsby, in honor of Liz’s favorite book, The Great Gatsby. Hayes had even drawn a picture of a Goat wearing a dapper twenties suit.

Hayes was smart, clever, and handsome. He was her pride and joy. If she was going to make a good life for him, Grandberry Falls was the place.

“Not bad, not bad.” She brushed down the sequins along her hips and twirled around to make sure the dress looked decent on all sides.

Her mouth curled in a faint smile. The Brown Tiger Tanning Salon on Main, was worth the few extra dollars investment for the spray on tan. Her legs, although slender, still weren’t as tone as she would like them, but they’d have to do.

Her eyes stopped. The back of the dress was low cut, almost to her waist. Racier than she planned, but who was there to impress—no one.

“When you’re ready, I’ll be at the counter.” Beth chimed on the other side of the dressing room door causing Liz to lose her train of thought.

She twirled around one last time, secretly wishing she could run home, put on the dress, and seduce her loved one. That isn’t going to happen unless her hairy dog got excited.

When she took off the sequined black dress, it slid down her slim frame. The smooth cold fabric sent chills up her spine. Carefully, she hung it up.

She glanced at her watch, not wanting to be late for her standing lunch date with Jenna. Besides, she had to stop by The Busy Bee to pick up the yarn tassels she’d ordered earlier in the week.

For the past year, meeting Jenna at The Trembling Cup was a much needed break from the stress of single mommy hood and sole proprietorship.

The two hit it off right away. She had Jenna to be thankful for this holiday season. Jenna made Liz the talk of the town, going on and on about Liz’s eye for design. After that, small town gossip led to a lot of inquiry and clients for The Mole Hole, and making her a busy woman. The resulting reduction in financial stress was a welcome benefit.

“It was made just for you.” Beth pulled the protective plastic over the dress. “I can’t wait to tell Wendy you bought it.”

Wendy Owens was not only the buyer for Figure 8, but the girlfriend of Grandberry Falls’ Mayor, Mitch Dozier.

“That reminds me, I need to give her a call. She wanted a small sofa or loveseat for the mayor’s office.” Liz took a slip of scrap paper out of her purse and jotted a quick note to remind herself to make that call.

“We are still over the moon that Mitch won the election.” Beth said.

Grandberry Falls’ old mayor had been in office for over forty years and it had definitely been time for a change, especially with the impending eminent domain case against long-time resident Hazel Greenlee, Jenna’s mom.

“I sure hope he can help Hazel.” Liz said, digging deep into her purse for her wallet.

“I don’t know what’ll happen to business if that outlet mall comes to town.” There was sadness in Beth’s eyes. “I’m afraid The Figure 8 will go under.”

“Don’t worry. I have the same fears, but we’ll stick by each other.” Liz was worried too, but she knew no matter how much she stressed about it, she wouldn’t be able to change fate.

The town was divided over the whole situation. The younger generation wanted the outlet mall, while the older generation wanted Grandberry Falls to stay the same quaint little town it had always been. And they were all relying on Mitch to solve the problem so that everyone was happy, including the small business owners like Beth and Liz.

“Cash or Credit?” Beth’s nails clicked on the register buttons. “One hundred and seventy-five dollars is a steal!”

Liz gulped.

“One-hundred and…” Her mind raced. She’d never spent that kind of money on a dress for herself before.

“One-hundred and seventy-five dollars,” Beth confirmed.

“Hmm…”Liz debated on whether to put the dress back, but took out her credit card.

She liked the dress and she deserved to look good if she had to go to the party—and she had to go.

“Credit.”

“I’ve got it nice and sealed.” Beth handed the dress over the counter. “We’re supposed to get over three inches.”

The falling snow had already covered the tops of cars, and the sidewalk outside.

“And if you need a wrap, I’ll be more than happy to tell Wendy to keep her eye peeled next week when she heads down to the market.”

Of course she needed a wrap, but she sure wasn’t going to be spending much more on herself.

“I might have something at home.” She laughed thinking about how her jean jacket would look overtop the sequined dress. “I’ll let you know.”

Liz wrapped her scarf around her neck and carefully took the dress from Beth. She decided to put the dress in her Mercedes SUV, a car she really couldn’t afford, before she ran across the street to The Busy Bee.

The car salesman had promised her it would keep her and Hayes safe, as they traveled back and forth between Cincinnati and Grandberry Falls every other weekend. He was a good salesman. Using Hayes and safety in the same sentence had worked like a charm. Since she had to take Hayes every other weekend to visit his dad, she’d wanted something reliable. Granted, it wasn’t brand new, but it had still been pricey.

Trying not to think about the credit card bill that would be greeting her in the New Year, she wrapped her coat tightly around her and trotted across the street to the yarn store.

HAPPY NEW LIFE is the second novel in The Grandberry Falls Series.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Smashwords

To Book Or Not To Book...that is the question.

Now that I have five novels out, and working on six short stories plus three NEW novels for 2012, I'm having to make some business decisions.

These decisions aren't easy for me, and I won't bore you with all of them but ONE!

When I left my publisher and began my indie journey, I knew that I wanted a career as closest to being with a big six publisher that I could get.

That didn't mean I wanted a big six publisher, I don't, what I wanted was the publicity and a chance to compete with what a big six publisher might be able to get you. More marketing, more promo, yada-yada. . .But most of all I wanted a BOOK. A book to hold, a book with my name on the cover.

And I've done that! I realized I was my best marketer/promoter not some big company. I had the book signings, the copies to my friends, parents, and whoever else wanted one.

Here are the stats. I've been published for FIVE months, and in that five months I've sold over 10k ebooks and 500 print books. I'm not complaining. It's fantastic! Trust me when I say that my heart is so grateful that one book sold much less over 10k!

And the 500 print books are from signings. BUT it does cost me to have Print On Demand with Amazon. I promise I'm not in this writing gig for the money, but I don't want to go in the hole either. NOT THAT I AM, but it's a business decision that needs to be made. I hate when readers ask me why the ebook version is only .99 when the paperback is $10.99. I can control the ebook version price, but Createspace makes the final decision on the paperbacks. I would love to make my paperbacks less and gain more readers.

I hear readers all the time that are not embracing the ereaders because they LOVE the smell of a book, the feel of it, etc. And I get it. I too was hesitant until I got my Kindle. I've read more since I've had my Kindle then I have in years! Plus I'm not lugging all my paper backs everywhere. I'm not ever buying paperbacks anymore.

With in the next two weeks, the next novel in my Grandberry Falls series, HAPPY NEW LIFE, is coming out. I've made the decision to release the novel in ebook only. I'm not saying it will be like that forever, but the initial release will only be in ebook.

Don't forget that you can download Kindle for PC for FREE!! You can read on your laptop, phone, PC and get those great prices!!

Are you a ebook reader? OR do you still want that book?

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?

#Sample Sunday Splitsville.com

One

“Is Brittany there?” I question the quiet voice who answers my call. The quiet voice whose heart is about to get run over by a Mac truck. A Mac truck driven by me.

“Yes, this is her.” Brittany confirms while I’m uploading her picture sent to me by Terry, her soon to be ex-boyfriend.

“I’m Jenn from Splitsville.com,” I say going into my spiel, “and I’m calling on behalf of Terry who wants to break up with you.”

Brittany’s picture pops up on the screen. My heart bleeds for the smiling twenty something year old gal staring back at me. Her straight red hair is cut in a blunt bob, not a strand out of place. Glistening white teeth come off whiter up against her perfectly belted black cardigan.

Let me backtrack a minute. Splitsville.com started a couple of years ago when a friend wanted to dump her boyfriend. She was a big chicken, so I did it for her. Called his ass up, broke the news and Splitsville.com was born.

Here’s how it works. Clients contact me through the online form where they give their name, email address, working phone number, reason for dumping, a few details of their relationship, and a picture of the victim and, this is the most important part, payment in full. The reason for the cashola up front is in case the dump is a joke. In that case, they deserve to lose their money for being an ass and I deserve to keep it for having to deal with them.

I offer three “Break Up” packages. The cheapest and most popular is “the general break-up” for a low price of fifty dollars. “The engagement break-up” is a little steeper at one hundred dollars. It totally should be more because I can’t imagine being in the fiancé’s shoes on this one. And the worst and most expensive break-up of all is “the divorce break-up” setting up the big jerk back a mere two hundred dollars.

I know, it sounds heartless, but really, I’m helping people who are in loveless relationships be free. Like the girl on my computer who’s staring back at me. Sometimes, no matter how badly a person wants out, they just can’t pull the trigger. Splitsville.com, which means me, does it instead. Sometimes it’s not easy, but it’s my job so I don’t let my emotions into the equation.

Right on cue, she says, “Terry hired you?” Brittany is starting the first stage in “The Process.”
And the panic button is being pushed.

“The Process” is a list I’ve carefully crafted over the course of breaking up for people. No
matter what the circumstances of the dump, the process is still the same.

The Process

1. Panic (This is the first emotion when they hear the words break-up.)
2. Disbelief (They think I’m playing a joke on them.)
3. Defensive (After they realize I’m not joking, they want to explain their side.)
4. Explanation (They want me to explain the situation all over.)
5. Denial (This is where they take it out on me and deny my existence.)
6. Anger (Awww…where my ear drum becomes busted.)
7. Acceptance (Finally! They have to acknowledge the break-up and I can end the call.)

“Yes Terry hired me to break-up with you. Your obsessive habits drive him crazy.” I only state the facts in the beginning because I know she’s only taking in one word at a time. And if I get soft, the whole call will go to hell. I show my weakness and it’s over.

“How do you know Terry?” Her voice is beginning to escalate. “Is he cheating on me with you?”
Ahh…here goes number two in “the process.” She wants to cross-examine me on how I know Terry.

I take a deep breath and keep going. One thing’s for sure, this job is not easy. “No, Brit. Can I call you Brit?” I don’t wait for her answer. “He hired me to dump you because your OCD is getting in the way of your relationship.” I look at the sweet picture of Brittany that Terry sent me. I can image the fear in her eyes, especially if she’s OCD.

“I’m sorry?” She questions me like she doesn’t understand English.

“Terry emailed my online break-up service, Spitsville.com. He hired me to break up with you for him because your OCD is getting in the way of the relationship.” I practically repeat myself, but it’s usually necessary. Breakup services, after all, aren’t common like matchmaking websites. I’m one of a kind