Cheers and celebrations for another Writer's Choice novel. G. J. Berger's new release 'Four Nails' has received a delightful review and boost in the online version of the Huffington Post
Read it at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-michele-richardson/pack-your-suitcase-reads_b_9728746.html
Friday, 22 April 2016
Thursday, 21 April 2016
Goodreads Review
Tracker by C.J. CherryhMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I don't know how C.J. Cherryh does it. How does a writer keep a series running for so long without getting stale, losing the plot, and muddling up little details? Her planning and organising skills must be superb. I picture her writer's room with the walls covered in detailed timelines, character charts, notable incidents and an Atevi dictionary!
The novels follow on closely from each other yet could be read as a stand alone. In 'Tracker' we have the visit from the children from the space station, along with captain, Jason Graham, ending happily - it nearly didn't in the previous novel - and Bren settling down to get those agreements tied and made legal.
I love the way Cherryh does not forget loose ends and does so realistically. The humans rescued from the dying space station, and brought to the atevi planet space station, are now rebelling because for over a year there has been no work and limited food and no hope. Bren has to go and sort things out on behalf of the human and atevi governments and just as this rebellion seems about to explode the kyo spaceship arrives in the system.
The characters continue to grow older and surprise. The aiji's son and heir is developing nicely into a strong character, his human friends seem to foreshadow a different future for him and are emerging as people in their own right. Bren is steadily achieving his goal of no more fighting and trade agreements instead.
It's a satisfying read for those readers who have followed the series through. We can see the ends tying up and the new openings and problems possibly arising. As this novel leaves the reader knowing that the kyo are coming into the space station it seems a little mean to have to wait months for the next novel!!! Certainly I am impatient for the next book - 'Visitor' - to land in my post box.
And Cherryh never forgets to make the reader think. The whole series is about coping with alien cultures, respecting and living with them, not crushing them, or being crushed. Worth thinking about.
View all my reviews
Wednesday, 20 April 2016
The Kindle CountDown Sale.
It seems to me that this PR business is nearly as bad as chasing a literary agent! It took a full week to get the Kindle Countdown Sale set up. By the time I had struggled through the first day of setting up adverts I had a headache. Still I did get all the information need for each book advertising site. At least I have it all in a file ready to go. But every site had something unique to fill in as well. AskDavid.com refused to take the blurb as the main selling point, authors had to provide something unique and not seen elsewhere! Sigh!
Anyway around five to seven book promotion sites a day will be promoting our books.
This is an experiment to see if a five day push does boost sales and will I get my expenses back? Should be fun watching what happens.
Thus May 11th, May 12th, May 13th, May 14th and May 15th will be days when my fellow authors and I will be watching the sales and seeing which book news email site provides the best results. There will be much analysising of results and either cheers or sighs!
Let's hope for cheers.
Anyway around five to seven book promotion sites a day will be promoting our books.
This is an experiment to see if a five day push does boost sales and will I get my expenses back? Should be fun watching what happens.
Thus May 11th, May 12th, May 13th, May 14th and May 15th will be days when my fellow authors and I will be watching the sales and seeing which book news email site provides the best results. There will be much analysising of results and either cheers or sighs!
Let's hope for cheers.
Tuesday, 12 April 2016
Watch out for the book sale
We are holding a Writer's Choice author celebration. Look out for it next month, May 11,12,13,14,and 15th. There will be one of those Kindle Countdown price promotions on our Kindle books. That means a reduction in price of selected novels to 99cents, then $1.99. This includes, 'Tizzie', 'The Effects of Henry's Cage: Elean's Story', and South of Burnt Rocks West of the Sun'
More news later, nearer the time.
Saturday, 9 April 2016
Review of 'The Troutbeck Testimony' by Rebecca Tope
The Troutbeck Testimony by Rebecca TopeThis is a pleasant cozy detective story set in the English Lake District. The 'detective' is the local florist, Simmy Brown,who with much moaning and complaining gets dragged into investigating dognapping and then murder.
Reading is so personal isn't it? The friend who recommended this novel loves the series, raves about Simmy, persuaded me to read this newest story. Alas, I found it a pleasant read but the MC, Simmy, irritated me with her whinging. So I wouldn't read another in this series but other fans of cozies might well enjoy this novel and want more.
Nothing wrong with the writing or the plot. The characters are well fleshed out and the pace is a gentle slide down the slope to the ending. Readers who enjoy cozies should certainly give the book a try.
View all my reviews
Thursday, 7 April 2016
Indies and PR
If any Indie author hasn't yet found her or his way to the Author Hangout then it's about time someone gave them a helping hand.
The Author Hangout is the podcasting branch of the bookmarketingtools.com team. People who are most helpful, friendly and full of great ideas about marketing for Indie writers.
The podcasts are interviews with best selling authors, marketing gurus and others successful in the PR business. I have learnt a lot from listening to what has and has not worked as far as sales go for these successful authors. If you, like me, shrink from social media because it is one vast area of confusing interaction then go and listen to those podcasts full of helpful advice about social media.
I no longer shy away from using Twitter for discreet PR purposes and find ideas like the following a great way to mix with 'nice' people on Twitter and talk to other writers.
Seems to me that any Indie not tuning in and taking advantage of the ideas really doesn't want to sell books. And any Indie without their helpful and free list of what to do leading up to and at a book launch really needs help.
'In episode 32 of The Author Hangout, Bestselling author Leeland Artra shared a great way for authors to use Twitter:
"One of the things I do is I participate in these things called Tweet Teams. What you do in the Tweet Teams is you work with some other authors and you give them interesting things to say about you and they give you interesting things to say about them. And then, you talk on your Twitter feeds about them and they talk on their Twitter feeds about you and you mix that in with all the other stuff that you normally do. So I’m always sending out quotes and little factoids and stuff like this all day every day. In addition to that, about 20-30 additional tweets per day about other authors or stuff that’s coming, interesting things like that. In exchange, I have about 10 or 20 other authors that are every day sending 3-4 tweets about me."
This is genius! We always talk about how authors need to partner together, and this is another great way for authors to do that. People have room to read other books, so it isn't a zero-sum game. By promoting other authors who are promoting you, you are able to get a boost that other authors simply do not have.
Start finding authors in your genre who you can partner with in this way, and then start helping each other out.'
The Author Hangout is the podcasting branch of the bookmarketingtools.com team. People who are most helpful, friendly and full of great ideas about marketing for Indie writers.
The podcasts are interviews with best selling authors, marketing gurus and others successful in the PR business. I have learnt a lot from listening to what has and has not worked as far as sales go for these successful authors. If you, like me, shrink from social media because it is one vast area of confusing interaction then go and listen to those podcasts full of helpful advice about social media.
I no longer shy away from using Twitter for discreet PR purposes and find ideas like the following a great way to mix with 'nice' people on Twitter and talk to other writers.
Seems to me that any Indie not tuning in and taking advantage of the ideas really doesn't want to sell books. And any Indie without their helpful and free list of what to do leading up to and at a book launch really needs help.
'In episode 32 of The Author Hangout, Bestselling author Leeland Artra shared a great way for authors to use Twitter:
"One of the things I do is I participate in these things called Tweet Teams. What you do in the Tweet Teams is you work with some other authors and you give them interesting things to say about you and they give you interesting things to say about them. And then, you talk on your Twitter feeds about them and they talk on their Twitter feeds about you and you mix that in with all the other stuff that you normally do. So I’m always sending out quotes and little factoids and stuff like this all day every day. In addition to that, about 20-30 additional tweets per day about other authors or stuff that’s coming, interesting things like that. In exchange, I have about 10 or 20 other authors that are every day sending 3-4 tweets about me."
This is genius! We always talk about how authors need to partner together, and this is another great way for authors to do that. People have room to read other books, so it isn't a zero-sum game. By promoting other authors who are promoting you, you are able to get a boost that other authors simply do not have.
Start finding authors in your genre who you can partner with in this way, and then start helping each other out.'
Saturday, 5 March 2016
2016 starting at last.
It seems to me that a writer's year never starts until a book is published. Well, Writer's Choice is about to launch Sharon Robards's historical novel 'Playing With Fire' so our year is finally starting.
Yes, it's a historical novel and what a cracker!
Here's her blurb:
Seventeenth century Germany, France and England, are places where love takes a backseat to power — power over people and places. Beautiful Eléonore is deeply in love with George William, heir of a German duchy, and he with her. But he hides a secret that makes a legal marriage impossible.
George William’s younger brother, Ernest, and his own bride are desperate to block George William’s marriage. If George William never has any male heirs by a legal marriage, then Ernest’s sons will inherit George William’s lands and holdings. There are other brothers wanting land too. The brothers’ plots against each other are only half of it. King Louis XIV of France has designs on German territory and aims to take it by force.
Courtesans, all the fashion in France, now sprout like mushrooms in a German forest. None is more ambitious than Klara, forced to return to her homeland from the Court of King Louis. Her version of love is monetary.
The layered schemes of the upper crust make life treacherous for their powerless offspring, especially young Sophia Dorothea, who must smother her heart’s yearnings and yield to the cold commands of her elders or suffer serious consequences.
Playing with Fire weaves together the threads of greed, lust, honour and brutality at the dawn of the Industrial age.
And hard on Sharon's heels comes G.J. Berger's historical 'Four Nails'. Anyone enjoying the tales of Hannibal and his elephants will enjoy seeing that history told from the elephant handler and elephant's side of the story.
Look for a marketing promotion at the end of April when all our books will b e on special offer for 3 to 5 days.
Yes, it's a historical novel and what a cracker!
Here's her blurb:
Seventeenth century Germany, France and England, are places where love takes a backseat to power — power over people and places. Beautiful Eléonore is deeply in love with George William, heir of a German duchy, and he with her. But he hides a secret that makes a legal marriage impossible.
George William’s younger brother, Ernest, and his own bride are desperate to block George William’s marriage. If George William never has any male heirs by a legal marriage, then Ernest’s sons will inherit George William’s lands and holdings. There are other brothers wanting land too. The brothers’ plots against each other are only half of it. King Louis XIV of France has designs on German territory and aims to take it by force.
Courtesans, all the fashion in France, now sprout like mushrooms in a German forest. None is more ambitious than Klara, forced to return to her homeland from the Court of King Louis. Her version of love is monetary.
The layered schemes of the upper crust make life treacherous for their powerless offspring, especially young Sophia Dorothea, who must smother her heart’s yearnings and yield to the cold commands of her elders or suffer serious consequences.
Playing with Fire weaves together the threads of greed, lust, honour and brutality at the dawn of the Industrial age.
And hard on Sharon's heels comes G.J. Berger's historical 'Four Nails'. Anyone enjoying the tales of Hannibal and his elephants will enjoy seeing that history told from the elephant handler and elephant's side of the story.
Look for a marketing promotion at the end of April when all our books will b e on special offer for 3 to 5 days.
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