Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "discount-code"

Saint Patricks Day Comments




Welcome, everyone, and Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

My guest author today, Stacy Juba, would like to make your celebrations even more fun by offering you the opportunity to enter to win one of 5 Smashwords downloads of her latest novel, Sink or Swim. Stacy's new book is inspired by reality TV. It has been getting lots of 5 star reviews, and I for one am looking forward to reading it! I'll tell you more about the giveaway later, as well as revealing a discount code for Stacy's children's book The Flag Keeper.









Readers of my blog will know that I am currently running a series of blogs where I am introducing you to my favourite authors. Stacy and I first met online sometime last year and we are both resident authors on BestsellerBound, a message board devised by author Darcia Helle, where indie authors can connect and chat with readers. Over the past year or so, we have become good friends. I loved her book, Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, a mystery based on an unsolved murder from 25 years ago.

Here are Stacy's answers to my interview questions:


Is there a particular author, or book, that inspired you to start writing?

I was inspired as a child by the Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden mystery series. I devoured them, and by fifth grade, was writing my own mystery series about a teenage sleuth named Cathy Summers.

When did you first discover your love of writing?

I got the writing bug in third grade, when I wrote my first thriller. I have folders and folders full of stories from when I was a child. By fifth grade, I was always working on a story. Some were about 50 hand-written pages.

Do you have any tips for someone who is considering self-publishing their own book?

I self-published my children’s picture book The Flag Keeper and the e-book versions of my mystery novels. I would recommend using Create Space to publish a print version as they do quality work, have great customer service, and it’s very inexpensive if you hand them a fully designed PDF. However, don’t expect to make much money on a self-published print book as it’s hard to get it in bookstores and libraries. Focus on the e-books as the e-book market is huge. You can self-publish your e-books through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, Barnes&Noble’s Pub It, and through Smashwords for Kobo, the Sony Reader and other retailers. I recommend selling your e-book for a bargain price such as $2.99.

How did the writing experience for your children's book The Flag Keeper compare with writing your adult books?

You have to write very tight with a picture book so I found myself doing quite a bit of cutting to keep my word count down. You need to leave the description for the illustrator to convey through pictures, while still providing enough details for the illustrator to work with. You also need to choose words that are on a child’s level. It takes me much longer to write a 260-page adult novel, but writing a picture book wasn’t easy by any means. I did a lot of editing and revising to get the story right.

How much research went into writing that book, which I understand is all about flag etiquette? And what gave you the idea for it?

I got the idea because my husband is very patriotic and has always been interested in flags. After we got a flag pole, he would bring out the flag every morning and bring it inside at night. I was surprised he didn’t just leave it out all night, but he explained to me about flag etiquette. For example, you’re not supposed to leave the flag out in the dark unless you have a spotlight. He also taught me other rules of flag etiquette – for example, there is a certain way to fold it. I had representatives of the national American Legion Post and National VFW Post read the story to make sure everything was accurate, and they tweaked a few minor things. The main point they thought I should get across to kids was that you won’t go to jail for breaking these rules, but following them shows your respect.

How did you go about arranging illustrations for the children’s book?

My father actually did the illustrations. He draws as a hobby. At the time, I didn’t know the book was actually going to be published. It started more as a fun project, but it came out so nicely and got such a good response that I decided to publish it. The Flag Keeper is available in paperback and will be coming out in multiple e-book formats including Kindle and Nook, hopefully by early April.

What is the target age group for that book?

The target age is 4-8, but I know some families that have bought it for toddlers to grow into, and some have bought it to read to older children who might have a relative in the military or who are involved with Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts. The illustrations are of a bear family, so it is perfect for young children in pre-school and elementary school.

I read and enjoyed Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, a murder mystery revolving around an unsolved murder.  The main character, Kris Langley, works for a local newspaper.  I understand that you have a background in journalism.  Are any of your experiences of working in that field reflected in the novel?

When I started in journalism, I was a newspaper editorial assistant and obit writer, like my character Kris. One of my responsibilities was compiling the 25 and 50 Years Ago Today column from the microfilm. In the book, Kris stumbles across an unsolved murder while researching her 25 Years Ago Today column. The book is fiction, but I used my newspaper background to make the newsroom setting authentic.

There are many references to Greek mythology in the novel Twenty-Five Years Ago Today.  How much research did you have to do for the novel, and how long did it take you to write?

I loved Greek mythology growing up so didn’t need to do much research for that aspect of the novel. I just had to go back to some of my mythology books and refresh my memory, to find the right myths to mention in the novel. In my book, the murder victim, Diana Ferguson, was an artist inspired by Greek and Roman mythology, and her paintings may provide clues to her death. It took me a couple of years to write the book, and then a couple years to find an agent. The agent ultimately wasn’t able to sell it and I shelved the book for awhile. Then it finaled in the St. Martin’s Press Malice Domestic Competition for new mystery writers and I started submitting to publishers again. I was fortunate to find a small press, Mainly Murder Press, which publishes an impressive line of beautifully designed gift quality trade paperback mystery and suspense novels.

Your new novel, Sink or Swim, which I am looking forward to reading, is a murder/mystery based on reality TV.  Are you a fan of reality TV shows?

I watch reality shows now and then, but it’s mostly sitcoms taking up space on my TiVo. But I was intrigued at how popular reality shows are getting, with these normal people being thrust into the limelight. I wanted to explore what might motivate an ordinary person to try out for a reality show, and inject that into a mystery novel. Reality fans should appreciate the book, but you don’t need to be a reality fan to enjoy it. Most of the novel takes place in my character Cassidy’s hometown, after she returns to her normal life as a personal trainer. I’d describe it as a cross between a cozy mystery and a romantic suspense novel.

Tell us a bit more about the online mock reality TV show that you are currently running on your blog.

I started a new feature called the Sink or Swim 6, where authors can have one of their characters fill out a six-question contestant interview for my fictional reality show Sink or Swim. The author is encouraged to promote the post on the scheduled date so that friends and readers can leave comments. The three characters that draw in the most post at the end of the year will be chosen as the winners of Sink or Swim, and their authors will get some extra publicity. I am booked for a couple months, but will be opening submissions again in mid-May till the end of June for posts to run in the summer and fall.

Summarise you new novel in three or four sentences

Here is a quick blurb for Sink or Swim: How do you change the channel when reality TV turns to murder? After starring on a hit game show set aboard a Tall Ship, personal trainer Cassidy Novak discovers that she has attracted a stalker. Soon, she will need to call SOS for real…

Who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?

I really enjoyed the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. Overall, I'm just impressed by the scope of her imagination and how she was able to carry Harry's story through so many novels, and to work under that constant deadline pressure.


Is there a book you own that you’ve read more than once?

I haven’t read a book more than once since I was a teenager – too many books to read, too little time. But I read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton at least 15 times in high school. It was my favorite book at that time.

What was the last book you read?

I just finished Trevor's Song by Susan Helene Gottfried and really enjoyed that. It provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lives of members of a fictional rock band.

Are you reading a book at the moment?

I’m reading a couple at once – Drowning in Christmas by Judith K. Ivie in print, and Nexus Point by Jaleta Clegg on my e-reader.

What do you think of ebooks?

I love them! It’s a wonderful way for lesser known authors to find readers. As a reader myself, I do prefer print books, however, I own a Sony Reader and love it. I’ve gotten to many free and inexpensive ebooks that I never would have read or heard of otherwise. I’m also thinking of getting a Kindle. I read both print books and e-books.

How important are reviews for you as a writer?

Reviews are extremely important, especially reviews from book bloggers and reviews on sites such as Amazon, Goodreads and Library Thing. Several good reviews on a site such as Amazon can make a prospective reader feel more confident about taking a chance on a new author, and reviews on blogs or on Goodreads can introduce a book and author to new readers. Goodreads reviews feed into the Sony Reader Store, and Library Thing reviews feed into the databases of many library systems, so one simple review can have a great deal of influence.

How do you go about choosing a cover for your books?

My publisher designed the covers for Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim, and was generous enough to allow me to use the same covers for the ebook versions. The designer did a wonderful job and I was given an opportunity for input. My husband is a graphic designer and did The Flag Keeper cover and he will also be my cover designer for some other projects that I have coming up in the near future.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on getting The Flag Keeper into multiple ebook formats and I’ll also be releasing a children’s picture book called Victoria Rose and the Big Bad Noise exclusively in ebook format this spring. I’ll be releasing a short mystery story called Dirty Laundry in ebook format as another way to introduce mystery readers to my work. I’m also gearing up for the release of my young adult paranormal thriller Dark Before Dawn, coming from Mainly Murder Press in early 2012.

Where can people buy your books?

My mystery novels are available in paperback and multiple ebook formats. You can order them at any bookstores. Below are some online links:

Sink or Swim on Amazon

Twenty-Five Years Ago Today on Amazon

The Flag Keeper on Amazon

You can also access links for Barnes & Noble.com, Sony, Nook, Kobo and other retailers at Stacy Juba's store

Do you have your own website or blog where people can read more about your work?

My web site

My blog

Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?

Thank you to the readers who have given my books a chance and have taken the time to place reviews or recommend my stories to others. I love to interact with readers and book lovers, whether you’ve read my books or not – feel free to friend me on Goodreads.

Here is a discount voucher for The Flag Keeper: Use coupon code VTW7KCSN at checkout to get the book for $7.99, a $4 discount. https://www.createspace.com/3475588

Thank you for answering my questions, Stacy!

Remember, there are 5 Smashwords downloads of Sink or Swim up for grabs, just leave a comment below to enter.
Winners will be picked on 21st March 2011.
Good luck!

I'm thrilled to be introducing you to my guest today, author Lisette Brodey. I met Lisette on Goodreads about 2 years ago, maybe more. We have also connected on MySpace and numerous other social networking sites. She has become a good friend. It's a hectic life being a self-published author and doing your own promotion, but Lisette always finds time to drop me a line every month or so to check up on me and see how I'm doing. I have found her to be very caring; a really genuine friend.

As well as being a fabulous person, she is also a very talented author. I fell in love with her book Crooked Moon, and am eager to find time to read her other novels (Squalor, New Mexico, and her latest -- to be published towards the end of this year: Molly Hacker Is Too Picky!).

In addition to answering my interview questions, Lisette has very generously agreed to give away a signed, personalized ebook copy of Crooked Moon or Squalor, New Mexico. To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below. We'll do a random draw on 25th April 2011, and contact the winner directly! Also, at the end of the interview, Lisette has given details of promotional codes you can use to purchase both of her books on Smashwords for just $2.99 each, until 1st May 2011!



Here are Lisette's replies to my interview questions:

When did you first discover your love of writing?

As early as I can remember. My first recollection of writing was a song I wrote at the age of five or six. Throughout the years, I wrote poetry, short stories, and random essays. Interestingly, poetry, short stories, and essays are things I never write now.

Do you have any tips for someone who is considering self-publishing their own book?

Absolutely. Build a network. Don’t wait until your book is published. That’s way too late. It’s very important to remember that building a network means supporting other authors’ work.

If you are planning to self-publish, don’t be so excited that you rush to publication without taking the necessary steps. I can’t stress the importance of getting your manuscript professionally edited. Many writers have little or no budget so they often skip this step. Don’t do it. Just look around. There are many competent editors who will work for a very reasonable fee. Looking for an editor ahead of time will greatly increase a writer’s chance of finding a competent professional.

Take the time to have a great cover done. There are many artists looking to build a portfolio who will do work very reasonably or perhaps even barter services. Although it may be true that you cannot judge a book by its cover, books are indeed judged by their covers every day.


I have read and enjoyed Crooked Moon, in fact it’s one of my favourite ever books. The characters all seem so real.  I especially liked the way you portrayed the relationship between Frankie and Callie. Do you ever base characters on people you know, or are they always entirely fictional?

Most of my characters are hybrids of people I know or have known, or types of personalities that I am familiar with. Frankie Cavalese, one of the two main characters in Crooked Moon, is based on someone close to me, but she is NOT that person. Even if a character is not based on someone I know, it is important for me to have a visual of the person on which I can build a character of substance.



Who do you relate to more, Callie or Frankie?

Interesting question. While there are parts of me that relate to each woman, overall, I would probably say Frankie.

I’m hearing some good things about your young adult book, Squalor, New Mexico.  Firstly, lets deal with that title, it’s quite unusual, how did you come up with that?

All throughout my life, whenever I heard someone described as, “living in squalor,” it always sounded like a place to me. One day, I had a vague idea of writing a book and making the first line “My aunt lived in Squalor.” Years later, I was finally ready to get to work on this idea. I wrote the first line, which became: “My aunt Rebecca lived in Squalor.” Then, around that one line, I built the story of a family and their secrets, encompassing many layers and many years.



What is Squalor, New Mexico about, and how does writing a young adult novel compare with writing an adult novel? Are there any tips you can give to writers of the genre?

Squalor, New Mexico is the story of Darla McKendrick, who, at nine years old, overhears her mother and her aunt Didi talking about their sister, Rebecca. Darla is intrigued by the mention of this mysterious aunt and immediately has questions for her mother. It isn’t long before Darla realizes that while no one wants to tell her the truth about Rebecca, they seem to talk about her quite a bit, especially when they think Darla is out of earshot.

The book covers Darla’s life beginning at age nine until the age of sixteen; it is the evolving story of her discoveries and simultaneous coming of age.

It’s funny you should ask me about tips for writers of the genre. I’ll share a secret with you: I had no idea I was writing a young adult book. I set out to write a coming-of-age story that was shrouded in family mystery. It naturally fell into that genre. My advice would be that if you are writing about teens, listen to teens. Remember your own childhood. That was key to me in writing this novel.

Crooked Moon is an adult contemporary fiction book, Squalor, New Mexico is a young adult book, and your new book, due to be released later this year, Molly Hacker Is Too Picky!, is a women’s fiction novel.  That’s quite a diverse range of writing.  Does that reflect your own reading tastes?

Crooked Moon is closest to my own reading tastes by a landslide. I wrote each book for a very different reason. My fourth novel will likely be closer to Crooked Moon. Since publishing my own books and meeting so many fellow authors, my reading of other genres has expanded. I just love a good story with believable characters that is well written and pulls me in. The genre is secondary to good writing.


Which one of your books was the most fun to write?

I don’t have an answer for this. I only remember how much I enjoyed writing certain parts of certain books, either because they were emotional, poetic, funny, absurd, or shocking.


How long does it usually take you to write a novel? And which book took the longest to write?

If I could just focus on the writing of a novel itself, I might finish one in six months time to a year. The book that took me the longest is my upcoming third novel, Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! The reasons for that are many. First, when I wrote Squalor, New Mexico and Crooked Moon, it was a very different world. There were no social media and no networking to worry about. It was much easier to just write.

I began writing Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! in 2006 because I saw that women’s fiction and chick lit were popular genres. When I discovered in 2007 that self-publishing was feasible for me, I put Molly on hold to publish my two already written books. In 2009, I went back to the half-written Molly manuscript, and it was quite a job to make every nuance of the character and the storyline current in my brain. Although this book is a comedy/drama and more lighthearted than the first two, it has more small details, and it was not easy to write.

Who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?

My favorite books have been the ones that I have seen as literary masterpieces: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and many other writers.

Is there a book you own that you’ve read more than once?

With so many books to read, I don’t believe I have ever read one more than once. That said, there are so many I would love to read again. It’s all about having time. With time, I would read everything!

What was the last book you read?

David Copperfield.

Are you reading a book at the moment?

The Language of Trees by Ilie Ruby

What do you think of ebooks?

I think ebooks are fabulous, but I don’t want to see paper books disappear from our lives. I think that the ease of reading ebooks and the pricing make it so much easier for authors to get their work read. I read books on my Kindle and my phone, but I also hold paper books in my hand. There is no substitute for the warmth of a room filled with shelves of books, or for browsing through an old bookstore or physically picking up books in one’s personal library to find one that suits your mood.

How important are reviews for you as a writer?

They are very important because they give prospective readers an idea of what other people are thinking. I take into consideration that taste is subjective. There is no one book that everyone loves. Reviews are also important to me because I learn a lot about what readers took from my work. I’ve learned a lot from reading the way different people describe my work; it helps me know my audience, too.


How do you go about choosing a cover for your books?

For Crooked Moon, I was set from the beginning on showing the Philadelphia row houses in which the two main characters, Frankie and Callie grew up, as it is also the home where a great deal of the story continues. After taking photographs of houses that matched the ones in my story, an artist then turned the photograph of my choice into an illustration, adding the elements that made it come alive.

For Squalor, New Mexico, which has such an unusual title, it was important give the reader a clear picture of what the book is about. That is why I ultimately decided to show Darla peeking around a door, listening to her mother and aunt whispering secrets.

With Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! I described Molly in depth to the artist (Goodreads author, Megan Hansen), and she brilliantly drew the character as I had envisioned her.

You’ve recently launched a blog for your new women’s fiction book titled: Molly Hacker Is Too picky!.  I understand that the blog will be written as if by your character, Molly, rather than by you.  This is a fun idea, how did you come up with it?

A friend of mine, who is an author and author success coach, gave me the idea. She suggested the blog would be the best way to build a book platform and introduce Molly Hacker to the world before the publication of her book.

Summarise your book, Molly Hacker is Too Picky!, in three or four sentences.

Molly Hacker is a 32-year old snarky, overanalytical, and husband-seeking reporter working for the Swansea Herald, a newspaper covering an old-money bedroom community of New York City. Molly battles interference from friend and foe alike in her search for true love.



Where can people buy your books?

The paperback editions of Crooked Moon and Squalor, New Mexico can be purchased on Amazon.com.

The ebook editions of these novels can be purchased through most major retailers, including Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords, and OmniLit.


Do you have your own website or blog where people can read more about your work?

My general website is Lisette Brodey

My Facebook Author page is Facebook. On this page, I have the most up-to-date announcements on everything that I am doing.

My Goodreads.com profile also has lots of information about my books and is linked to my blog. Lisette Brodey

Readers can meet my character, Molly Hacker, at Molly Hacker. Molly blogs every Monday.

Molly also has put out her first video, which can be seen on YouTube: Molly Hacker on YouTube, as well as on Molly’s blog site.

And, of course, there are numerous reviews of my work on Amazon.com.

Thank you for answering my questions, Lisette. I understand that you would like to offer promotional codes to readers of my blog for a limited period, can you tell us more about that?

I am offering a special promotion to all readers of this blog. From now until May 1, both of my novels can be purchased at Smashwords for only $2.99 each.

Please use the following promotional codes:

CROOKED MOON: RY75D
SQUALOR, NEW MEXICO: RN83N

Thanks, Lisette!

Remember, to be in with a chance of winning an ebook of either Crooked Moon or Squalor, New Mexico, leave a comment below.

Good luck!!

Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! Will be available to purchase later in the year. Follow Lisette's dedicated blog for more information.