You thought I was kidding, didn’t you? You thought you’d click through on that link and you’d maybe find a cat picture or two, but the rest of this post would be filled with meaty, substantial advice about writing, or marketing, or improving your discoverability.
Zak in his CAT FANCY cover pose.
But no, I’ve got nothing. Or rather, what I really want to do is get back to my super-secret new series that I’m working on, but I haven’t blogged in six weeks and feel an obligation to get a post up. Since the one thing I always have in abundance is cat pictures, cat pictures are what you get.
So feel free to ooh and aah, or turn away in disgust (I see you dog lovers curling your lips in disdain). But this is all you’re gonna get today.
Actually, I take that back. You can also get a screaming good deal on my paranormal romance, Hearts Redemption for a limited time. This book is usually $2.99, but until March 31st, it’s only 99 cents. Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords.
Zak as an itty bitty kitty.Zak fighting aliens with his laser eyes.
“The boys,” Charlie (ginger tabby) and Casper (mackerel tabby). RIPMy sweet lovebug, Cozy, gone now for many years.
Here it is, the cover for the third and last book of the Tankborn trilogy! Isn’t it gorgeous? I am so in love with this book cover. It perfectly captures my heroine, Kayla 6982, and the very special setting of Rebellion‘s story.
Here’s the cover flap copy:
In the wake of a devastating bomb blast, severely injured Kayla has been brought to the headquarters of the organization that planted the bomb—and many others like it in GEN food warehouses and homes. Her biological mother tells her that Devak is dead and that Kayla must join her in the terrorist group, which is ramping up for something big. Now Kayla must pretend that she embraces this new role in an underground compound full of paranoia as she plots a way to escape and save her friends.
Meanwhile, Devak has emerged from his healing in a gen-tank, only to be told that Kayla is dead and his family has fallen from grace. Can he overcome his grief at the loss of his power to see the clues that point to Kayla being alive?
As Kayla and Devak overcome the multiple obstacles put between them while trying to free GENs without further bloodshed, the Tankborn trilogy rushes to a thrilling conclusion!
These books have been a part of my life for nearly four years now, and it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to the series. But at the same time, it’s so exciting to have the trilogy completed.
So, how do you like the cover of Rebellion? I hope you love it as much as I do. 🙂
Like a lot of people, I use Facebook to stay in touch with family and friends. I also use it to promote myself as an author, although I’ve found it to be pretty ineffective in that respect (as I posted here).
But while it’s fun to catch up with the family and some of the posts are very entertaining, Facebook can be a dangerous place too. Dangerous, that is, in terms of sending you off to websites that might add a little something extra to your computer that you’d just as soon not have.
You’ve probably noticed the “Sponsored” content over on the right hand side of your Facebook page. Lots of ads there, some of them quite enticing. They change frequently. To the right is a screenshot I took of ads that appeared on my page recently.
You might have to click on that image and enlarge it to read the text. It’s perfectly safe to click since it’s just a jpeg image.
But the original ads would not have been safe to click. Although each one has a link displayed as part of the ad (enchantmen.com, lyft.com, weightwatchers.com, zulily.com), the true link for each ad is entirely different. Clicking that ad will send you not to Weight Watchers or Zulily, but to a site with malware.
As a user of Facebook, this is distressing, both with regards to the damage these sites could do to my computer, but also because of the fraud aspect. Facebook is taking money from companies that represent themselves dishonestly.
As an author who has used Facebook to promote, this is unsettling because I don’t want ads for my books to appear alongside scams. How would a reader know whether a click on my book cover would take them to Amazon where they can buy my ebook, or if they’ll end up on a site that downloads some kind of malware onto their computer?
Facebook does have a form I can fill out to report these fraudulent ads. But honestly, I’d be submitting forms all day long because based my observations, few of the ads in the sponsored section are genuine. Maybe my Facebook page is a scam magnet, and no other users out there are having the same experience as me. But it seems to me that Facebook is not performing due diligence in allowing those ads to run in the first place. And I’d say it’s their responsibility to fix the problem and not mine.
Here are some guaranteed genuine links for my latest books. Just click on the cover to buy.
I’ve done a fair number of book signings, sometimes alone, sometimes with other authors. I’ve done them in bookstores, at libraries, and outdoors. I’ve done talks and then signed my books, or just sat at a table with my books piled high, watching folks avoid eye contact with me as they passed me on their way to the cookbook or self-help section. 🙂
Usually I’m indoors. Or when I am outdoors, it’s in a lovely, temperate season (such as the springtime book signings I did at a lovely daylily farm). I’ve had signing where I’ve sold many books, a few books, one book, and zero books. I always start my signings full of hope, but while I do my best to pitch my books to passersby, it’s considered bad form to tackle them and force it into their hands.
Always handy to have a few cowboys at your side.
My most recent signing was a real adventure in that it was outdoors and it was freaking cold. Combine Placerville’s nearly 2000 foot elevation with the first official day of winter, add in me standing in the shade along a section of street with a wind tunnel effect, and you have one mighty cold writer. It didn’t help that I hadn’t brought a jacket. By the end of the three hours I stood behind my table, I was a Popsicle.
I do learn something at every book signing I do. Here are a few new tips in no particular order:
This pair of Standardbred horses pulling the stagecoach are 28 years old and former harness racers. When they trot up the alley, you’d better get out of their way.
Make sure you understand the terms
I’d arranged with Placerville News to do the book signing, but I’d brought my own copies. I’d expected to sell the books myself from my table. The store expected that customers would bring the books inside to purchase them and the store would take a cut. I was able to negotiate the split with the store, but I should have gotten that worked out before signing day.
For outdoor signings, be prepared for the weather
I shoulda known better. I’d brought a heavy coat the year before, but I didn’t want to wear wear it this year because it was kinda ugly. I suffered for that decision. Did I mention how cold I was?
Stand behind the table rather than sit
Click on cover to buy CLEAN BURN
I’ve actually been following this tip for quite a while. If you stand, you’re at eye level with your potential readers. It’s much easier to engage with them. You’re able to at least say hi as they pass by, and maybe they’ll get curious enough to stop and check out your books. Of course if you’re physically unable to stand all that time, you’ll have to sit. But you’ll still want to say hi and smile, smile, smile.
Stay off your cell phone
I was a little naughty in ignoring this tip. I was pretty discouraged at first with how my signing was going. I texted a pity-me message to my husband, then got preoccupied with checking for his response. But for the most part, I left that distracting device in my pocket. It’s too hard to engage with potential buyers if you’re texting or playing Words with Friends.
Click on cover to buy AWAKENING
Don’t eat popcorn during a signing
Yes, I munched a box of popcorn during the signing. And was horrified afterward when I saw my teeth. Ugh. Very embarrassing. My only excuse is that because the signing started at noon, I hadn’t had lunch beforehand. I was starving. People kept coming out of the store with popcorn and I just couldn’t resist. Now I understand why kids who wear braces aren’t allowed to eat popcorn. That stuff sticks everywhere. Double ugh.
Have fun
It’s tough sometimes when you’ve stood there for what seems like an eternity and you haven’t sold even one book. But you never know if the person you engage in conversation during a book signing will later check out your books online and become one of your biggest fans. That memory of meeting you will stick with them, and you want to leave them with a positive impression.
Anyone have any tips of your own? Experiences (or horror stories) that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. I love decorating the tree with far too many ornaments, the old and the new that I buy each year. I adore making Christmas cookies, especially if I can get someone else in the family involved. And going out into the neighborhood to enjoy the gorgeous lights is so much fun. I even love playing the corny Christmas CD pack that includes a wonderful mix of songs (although I do try skip that freakish Jingle Bells track that goes overboard with the bells).
I came by my love for Christmas honestly. I lived mainly with my Grandmother when I was a kid, and she always went way overboard with the presents and decorations. We’d all been raised Catholic, so the holiday had special religious significance—for me and my sisters, that is. While my sisters and I attended church faithfully each Sunday, my grandmother, mom, and Jewish dad (who’d “converted” to Catholicism) only went on the holidays, if at all.
Of course, one of the best things about those Christmases was the food. It was always the same menu. A relish tray filled with sweet and dill pickles, green and black olives, two varieties of celery sticks stuffed with cream cheese—pimiento and chopped black olives. When I was old enough, I was the official relish tray maker, mixing the pimiento and chopped black olives with cream cheese, filling the celery, arranging it all artfully on the tray.
After we’d scarfed up the relish tray, it was on to the main event: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams (topped with tons of brown sugar and marshmallows), rolls, and something green (usually peas) as a sop to healthy eating. We’d follow that carb-heavy main meal with pumpkin pie, Grandma’s fudge, and whatever Christmas cookies my mother had made. Then we’d all roll around on the floor groaning.
Of course, this food extravaganza was preceded by the opening of far too many presents. I recall the year my mom and stepdad owned an apartment house, and their large front unit included a living room that was about 12×20 feet. We had the Christmas tree on one end and piles of presents covered about half the floor space. What can I say? We were Christmas over-achievers.
When I married my husband, who’d been raised in the Jewish faith, my latent Judaism got a chance to shine, for the holidays at least. I discovered the wonders of Purim and Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. And, of course, Hanukkah.
I learned that Hanukkah was quite different from Christmas (rather than a birthday, it celebrates a military victory and the miracle of the oil lasting for eight nights instead of one). But the Jewish holiday had all those great familiar elements that I loved about Christmas. Pretty lights: check. Presents: check. Decorations: not quite as elaborate, but check. And fabulous food: triple check.
It turned out that my husband’s dad had the most incredible recipes for beef brisket and latkes (potato pancakes) you ever tasted. The gravy that the brisket makes is so delicious, you could eat it on a sponge an enjoy it. The latkes fulfill the tradition of cooking with oil. Add some creamy cheese blintzes for the vegetarians (also cooked in oil), and Hanukkah easily competes with Christmas in stuffing your guests so full of food they can’t move. Between the food and the opening of presents for eight nights, Hanukkah is a sheer delight.
I like to think that by celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah, I double the pleasure of the holidays. It’s double the lights, double the presents, double the yummy food.
And if the dial my bathroom scale swings a little higher afterward, it was poundage worth gaining.
