Do you remember the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? How she has to try all the different porridge, and the different beds before she finds the right one? Well, finding the right book con is exactly like that.
Since being published in 2011, I have been to several cons and events. Some have been large with thousands of people. I think the highlight of those cons have been the Mega-Star Authors I have fan-girled over and got my books signed. I remember my encounters with legends like Nora Roberts, Patricia Briggs, and Marjorie M. Liu. Squee!
The downside is I'm part introvert, so at some point (and it doesn't take much) the noise level and the sheer number of people overwhelm and exhaust me. I have to go hide in my hotel room.
I have also attended wonderful little luncheons, a pleasant few hours to connect with a table full of people. These are lovely, but they are over too soon. I wistfully wrap up bookish discussions and take my leave. My favorite is theSouthern Magic Reader Luncheon in Birmingham, Alabama. Those ladies know how to party!
But there are some cons that fit you just right. They're a blast and when you leave, you're both exhausted and energized. A strange, but good place to be. For me, Authors After Dark is that con. It's not too big, and it's not too short.
You have amazing authors and readers come together, all united by their love of books.
This year, the Mistress of Ceremonies was the very awesome and sweet Sherrilyn Kenyon.
It's about 4-5 days long and you get to see the same people running around so before you know it they are familiar faces, and then friends.
The panels are awesome! Most of the AAD readers attending the con are serious readers, they know their genres and books, they can discuss book boyfriends and plot twists into the wee hours of the night. So authors are not just talking heads behind tables during sessions. Instead you have dynamic, deep bookish conversations.
Some of the panels I was on this year: Odd Paranormals, MCIR: What the heck is that? (Half our attendees thought it was Motorcycle Club, but went ahead and stayed for our discussion of Multicultural and Inter Racial stories -- Yay!), Crossing Genres and more. The Dragon panel was packed!
But most importantly, everyone is excited to be there and ready to have fun.
So thank you Stella and wonderful staff for this wonderful year! Next year, AAD will be in Savannah and it'll be the last one in the U.S. for a while...so I'm both sad and looking forward to it. I know it'll be grand.
For more information about the Savannah AAD in 2016 click on this link.
(Caveat: A.G. Riddle started out indie but is now published through Amazon's 47North imprint along with Marko Kloos)
The truth is that self-published titles now regularly top the charts - if not outright dominate them. Successful self-published titles have great covers and lots of fervent fans - often the only way to distinguish them from traditionally published titles is the publisher listing in the description (and the price - indie titles are usually less than $5.99 for single titles).
How do you become one of these successful indie authors? Hard work, luck, and educating yourself about how the indie marketplace works.
Here are FIVE TIPS to get you started. For a full run-down on how to launch your indie author career, see my Indie Author Survival Guide (Second Edition now available). To take your indie author career to the next level, pre-order my For Love or Money: Crafting an Indie Author Career (releases 7.14).
TIP #1: Study the Bestsellers - In both craft and business, studying successful people will help you discern the ingredients of success. Always be striving to take your craft up a level - by craft I mean storytelling, not just the way you string words together. Because as much as we like to disparage that poorly written erotica book at the top of the charts, I guarantee that good stories well told actually do sell. (Alternatively, if you want to chase the latest trend, that's possible now - there's no sin in giving readers more of what they want, but it's nowhere near as easy as you think.) As far as business, look who is selling in your genre and what they did to get there. Don't follow what people say - look at what they actually do. The actions of successful people often fly in the face of conventional wisdom. (I welcome you to look at my own path to success as well as many other indie authors - often the most successful are not the ones offering advice about it! #yesIseetheirony )
TIP #2: Be a Professional - Don't dabble. Don't dip your toe into indie publishing with a short story that's not going to sell. Go full cannon-ball jump into the pond with professional covers, formatting, editing, the works. Make sure your novel can comfortably sit in the top 100 of your category. This will require up-front investment, but most books can be well-published for under $1000 - and I know of no other legit business you can start for that little money invested. Don't skimp. (Note: on the other hand, don't throw money away on a $3000 cover that will be hard to recoup; be sensible.)
TIP #3: Launch With a Series - You don't have to pre-write an entire trilogy and release the books one month apart... but that's an option now, with indie publishing. If you can write a novel in six months, you could publish the first book, then write and publish Books 2 and 3 within a year. I've seen both models be successful (note: don't wait more than six months between books). Make the commitment to quickly build a backlist and get books into readers' hands. Delivering three connected novels to readers within a year is a strong way to launch a career (note: I'm talking novels here, not novellas or short stories or serials - those are fun, but not career-launchers).
TIP #4: Launch in Amazon then Go Wide - There's a lot to learn in indie publishing, so staying focused can be key to staying on track - plus launching a new series in the Kindle Unlimited system gives new authors/new series a boost in visibility. Use this to get your footing. Then, when you've established your brand as an author, you can expand to the other retailers (Nook, Kobo, iTunes, Google Play). You'll be a veteran at that point and in a good position to weigh the pros and cons of exclusivity vs. reach.
TIP #5: Never Stop Writing - the single most important thing you can do in your career is write the next book. Generating new IP (Intellectual Property) is the one thing only you can do - the rest can be outsourced. It's tempting to get bogged down in all the latest and greatest changes in the industry, but the biggest lever you can pull to move sales is to launch a new book. Or an entirely new series. You want to study the bestsellers, but always remember: your biggest asset is your uniqueness. Make sure you're continually feeding your creativity, reaching for that next level with your work, bringing out the fullest expression of your abilities. Spend the bulk of your time doing creative work - reading, writing, watching movies,taking workshops,using craft books to boost your skills,exploring new forms, learning how to write faster... whatever works for you to elevate your craft and increase your enjoyment of writing. This is the creative life you want, yes?
I really should have started with TIP #0: Decide What Mountain You Want To Climb - I have an entire section in my Indie Author Survival Guide about making a Mission Statement so that you know you're climbing the right hill before you set off in dogged pursuit of the success you think you want.
Knowing what will make you happy, then having a plan to get there? That's the only key to success you actually need.
p.s. if all of this terrifies you, I understand. Truly. Watch this webinar on facing your fears and don't let that hold you back.
Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the Singularity Series, the Mindajck Trilogy and the Debt Collector serial (as well as other speculative fiction works) and has been indie publishing since 2011. She?s not an indie rockstar or a breakout success: she?s one of thousands of solidly midlist indie authors making a living with their works. The Indie Author Survival Guide is based on her experience in self-publishing fiction?the First Edition was published in 2013, the Second Edition in 2015, updated to account for changes in the industry. It?s a guide to help her fellow writer-friends take their own leaps into the wild (and wonderful) world of indie publishing? and not only survive, but thrive.
Facebook | Tumblr | Website | All of Susan's Fiction
Indie Author Survival Guide (Second Edition) now available
For Love or Money: Crafting an Indie Author Career - preorder for 7.14
Coffee Time Romance has come up with a fun idea that combines two of my favorite things -- books and romance -- in a scavenger hunt that ends up with all kinds of prizes and bookish treats.
The way it works: There are 24 blog posts, each with a link to that author's website or blog. Click on the link and find a special clue. At the the end of the contest period see what message your clues spell out. Enter the message into the Rafflecopter (link provided with the last blog post) and you're entered to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook 7.0. Easy peasy, right?
The blog posts are fun reads -- some will make you laugh out loud, others will make you tear up, but all will warm your heart. (NOTE: The blog posts are on the Coffee Time Romance site and begin with Valentine's Scavenger Hunt! To enter you have to comment on them at the CTR site.)
That's not all. Each of the 24 authors are also giving away individual prizes to people who leave comments on their posts. The more blog posts you comment on, the better your chances of winning an awesome prize!
Prizes include: free ebooks, books, gift cards and more. Here's what I'm giving away:
Want to see what a clue looks like (so it's easier for you spot them on the different sites)? Here's my clue:
This year I got ambitious and decided to read 100 books for my Goodreads challenge (I usually read about 50 or so) and January ended with 10 books read. Woot! I like that pace, according to the handy little widget I'm 2 books ahead of schedule.
So here are the books I read in January, with my favorite being:
It was an awesome fantasy read. Given the genre, the pace was slower than the romances I usually read, but the world building and premise made up for it.
Here's the premise: an artist can reveal truths through his art and he's given the job of painting portraits of dead people, some of whom are murder victims. Chilling and totally hooked me!
Then Carol Berg pulls me in deeper with a mystery at the heart of the story (why are the children being murdered and who's behind the killings) and the hero's character arc -- He has to learn to see the truth in his own work and himself. He has to let go of what he believed to be true all his life and understand the new truth he's discovered. Strong external story plot and strong internal story growth.
Are you a dragonista? I am. I love dragons in stories, in art, in movies and, of course, in my dreams. So when a group of dragon writers decided to team up for a Dragonista Blog Hop this month...well, I had to jump aboard. How fun!!!
So why do I love dragons? For so many reasons. Fierce and mysterious, ancient and timeless, these gorgeous creatures inspire my imagination.
If you are a dragonista too, rest assured you're in good company...Veronica Mars is one too...Check out this Veronica Mars Confession video! Also watch the Dragonista Facebook Page for all kinds of dragon fun and chatter. At the end of the month, we'll be announcing the winners of the blog hop, giving away a grand prize & just partying till the dragons come home! My favorite dragon series is G.A. Aiken's Dragon Kin series -- the dragons are fierce, sexy and,oh so funny. The heroine or hero counterparts are clever and loyal, they definitely deserve their dragons. And the stories are pure fun!
My Japanese American dragon shifter is hunting a rogue dragon setting fires in the wilds of West Texas. Of course, she ends up with a lot more than she bargains for...you'll just have to read up on her adventures. :)
Here's a quote from Lynn, the heroine of Wildfire:
Now check out the cute little dragon I'm giving away...
What are you reading this weekend? I'm enjoying Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh
Here are some of my favorite bits from it:
"We created heartbreaking art once, discovered star systems and new species of butterflies with equal joy. We were explorers and musicians and writers of great works. Now . . . how did the Psy become such a ruin?"
Kaleb knew the answer wasn't as simple as Silence, and yet Silence was the core. "We attempted to become a race without flaws." (pg. 18)
"I don't know if it all balances out in the end, but I know I have done all I could. It's the only thing a man can do." (pg. 294)
"We all have to live with our past, but it doesn't have to define us." (pg. 369)
Growing up, the library was home to me. I mean, I was born into my parental home and I loved it, but the library was the first home my soul chose. I remember spending several recesses hiding out in the school library, lost in a book. On weekends, I would haunt the British Council Library in the community. Even today, rows and rows of books, colorful spines with a rainbow of titles, comfort me like nothing else can.
So imagine my joy to find both A Tale of Two Djinns and Wildfire on the shelves at my local library. I SQUEED! Yes, I know it's the library, but I couldn't help it. :)
Here's a picture:
Happy dancing in West Texas!
Libraries bring readers, young and old, to new worlds and possibilities. They fuel the imagination and let you get your hands on books, precious books, even when you don't have a job or live on a limited budget. They are the best kind of entertainment and education.
This is an amazing month-long fundraising event where you can bid on the fantastic and the useful. Want to meet Celine Dion after a concert or lunch with a favorite author? Want an established author, editor or agent to give you feedback on your current manuscript? Or, how about a vacation in Hawaii? Maybe all you want is books, books and more books...you can bid on all this and more at the auction between now and May 31.
In the past I have supported the auction by bidding on items. I have won awesome critiques from author Jim C. Hines and Agent Kristin Nelson, which provided valuable writing insights. I have won signed books from favorite authors for my Keeper Shelf. I'm going to the Romantic Times conference in New Orleans this month thanks to a bid I won last year.
This year, I'm even more excited because I'm in a place where I can do more to support the cause. Several author friends and I joined together as the MMM authors to work together and to collaborate on projects. We had fun pooling together our resources and abilities to come up with items for Brenda's auction.
Diabetes is a disease that touches everyone's life in one way or another. Brenda embraced the cause when her 5-year-old son was diagnosed with diabetes. My grandfather had diabetes. We all have family and friends, people we know and love, who are dealing with diabetes.
So come on out and support Brenda's Auction, help raise funds for diabetes research, find some cool deals and have fun!
Oh this year, Brenda has a bookish special in addition to the auction. She's brought together 14 award-winning, bestselling, story telling authors in a boxed set called A Sweet Life. All the proceeds go to diabetes research.
I still can't believe author Gabriel Garcia Marquez died earlier this month. He was one of those literary idols that seemed larger than life, not subject to the rules the rest of us mere mortals are...so it was a shock I'm still absorbing. In a way, he still lives and continues though the wonderful legacy of stories he left behind. Thank you Mr. Marquez for writing down your words...
I just love this idea! International Book Giving Day, 100 percent volunteer supported, aims to get new, used, and borrowed books into the hands of as many children as possible. Here are some eye-opening facts: * Most children in developing countries don't own books. * In the United Kingdom, one-third of the children do not own books. * In the United States, two-thirds of the children living in poverty do not own books. Having grown up in a third world country where many children drop out of school to help their families earn a living, I have always been grateful for my education. Books and stories have opened new worlds and opportunity for me. In tough times, I always reach for a book. A good story can give me respite and comfort. Often, a good story has given me hope. So yes, I think a book is a perfect gift for Valentine's Day. To celebrate International Book Giving Day, I'm going to donate some books to a local Girls Home/Children's Emergency Shelter. Can you suggest any titles that might be popular with teen girls and kids in a tough situation? If you'd like to celebrate International Book Giving Day and share some book love, please check out the International Book Giving Day Website for ideas. Wishing you good books for International Book Giving Day and happy Valentine's Day too!
So I finally picked my "A" book for my personal challenge to read more female fantasy authors in 2014...
Rifkind's Challenge was literally the first book I found in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section of my local library, it was the first book on the shelf. Love the cover art. You know you're getting a strong no-nonsense heroine, a woman with an attitude. Yes!
Lynn Abbey is an established fantasy author and has written for several publishers (ACE, WARNER Books, Avon Books and TOR), but somehow I'd never read her. She's known for her work in the THIEVES' WORLD shared-world anthology series.
I'm on chapter 8 and enjoying the story (a complete review will come when I'm done).
Time for a Holly Jolly Christmas GIVEAWAY! The authors of RWA's Southern Magic Chapter are celebrating the holidays and gifting one lucky winner with 36 BOOKS in their Christmas stocking! Something for every reader! Enter today through December 16th and win the chance for packages filled with goodies to arrive at your door or your Inbox!
Woot! I'm going to my very first Romantic Times Convention ever and I'm thrilled to bits! It sounds like a few days full of books, writing, parties and friends...how cool is that? If you are attending, come find me and say hi! Here's where I'll be at:
CLICK on the photo above to actually read the details!
***NOTE: There will be lots of free books, goodie bags filled to the brim with fun swag, games with hot prizes, music, and food at the
You will also find me at at the: * RT Expo, Thursday, May 2, 4 to 6 p.m., with multiple eBooks and paperback copies of A Tale of Two Djinns * Club RT: Thursday, May 2: 2:45 p.m., Friday, May 3: 10:30 a.m. *FAN-tastic Day Party, Saturday, May 4: 7:15-7:45 p.m.
BOOK NEWS
So, The Djinn in the Mirror is done. Writing a book is like pregnancy, you can't and shouldn't rush it. There's a lot of morning (or any other time of the day) sickness and fatigue involved, but also moments of pure wonder and bliss (like when you feel your baby kick or see that first sonogram).
And writing the last bit is the hardest for me -- all this information rushes at me and I can't type fast enough. At the same time, there's a lot of pain and resistance because I have to capture the action film in my mind and translate it into words. The right words.
The story has been sent to my wonderful and invaluable first readers, and my editor, and now I'm waiting for their reactions...all the while biting my nails. Will they love Ash and Dahlia as much as I do?
I want The Djinn in the Mirror to be the best story it can be. So instead of April, now I'm going to release it in May. I apologize for the delay, but I will not rush it. And, I hope, we will all be happier with the end result.
Now, for the Puppy News!!!
I have added Mason, a 2-year-old MinPin and Chihuahua mix to our family. He's last owner couldn't keep him for health reasons, and we had room in our home. Besides, it was love at first sight for me! :)
Introducing him to my other dogs.
You'll notice all my dogs are different and that's because all of them are dogs from the pound that needed homes. I'm a big advocate of adopting shelter pups -- you find unexpected and wonderful friends. My older dogs include a corgi and the cutest mutt ever (yes, biased mom here).
Being I'm an avid reader and that one of my favorite genres is urban fantasy, I discovered Laura Bickle and her alter ego Alayna Williams long before I started writing fiction. I devoured her books, loved her writing. So when Laura found me on Twitter, my first reaction was to gush like a rabid fan-girl. SQUEEEE!!!! She handled it/me most graciously.
And then, I found out she had a scary YA release, THE HALLOWED ONES, and invited her to the blog...so I could introduce y'all to a fabulous writer and her new story.
In Publishers Marketplace The Hallowed Ones is described as “Witness” meets “28 Days Later” in which an Amish girl must protect her family from a violent contagion, even as fear and denial threaten to erode her community from within. Wow, original and cool. Check out the cover!
I'm giving away a Kindle edition of THE HALLOWED ONES to one lucky blog reader...but, you'll have to read to the bottom of the post to find out how to enter. :D Thanks for being here Laura! What inspired you to write an Amish YA? Laura: I live not too far from a large Amish settlement. When I was a child, my parents would take me to visit, and I was fascinated by a world very different than the one I lived in. I’d see Amish girls my age over the fence and wonder what their lives were like. For THE HALLOWED ONES, I was thinking about doing a dystopian book. I was wondering who would be best-equipped to survive a large-scale disaster, and occurred to me that the Amish would be uniquely equipped to survive. They are incredibly self-sufficient and are not dependent upon things we take for granted in our world, things like electricity and cars. As an adult, it was fun to go back there and see how my perceptions of that world changed and how they stayed the same. So what's the story about? Temptation happens to all of us, in large and small ways. The heroine of THE HALLOWED ONES is Katie, a young woman who has grown up in a peaceful Amish settlement. She lives with her parents and sister in the house where she was born. Church services take place in members’ backyards. She knows every other person in the settlement and expects to marry the boy next door. Her home has been a safe nest, familiar and comforting. Maybe just a bit too safe. Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers are free to experience non-Amish culture before officially joining the Amish church. Katie has every intention of being baptized in her church and assuming her responsibilities as an adult Amish woman. She simply wants to see a bit of the world Outside before she makes her choice and commits to the Amish lifestyle forever. She looks forward to testing the rules -- going to the city to see movies, perhaps wearing jeans, experimenting with makeup. Before she can explore in earnest, Katie’s safe world starts to disintegrate. It begins with a fiery helicopter crash in the cornfields near her house, followed by rumors of violence and the disappearance of large numbers of people Outside. Unsure why they haven’t been attacked and fearing contamination, the Amish Elders make a rule: No one goes outside their community, and no one is allowed in. When Katie finds a gravely injured young man lying just outside the boundary of Amish land, she refuses to leave him to die. She defies the Elders’ decree, secretly bringing the stranger in to her community and hiding him. But what else is she bringing in with him?
Author Bio: Laura Bickle’s professional background is in criminal
justice and library science, and when she’s not patrolling the stacks at the
public library she’s dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs
(she also writes contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams).
Laura lives in Ohio with her husband and a herd of mostly-reformed feral cats.
THE HALLOWED ONES is her first young adult novel. Get the latest updates on her
work at www.laurabickle.com. TO WIN LAURA'S BOOK: Share who is your favorite YA heroine and why in the comments section, and leave your email (so I can contact you if you win!).
The paranormal genre with its otherworldly and strong heroes and heroines, global struggles and fantastic world building hooked me from the very beginning. As a reader, I devoured those books. But then I came across TEMPTATION CALLS by Caridad Pineiro and it left me stunned.
Samantha Turner, the heroine, was a mixed race vampire who ran a family shelter. A heroine I could relate to and embrace. Back then I used to teach culinary classes at non-profits, including a family shelter and I happen to be a woman of color...so discovering Sam was a turning point. It took me many years, but Sam and Caridad, gave me the courage to write my own mixed race heroine and share the djinn mythology I grew up with in THE DJINN'S DILEMMA. For that I'm grateful.
And it's a great honor and pleasure to host Caridad on my blog today.
It’s not easy being a writer.It’s probably one of the hardest jobs you’ll ever have.
It’s time consuming, plant-your-butt-in-the-chair kind of work.I often will spend three or four straight hours writing on a weekend before getting up to take a much-needed break.
It’s not necessarily financially rewarding.I thank God every day that I still have my day job to pay the bills.
It can be lonesome, after all, writing is not a team sport.See above re: countless hours of planting-your-butt-in-the-chair.Alone.
The publishing world is filled with rejection even after you sell your first book or your thirtieth and even if your work isn’t rejected, you may find yourself doing countless revisions before your it is ready for publication.
So you may wonder what keeps me writing?What inspires me to forget all the above and sit down in front of my laptop and write?For hours.Alone.
The answer is simple:You.Yes, you the reader.You the person who takes the time to drop me a quick line or tweet or leave a comment on Facebook.
You make it all worthwhile by letting me know that you enjoy the story that I’ve told or that it’s touched you in some fashion or that it made you think about something in a new way.
I write the stories to do just that because I want to engage you.I want to share a piece of me with my stories and I often do so in one way or another in many of my books.
I want to be that kick-ass heroine who knows how to stand up for what’s right and wins the hero in the end thanks to her strength and courage.I want you to feel that you can be that heroine.That you can tap your inner strength and be who you want to be.
I want to be that woman who finds the love of her life (and I have although he’s not perfect) and I want you to think that you, too, can experience a satisfying partnership.
I want to show you new worlds that I wish to visit or share with you places where I’ve been lucky to go, like my beloved Jersey Shore or the top of a Mexican pyramid.I want you to know you can go there, too, either for real or via my stories.
I want to share because I’m a sharing kind of person.Caridad means “Charity” and before I got wiped out and it became Faith, Hope and Love, Charity was the greatest gift of all because it meant that you were sharing of yourself with others.
That’s why you inspire me to write.To give you exciting stories.To give you sexy stories.To share a piece of me and to get to know you better when you share yourself by taking the time to reach out to me.
Thank you for coming by and thank you, Mina, for having me here!I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and Happy Holidays!May we all get to know each better in the New Year.
***
Thanks so much for visiting Caridad and sharing your wise words!
New York Times and USA Today bestselling paranormal and romantic suspense author Caridad Pineiro wrote her first novel in the fifth grade when her teacher assigned a project – to write a book for a class lending library.Bitten by the writing bug, Caridad continued with her passion for the written word through high school, college and law school.In 1999, Caridad’s first novel was released and over a decade later, Caridad is the author of thirty published novels and novellas.
Amazon Awakening, her more recent release is also her first erotic paranormal romance. Check out the cover:
When not writing, Caridad is an attorney, wife and mother to an aspiring writer and fashionista.For more information about Caridad and her books, please visit www.caridad.com.
Red Riding Hood grows up to be a monster slayer.
Frost's new YA/NA paranormal offering
A light mystery w/a ghost detective
Sci-Fi Rom 
by Jan Grape
