Author Liesel K. Hill's Musings on Fantasia...
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
For Authors: Promos That Work
Good morning! How was everyone's weekend?
***So I just found this in my blog drafts. It was meant to post back in October, but for some reason...didn't. *smacks forehead with palm* So here it is now. ;D***
I promised some time ago that as I started to do more promos and marketing, I'd share my results. Yeah, I've been kinda remiss on that, but I'm going to try and do better going forward.
So this post is for authors. If you don't have books to sell, or aren't interested in ebook promo, this post may put you to sleep. You've been warned. 😉
So a couple of weeks ago, I realized my stand alone crime fiction, The Botanist, really wasn't doing so hot. It was sad and lonely and felt bad because it was getting picked last on Amazon. 😥
Of course that was my fault because I hadn't paid it any promo attention in months. So I decided it was the perfect time to experiment.
Because it's not part of a series, I didn't really want to do a free promo. Sure, free promos will get it into the hands of MANY readers, but it won't net me any cash. Obviously. Best to do free promos for the first book of a series, because many people will buy through. Stand-alones, not so much. Don't get me wrong, you can totally use a stand-alone for your book magnet, but I'm not ready to do that for The Botanist yet. I want Alex and Cody to get a little more love first.
So, I set up a promo using BargainBooksy, which is the sister site to FreeBooksy. I did a $0.99 promo for The Botanist. (I had to change the price to that on Amazon for a set period.)
The promo appeared on Bargain Booksy's site on a Saturday. I paid $55.00 for said promo.
I read about other authors who'd used this same promo, and they reported roughly 100 downloads. That's almost exactly what I got. 103, to be exact.
On the up side, since I'd only moved 2 copies of this book in the past six months, 100 downloads is great! I was super-stoked.
On the down side, at $0.99, you're only making about $0.35 per copy, which means the promo doesn't quite pay for itself. At least, not in downloads.
But...wait for it...
If your book is in KU (which The Botanist is) promos like these can still make you more money than what you made on downloads.
See, lots of people who see the promo have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. So they hop over to check and see if your book is there.
If it's not, SOME of them will probably download it. If they're interested enough and, let's face it, it's only $0.99, they may. I have no idea what the statistic on that would be. It probably just depends on the person, how much book money they have to spend this week and how alluring your book/cover/blurb is.
But many KU subscribers won't download a book even if it's not in KU because they're trying to avoid paying anything extra on top of their subscription.
But back to my experience. I noticed a definite upswing in page reads from KU. The promo ran on Oct. 7th. So you can see that before that there was no KU activity at all. (I'd actually only put this one in KU about a week before the promo, so that's a lot of why. The weekend of the promo, as you can see, there's a small blip. Each of those 4 little stumps represent between 100 and 200 pages. (Not much, but better than nothing, and remember you get paid for KU pages.)
But look at the rest of the month. Suddenly I was getting more like 500-1000 pages read a day. Often more than that.
Overall, the promo did pay for itself over about 60 days' time. I didn't make a huge amount of profit, but I broke event, made a small chunk of change over my expenses, and got my book in the hands of somewhere between 100 and 200 new readers. Small potatoes, but that's what promos should, right? Not bad for a stand alone.
Don't know what KU is?
KU stands for Kindle Unlimited. Think of it like Netflix, but for books. Subscribers pay a monthly fee that allows them to read any book in KU for free. As many books as they want, as many times as they want. Like Netflix, KU doesn't have every book Amazon offers. The author has to put it in there and there are criteria, like Amazon exclusivity, but it's a great way for newbie authors to get noticed and get paid. More details HERE.
Have you used Bargain or Free Booksy before? What were your results? Let us know in the comments! (And have a fantastic day!)
***So I just found this in my blog drafts. It was meant to post back in October, but for some reason...didn't. *smacks forehead with palm* So here it is now. ;D***
I promised some time ago that as I started to do more promos and marketing, I'd share my results. Yeah, I've been kinda remiss on that, but I'm going to try and do better going forward.
So this post is for authors. If you don't have books to sell, or aren't interested in ebook promo, this post may put you to sleep. You've been warned. 😉
Of course that was my fault because I hadn't paid it any promo attention in months. So I decided it was the perfect time to experiment.
Because it's not part of a series, I didn't really want to do a free promo. Sure, free promos will get it into the hands of MANY readers, but it won't net me any cash. Obviously. Best to do free promos for the first book of a series, because many people will buy through. Stand-alones, not so much. Don't get me wrong, you can totally use a stand-alone for your book magnet, but I'm not ready to do that for The Botanist yet. I want Alex and Cody to get a little more love first.
So, I set up a promo using BargainBooksy, which is the sister site to FreeBooksy. I did a $0.99 promo for The Botanist. (I had to change the price to that on Amazon for a set period.)
The promo appeared on Bargain Booksy's site on a Saturday. I paid $55.00 for said promo.
I read about other authors who'd used this same promo, and they reported roughly 100 downloads. That's almost exactly what I got. 103, to be exact.
On the up side, since I'd only moved 2 copies of this book in the past six months, 100 downloads is great! I was super-stoked.
On the down side, at $0.99, you're only making about $0.35 per copy, which means the promo doesn't quite pay for itself. At least, not in downloads.
But...wait for it...
If your book is in KU (which The Botanist is) promos like these can still make you more money than what you made on downloads.
See, lots of people who see the promo have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. So they hop over to check and see if your book is there.
If it's not, SOME of them will probably download it. If they're interested enough and, let's face it, it's only $0.99, they may. I have no idea what the statistic on that would be. It probably just depends on the person, how much book money they have to spend this week and how alluring your book/cover/blurb is.
But many KU subscribers won't download a book even if it's not in KU because they're trying to avoid paying anything extra on top of their subscription.
But back to my experience. I noticed a definite upswing in page reads from KU. The promo ran on Oct. 7th. So you can see that before that there was no KU activity at all. (I'd actually only put this one in KU about a week before the promo, so that's a lot of why. The weekend of the promo, as you can see, there's a small blip. Each of those 4 little stumps represent between 100 and 200 pages. (Not much, but better than nothing, and remember you get paid for KU pages.)
But look at the rest of the month. Suddenly I was getting more like 500-1000 pages read a day. Often more than that.
Overall, the promo did pay for itself over about 60 days' time. I didn't make a huge amount of profit, but I broke event, made a small chunk of change over my expenses, and got my book in the hands of somewhere between 100 and 200 new readers. Small potatoes, but that's what promos should, right? Not bad for a stand alone.
Don't know what KU is?
KU stands for Kindle Unlimited. Think of it like Netflix, but for books. Subscribers pay a monthly fee that allows them to read any book in KU for free. As many books as they want, as many times as they want. Like Netflix, KU doesn't have every book Amazon offers. The author has to put it in there and there are criteria, like Amazon exclusivity, but it's a great way for newbie authors to get noticed and get paid. More details HERE.
Have you used Bargain or Free Booksy before? What were your results? Let us know in the comments! (And have a fantastic day!)
Monday, December 18, 2017
Ax Those Crutchwords! The Worst Offender: Was
 |
| Source |
If you've ever read your writing and thought it sounded sub-par or unprofessional, but just didn't know how to fix it, chances are you're leaning on crutch words or using passive voice. I'll show you how to fix that.
The truth is that writers don't have enough of a science behind fixing this sort of thing. Sure, most of the really great writers out there stay away from crutch words and passive voice, but most of that is instinctual for them, after a lot of hours of writing and learning and honing.
Even most other authors you'll find may be able to tell you that something is lacking in your writing, but even they may not know exactly what it is or how to fix it. Or even if they can pinpoint it, it's hard for them (for any of us) to give actual, definable steps toward fixing our weak writing.
Saying, "Do it better," really doesn't help much. Especially newbie writers who really want to write better, but simply don't know how.
Here's where I'll start giving tips to help you out with this. Because there are many MANY offenders when it comes to crutch words, and they nearly always lead to passive voice. So if you cut out your crutch words, 99% of the passive voice in your writing automatically goes away. Isn't that amazing? And you get the added benefit of tighter, more grounded writing. The kind readers love to read and publishers love to publish.
We'll start with what I consider the worst offender of them all: WAS
Was is a word that is an integral part of the English language. You can't write a book without using the word was a few hundred times. It would be impossible.
There are many sentences in which the word is absolutely necessary, and that's fine. But this pesky little 3-letter word often makes its way into sentences where it doesn't belong, and serves absolutely no purpose, except perhaps to remove the reader a bit from the action, and that's never good.
Because was is such a huge problem in our writing, it can be used wrong in MANY ways. Below are some fixes for the most common over-uses I've found:
Monday, October 16, 2017
Why Some Films Tank While Others Fly: Learning From Hollywood
Has anyone else noticed how many
Hollywood films have tanked lately? I'd say the vast majority. There's a
specific reason for that, and we writers can learn a lot from it.
Disclaimer: While I am going to mention the political clime in a very general way, this is
not a political post. Not bipartisan. My own political beliefs will not be
mentioned. This is simply about good story-telling.
The political climate, both in the U.S. and around the world, is highly charged at the moment, and has been all year.
Probably won't calm down anytime soon either.
Unfortunately, many people continually try to force their beliefs on others. One way this is done
is through film. (Also through books, songs, commericals, social media, and many
other ways, but I'm just going to focus on films for this post.)
 |
| Source |
If you aren't aware, the Hollywood film that's done the best in past months is IT, adapted from Stephen
King's horror classic.
That may seem
counter-intuitive to those who refuse to see the film.
(If clowns traumatize you, I'm NOT going to recommend that you see this film. If you liked the book, I think you'll enjoy the movie. I thought they did an excellent job with it. They stayed away from gratuitous gore and some of the weirder (not in a good way) aspects of the novel. Truly it was more creepy than violent, which is how I prefer my horror.)
Even if you have no plans to
see the film, check out these facts below:
- IT has been at the top of the box office for longer than almost any other film of 2017.
- It's made over $300 million domestically.
- It's also popping all kinds of records internationally. (Source)
- It's being hailed as the Highest-Grossing R-Rated Horror Film of all Time (Source)
So why is it doing so well? There are several possibilities.
1. They
did such a great job making it. They really did! I know lots of people who love the 80s mini-series. If you do, more power to ya. I, personally,
was not a fan. It's probably because I only watched it a couple of years ago,
and it's really old. I didn't feel like it did the book justice. As with anything,
now that we have better technology and movie magic at our fingertips,
an update is just plain cooler.
 |
| Source |
2. It's a Stephen King Classic. Very
true. Even if pee-your-pants horror isn't your thing, or King's content is too
over-the-top for you, IT is one of the most well-written stories I've ever
read, which is the main reason I like it.
On the other hand, many of
Stephen King's books have been made into films, and many of them have flopped
at the box office. So his name or stories alone don't guarantee box office
cha-ching, you know?
So what I am getting at here?
What does this have to do with the political clime I mentioned earlier?
The fact of the matter is that
many attempts have been made to cram various agendas down the public's
throats using film. No matter which way you lean politically, it simply
doesn't make for great story-telling. These types of things (film or otherwise) almost always
flop because they have an obvious agenda.
It's the first rule of writing:
tell a story. Don't preach to your audience.
I find it super-interesting
that of all the films put out this summer (and summer is usually a time for
blockbusters) the film that's blowing all others out of the water is story
about children fighting monsters.
(It makes me smile.)
- There are no well-known, A-List actors in it. Not a single one.
- While there is some great clown makeup happening, there aren't any massive, stuff-blowing-up, StarTrekkian special effects involved.
- The score is great. Very appropriate for the story. But no songs by the biggest pop or rock'n'roll band on the market right now.
It's simple, human, and
compelling.
No matter what a person's
political beliefs, when they want to be entertained (by film, books, music,
sports, anything else) they aren't looking for an agenda. They're looking for a
great story that will entertain them and cause an emotional catharsis.
In many ways, it's simply good business. It has nothing to do with belief or agendas. Give the customer what they want. And when they want to be entertained, they want great entertainment.
It's the first rule of writing,
so most writers already know this (we hope!) but we have proof of it playing
out around this film.
Give your readers the emotion,
not the agenda. And your story, too, will fly.
Thoughts?
Friday, August 11, 2017
Pre-Orders and Book Sales! Woot, woot! 🎉🎉🎉
Good morning! Today is a
very important day. No, I'm not referring to National Raspberry Tart Day. (Although
that's important too. I don't think I have a tart pan, but I'm totally making a
raspberry pie for after dinner tonight. Yum! ;D)
What I meant was…
***Damaged
Hope is now available for pre-order on Amazon!***
I'd encourage you to
pre-order now, as it's currently priced at $0.99. It
will stay at that price for three weeks. Then the price will increase. So
pre-order now! Click HERE to pre-order.
Woot, woot! Raspberry
tarts and Damaged Hope! We should all eat desert. (Hey, I
jogged today. For like five minutes.)
***Quantum
Entanglement Book Sale!***
Quantum
Entanglement (Interchron #2) is part of a 99 cent promo this month.
Which means it's priced at *drum roll, please!* $0.99 this
month. Woot, woot!
You can get Persistence
of Vision, Book 1 by joining my Story Squad. Go HERE.
It's also free on most platforms.
So hop on over and pick
up a copy of book 2. This is the cheapest price you'll see for it.
Have a great weekend! And
hop over to the Giveaway tab for some great free books. Cheers!
Friday, August 4, 2017
Cover Reveal: Damaged Hope!
Good morning, Lovely Readers! How
is everyone's week going?
Couple of orders of business
today. It's been an insane few weeks, but I am slowly and surely getting work
done. I have a sneaking hunch Fall might prove even busier. Let's hope not. 😉
1. I can now reveal the cover of
book 3 of Street Games!
Two weeks ago, my Story Squad members voted for the title, Damaged Hope. Well, the wonderful Kealan Patrick Burke (my
cover designer for this series; see www.kealanpatrickburke.com) has put together a
beautiful cover for me.
Here it is!
Isn't it lovely!?! I love how he incorporated the red lighting of the Mire.
Fun fact: I decided to incorporate
a lightning storm into the end of the book. I hadn't planned the weather element
originally, but I saw this and knew I had to do it. If anything, it will
just make the ending that much more dramatic. (Hooray for drama on the page! 😂)
2. It is looking like the release
of book 3 will be pushed back to September. (Didn't I tell you that would
happen?) The editing is taking longer than anticipated, so it probably won't be
out until the end of 9/17. I'll keep you updated of course, and let you know
when I have a firm date. It's getting close, though. Truly. Be patient with me. It's coming!
Well, have a great week! And
happy reading!
Friday, July 21, 2017
Editing for Crutch Words and Passive Voice + Title Chosen!
Good morning and Happy Friday! Hope everyone's
week has gone well.
I have a busy day and weekend ahead of me, so without ado, I
have two orders of business. Really they're announcements. (I'll get more writing-centric posts up on this blog eventually. I
promise. ;D)
1. I'm happy to announce that I have a new title
for the third book of Street Games. It
will be out in less than two months and my cover designer is hard at work. As I
got close to finishing the writing on this book, I still had no idea what the
title would be. (And of course you can't really make a cover
without a title. ;D)
So I got out the index card that had my themes on it and
pulled up my trusty online thesaurus. I started putting words together, looking
for a title that would go well with the first two in the series and also
encapsulate some of the themes I’m working with.
I got my critique group involved and came up with six possible
titles that I liked. I then sent a pole to my Story Squad and they voted. The
title of Street Games #3 will be…
(drum roll please)
Damaged Hope
It's an interesting choice, really. Even though it has
the "damaged" in front of it, it still strikes me as the most
positive title of all the options I gave. So it's super interesting to me that
this is the one my readers wanted.
Anyway, I think it's a great title and I hope to have a cover
to show off soon. (So excited!)
2. I finally finished my book on Editing for
Crutch Words. I've been working on this for weeks and
finally managed to get it uploaded to Amazon. That's the only platform it's on,
currently, in ebook format. I don't plan to put it on other platforms unless I
get a lot of specific requests for it.
I've gotten amazingly positive feedback on this book. It
helps writers learn how to scrub crutch words and passive voice from their
writing, which automatically makes it 200% stronger, tighter, and more
professional-sounding.
It's geared toward fiction authors, but any editor can use
these techniques to improve and it can be used on fiction and non-fiction
writing alike.
Authors: No matter how much you self-edit, do you sometimes still feel like your writing sounds trite or amateurish? Editors, do you ever come across a sentence you KNOW needs fixing, but can't figure out how to fix it without changing the meaning? This is the book for you. Chances are you're dealing with the Evil Geniuses of the writing world: Crutch Words. Writers, this book will teach you how to edit for them and elevate your writing into the big leagues. Editors, this will make you into the kind of editor writers will line up to work with! Come, learn, write extraordinary!
I'd love some reviews. Click the link below if you feel so inclined.
That's it for me, today! Everyone have a fabulous weekend.
(Monday is a Utah holiday, so I'm sure I'll get zero work done that day.)
What do you think of the title,
Damaged Hope? How are you at editing for crutch words and passive voice? Would
you like to learn more?
Friday, July 7, 2017
Hooray for Dragon Boards! Want to be a Collaborator?
Hi there and Hellodie! Happy Friday!
TGIF, right? Because of the holiday this week (which was a blast, of course) it's been a crazy
week for me. Even after the holiday I was playing catch up, so it just seems like
everything's been super crazy, even though that's probably just my perception
of it.
How was your holiday (for those in the States who celebrated it)? We had a really good family turn out. Those are my favorite kinds of holidays: the ones where the entire extended family gets together, eats great food, and just visits and reminisces, telling the same old stories and jokes over and over again. (And of course a cool firework show afterward helps as well. 🎆🎇)
How was your holiday (for those in the States who celebrated it)? We had a really good family turn out. Those are my favorite kinds of holidays: the ones where the entire extended family gets together, eats great food, and just visits and reminisces, telling the same old stories and jokes over and over again. (And of course a cool firework show afterward helps as well. 🎆🎇)
Desolate Mantle Contest:
Remember to check out the contest HERE. The prize money did actually go up a little bit this week. Not tons, but a little. Remember that it was at $100 last week. You'll have to click on THIS LINK to see what it's at today. 😉
While there you can also read the contest rules and consider participating. Who couldn't use an extra hundred bucks or more, right? 😀
While there you can also read the contest rules and consider participating. Who couldn't use an extra hundred bucks or more, right? 😀
 |
| Source |
Dragon Magic
I've got some boards on Pinterest about this series. One is called "Dragons" (See HERE) where I collect cool dragon art of all kinds. I'm looking for collaborators for this board. If you want to help me find and pin dragon art, reply to this email and let me know. I'll invite you as a collaborator.
The other board is called "Dragon Magic" (See HERE) and I pin things there that are specifically relevant to the series. I may even do some giveaways and contests based around this board. Dragons make the best gifts. 🐲😉
So if you're interested--and you're an avid pinner, which I'm assuming you all are ;D--you can follow the individual boards at the links above, or else just follow me HERE.
The other board is called "Dragon Magic" (See HERE) and I pin things there that are specifically relevant to the series. I may even do some giveaways and contests based around this board. Dragons make the best gifts. 🐲😉
So if you're interested--and you're an avid pinner, which I'm assuming you all are ;D--you can follow the individual boards at the links above, or else just follow me HERE.
And don't forget to check out the GIVEAWAY TAB for some FREE reads! 📚📚📚
I think that's it for me this week. Anyone have any fun weekend plans?
Friday, June 30, 2017
Desolate Mantle Contest: $100 Cash Prize + Free Dragon Reads for You!
Good Morning,
Lovely Readers, and Happy Friday!
Couple of orders of business today. Contests with cash prizes, free books, dragons and more!
I've been working hard on building my VIP Story Squad and along with that, have updated some of my blog tabs, including Giveaways, which will feature current giveaways I'm involved in. Always lots of cool prizes, swag, free books and new authors to be discovered. If you feel so inclined, check out that tab, along with a few other new ones I've added.
I've been working hard on building my VIP Story Squad and along with that, have updated some of my blog tabs, including Giveaways, which will feature current giveaways I'm involved in. Always lots of cool prizes, swag, free books and new authors to be discovered. If you feel so inclined, check out that tab, along with a few other new ones I've added.
My blog pages are a work in progress. I'm still working on getting links for all my books in place, but hopefully will be all updated in another week or two. Be patient with me. With the holiday coming, this next week will be crazy for me. 😉
Here's my exciting
news for today: Pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but I'm promoting it more actively now that I have a release date for book 3.
Awesome Book Contest Right Here!
Good Morning, Lovely Readers, and Happy Friday!
🎉🎉🎉 Here's my exciting news for today. The contest I’m currently running has to do with Street Games, my crime fiction series. Specifically book 2. 🎊🎊🎊
Don't worry, I won't give spoilers. But at the end of book 2, Desolate Mantle, let's just say there is a box with three items in it. The contest is to guess what those three items are.
The prize money is currently set at $100. I will be watching my sales and for each copy of Desolate Mantle sold, I will add a small portion of the sale to the pot. I'll update you weekly from here on out on what the price has raised to. You can also watch the thermometer widget on my blog rise on my Contest Page.
Book 3 of Street Games (title forthcoming) will be available August 28, 2017. That gives everyone roughly 60 days to read book 1 (Dark Remnants, which is permafree on most platforms and you should have received for joining my Story Squad) and book 2, and then entering the contest. Feel free to spread the word. The more people who purchase the book, the higher the prize money will go! The sky's the limit. 🌞🌠🔥
You can reply to this email with guesses or there's also an email I've placed at the end of the book where you can send guesses. I'll also let you know periodically how the guessing is going. If I say no one has guessed correctly, and you've submitted a guess, you can always try again. No limit on entries.
So that's it! Go for it and happy guessing. Feel free to reply with any questions.
Get Dark Remnants for FREE HERE or HERE.
Get Desolate Mantle (Book 2) at the following links or most major retailers:
🎉🎉🎉 Here's my exciting news for today. The contest I’m currently running has to do with Street Games, my crime fiction series. Specifically book 2. 🎊🎊🎊
Don't worry, I won't give spoilers. But at the end of book 2, Desolate Mantle, let's just say there is a box with three items in it. The contest is to guess what those three items are.
The prize money is currently set at $100. I will be watching my sales and for each copy of Desolate Mantle sold, I will add a small portion of the sale to the pot. I'll update you weekly from here on out on what the price has raised to. You can also watch the thermometer widget on my blog rise on my Contest Page.
Book 3 of Street Games (title forthcoming) will be available August 28, 2017. That gives everyone roughly 60 days to read book 1 (Dark Remnants, which is permafree on most platforms and you should have received for joining my Story Squad) and book 2, and then entering the contest. Feel free to spread the word. The more people who purchase the book, the higher the prize money will go! The sky's the limit. 🌞🌠🔥
You can reply to this email with guesses or there's also an email I've placed at the end of the book where you can send guesses. I'll also let you know periodically how the guessing is going. If I say no one has guessed correctly, and you've submitted a guess, you can always try again. No limit on entries.
So that's it! Go for it and happy guessing. Feel free to reply with any questions.
Get Dark Remnants for FREE HERE or HERE.
Get Desolate Mantle (Book 2) at the following links or most major retailers:
🎉🎊 FREEBIE FOR YOU! 🎊🎉
So I recently finished and uploaded a short story called The Hatching. It falls into the epic fantasy genre. In fact, it's the story of a boy and a dragon.
Again, it's a short story, not a novel. But it's a prequel to my Dragon Magic series. I'm hoping to have book 1 of that series out before the end of the year. (Aiming for October but it's not set in stone.)
I'm giving this story away for free to build my high fantasy readership, so I'm sending it to all of my wonder story squad here. Below is the link to download it. It's short and fun.
Click HERE for your free copy.
I'd love to hear your thoughts! What did you think of the story? What would you like to see in the coming series?
Again, it's a short story, not a novel. But it's a prequel to my Dragon Magic series. I'm hoping to have book 1 of that series out before the end of the year. (Aiming for October but it's not set in stone.)
I'm giving this story away for free to build my high fantasy readership, so I'm sending it to all of my wonder story squad here. Below is the link to download it. It's short and fun.
Click HERE for your free copy.
I'd love to hear your thoughts! What did you think of the story? What would you like to see in the coming series?
Life Updates
The next five days will be SUPER busy for me. My sister's wedding is on Saturday, 7/1. There's a baby blessing the day after that, which always ends up being a huge family event. (Baby Hudson below. Isn't he just a little charmer?)
Monday should be relatively calm but, you know, a Monday. And then there's our fabulous country's birthday on July 4th, for which I'll more than likely be barbecuing for 30+ people and hosting a fireworks show on the street outside our house. Good times.
I'll update you with the exciting stuff (let's hope nothing disastrous) next week.
Everyone in the States have a wonderful, safe 4th and let's remember how blessed we are to live in this wonderful country.
Monday should be relatively calm but, you know, a Monday. And then there's our fabulous country's birthday on July 4th, for which I'll more than likely be barbecuing for 30+ people and hosting a fireworks show on the street outside our house. Good times.
I'll update you with the exciting stuff (let's hope nothing disastrous) next week.
Everyone in the States have a wonderful, safe 4th and let's remember how blessed we are to live in this wonderful country.
Have a great holiday Everyone!
"Writing is a struggle against silence." --Carlos Fuentes
"Literacy is vital to democracy. For if the governed can neither understand their leaders nor distinguish truth from lies, then a democracy descends into oligarchy, a government by and for the elite few." --John Stauffer
"Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever!" --Job 19:23-24
"Literacy is vital to democracy. For if the governed can neither understand their leaders nor distinguish truth from lies, then a democracy descends into oligarchy, a government by and for the elite few." --John Stauffer
"Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever!" --Job 19:23-24
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Ever Wanted to Appear in a Fictional Novel?
Good morning! How
was everyone's weekend!
Happy Belated
Mother's Day for those who celebrated it this past weekend, and to those who
celebrate it at other times, Happy Mother's Day to you too! Mothers are
amazing! 👶
I spent the day
getting mannies and petties 💅 with my mom, two of my sisters, and my
niece. My brother came to breakfast with us, and he asked if he wanted to join
us at the salon, but apparently he has ridiculously ticklish feet. 👣 You
gotta understand, my bro is 6'2" and built like a linebacker. I had this
hysterical image of him kicking the poor, 90-pound Asian salon lady in the fact
while she tried to give him a pedicure. Or better yet, her hanging on to his
foot while he kicked, flying through the air like an attached streamer.
Yeah, my
imagination went a little wild. I had a super busy week, but not a bad one.
Here's a ridiculously adorable picture of my toddlers falling asleep on one
another. The baby is in her car seat next to them, but she's facing the other
way, so you can't see that she, too, fell asleep. Gotta love that hot, Utah
sun! ;D
So, question for
you: have you ever wanted to appear in a fictional novel? Lots of writers base
personalities or certain traits of characters on people in their lives or
acquaintances they've met.
Pretty much all my
characters have parts of me in them, especially the female ones. I don't think
I've ever based a character's personality completely on someone I've known, but
I have drawn specific aspects from various real life sources.
So have you ever
thought about this next question: would you ever want to appear in a fictional
novel, specifically as a villain? 😈 I'm gonna take a wild guess and say,
probably not. That's why you must always mind your manners around an author.
Otherwise, you might end up immortalized for something that's less than
flattering. ;D
For example, this
is song rather than fiction, but did you know that Carly Simon wrote the song
"You're so Vain" about an ex-boyfriend. It's about Warren Beatty, whom
she dated and, apparently, wasn't too impressed with. Ouch. 😉
So tell me, who
are your favorite villains?
I don't know that
I could choose just one. There are those villains, like serial killers, who are
usually the creepiest and most fascinating. But then you gotta love those
hilarious villains that are just so happy to be evil. They always make me smile
(while rooting for the hero to take them out, of course. 💪👊)
Crime Fic:
Starting today,
check out this promotion for mysteries and thrillers through Instafreebie. Lots
of fun books up for grabs. It will run through the 24th. Check it out HERE.
As you can see
from this Scrivner screenshot, Book 3 of Street Games is coming along.
Stay
tuned over the next few weeks. As I get closer to completing it, I'll ask for
help from all of you in choosing a title.
Histfic:
Remember that
Bastions of Blood comes out in exactly one week! I'm so excited for you guys to
finally get book 2. You can still pre-order the book for $1.99. That's a dollar
cheaper than what it will be when it comes out. Just saying. Pre-order HERE.
Remember that I'll
be having a Facebook launch party where I'll be giving away prizes including free
books and Amazon gift cards. It will run from 7-8:30 MST on May 23rd. Go to
THIS LINK to join the event.
Based on what
you've read so far in book 1, what do you predict will happen?
Dystopian:
Specifically, who
is your favorite Dystopian villain? I'm just curious. Jeanine Matthews of
Divergent? Big Brother of 1984? What do you think of B so far in Interchron?
Remember to check
out the Epic Worlds Giveaway, if you haven't. It only runs until the 19th, so
be sure to fill up on free books set in epic worlds. The clock is ticking! Check
it out HERE.
Well, have a
wonderful week. Whatever you're doing this week, be awesome at it. There's
really no other way to go through life! ;D
"Literacy is vital to democracy. For if the governed can neither understand their leaders nor distinguish truth from lies, then a democracy descends into oligarchy, a government by and for the elite few." --John Stauffer
"Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever!" --Job 19:23-24
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)