Andrea Pearson's Blog, page 15

Happy Valentine's Day, and Giveaway!

I love deals and giveaways, and there are a bunch going on right now! :-)

As a way to say Happy Valentine's Day, my eBook novella (teen romance), Samara: A Kilenya Romance, is free on Kindle! Come check it out here. :-)

Also, I've partnered up with a few bloggers to give away a Kindle loaded with my eBooks. Come enter! You'll find the info here, along with an awesome review of both eBooks (The Key of Kilenya, and The Ember Gods). (Contest starts today - must be over 18 and living in the USA.)

The above contest is pretty intense - last one we did had around 130,000 entries. Here's another one, giving away just The Key of Kilenya, that is more low-key. Come join the fun!

What book are you reading? I just started Brandon Mull's The Beyonders series, and am really enjoying book one!

Here's the tracking information on downloads for Samara: A Kilenya Romance:
7:45am: 45 downloads
10:45am: 100 downloads
12:45pm: 200 downloads (ranked#23 on Amazon for its genre!!! 1,900 overall)
1:45pm: 265 downloads (ranked #19 for its genre, 1,254 overall)
3:30pm: 320 downloads (ranked #8 for its genre, 670 overall)
4:30pm: 346 downloads (ranked #7 for its genre, #521 overall)
6:15pm: 412 downloads (ranked #6 for its genre, 493 overall)


Thanks, everyone for helping me spread the news! :-)

Reviews for The Key of Kilenya!

I'd originally posted all of this on my website for the Kilenya Series, but am cleaning things up and moving stuff here. :-)

I'm so very excited for the reviews to come in! I'll add them here as they are posted. :-) And thank you to Tristi Pinkston for putting the blog tour together. :-)

July 16, 2011
Author Interview by Deirdra Coppel. Read it here.

August 1, 2011
Review by Jenni James. Read it here.

August 3, 2011
Review by Nichole Giles. Read it here.

August 5, 2011
Review by Tamera Westhoff. Read it here.

August 8, 2011
Review by Gail Zuniga. Read it here.

August 10, 2011
Review by Cindy Hogan. Read it here.

August 12, 2011
Review by Canda Mortensen. Read it here.

August 13, 2011
Review by Lynn Parsons. Read it here.

August 16, 2011
Author interview by Marsha A. Moore. Read it here.

August 19, 2011
Review by Heather Justesen. Read it here.

August 25, 2011
Review by John Waverly. Read it here.

August 31, 2011
Review by Jewel Adams. Read it here.

September 1, 2011
Review by Ariella Stewart. Read it here.

September 3, 2011
Review by Alice Gold. Read it here.

September 7, 2011
Review by David West. Read it here.

September 9, 2011
Review by Karen Dupaix. Read it here.

September 11, 2011
Review by Dan Olsen. Read it here.

September 12, 2011
Review by Anna Maria Junus. Read it here.

September 12, 2011
Review by Jennifer Hurst. Read it here.

September 13, 2011
Review by Anna Knox. Read it here.

September 16, 2011
Interview of me by Jennifer Walker. Read it here.

September 17, 2011
Review by Heidi Durant (of Latter-day Women Magazine). Read it here.

September 17, 2011
Review by J Lloyd Morgan. Read it here.

September 18, 2011
Review by Alex Hoagland. Read it here.

September 18, 2011
Review by Jaclyn Weist. Read it here.

September 20, 2011
Review by Betsy Love. Read it here.

September 21, 2011
Review by Ariel Wilson. Read it here.

September 27, 2011
Review by Debbie Davis. Read it here.

September 27, 2011
Review by Kim VanderHorst. Read it here.

September 29, 2011
Review by Lisa Asanuma. Read it here.

September 30, 2011
Review by Kimberly Job. Read it here.

September 30, 2011
Review by Sheila Staley. Read it here.

October 3, 2011
Review by Karen Hoover. Read it here.

October 6, 2011
Review by Bonnie Harris. Read it here.

October 7, 2011
Review by Laura Bastien. Read it here.

October 8, 2011
Review by Mandi Tucker Slack. Read it here.

October 12, 2011
LDS Women's Book Review. Read it here.

October 13, 2011
Review by Elizabeth Mueller. Read it here.

October 13, 2011
Review by Michael Young. Read it here.

October 19, 2011
Review by L. Taggart. Read it here.

October 19, 2011
Radio Interview by Jennifer Hurst. Listen to it here.

October 20, 2011
Review by Autumn. Read it here.

October 27, 2011
Book Reviews and More. Read it here.

October 27, 2011
Review by Mary Ann Dennis. Read it here.

October 28, 2011
Review by Braden Bell. Read it here.

October 28, 2011
Review by Donna Weaver. Read it here.

October 29, 2011
Review by DeDe Smith. Read it here.

November 2, 2011
Review by Marcy Howes. Read it here.

November 4, 2011
Review by Chris. Read it here.

November 9, 2011
Review by Tamara Lyn. Read it here.

November 16, 2011
Author Interview by Diana Ault. Read it here.

November 16, 2011
Review by KBallard. Read it here.

Current Giveaways Listing My Books

Howdy, Everyone!

Thank you so very much for your support! I really appreciate it. :-)

There are a bunch of giveaways going on right now for either The Key of Kilenya and/or Samara: A Kilenya Romance. I want you all to have the opportunity to enter to win!

Terry's Little Haven
I Feel So Unnecessary
KaT's CoRnEr NiChE
Terry's Treasures (Win The Key of Kilenya as a paperback book!)

Good luck!

Also, we upped the prices on my books and two of them haven't been updated yet. The Ember Gods, Kilenya Series Book Two , and Samara: A Kilenya Romance . They're both a dollar off for who knows how much longer. Take advantage of it while you can! (Click on their titles.)

And as a parting note, my new favorite from The Piano Guys.

This song FREAKIN' COOL!! And my mom would be crying right now. She's terrified of heights. :-)

Kindleboards Banner

This Saturday, my book series is going to be featured on the Kindleboards as a full-size banner. We need to email in the finished product in a few hours (by tonight, which is Thursday), but wanted to get some opinions of it first.

Here it is:


A few questions:

Does it catch your eye? What is your overall impression? What is your first impression?
What do you think of the text? Anything you'd change?
What do you think of the overall composition? Does it look even, or well aligned?
Honestly, if you notice anything that should or could be improved upon, please let us know!

Thanks so much! Can't wait for it to go up!

Time Wasters

I was getting in some really good edits today until a headache hit. Brought on by stress and frustration and a whole bunch of other To-Much-To-Do stuff. The physical exhaustion followed, and I decided I needed a break. But what to do?

Then I remembered my favorite Time Wasters. Yes! I was set!

Allow me to introduce them to you.

First, we've got Movies in Five Seconds. Some of my favorites are:
The Lion King
Sixth Sense
and Harry Potter

Go ahead. Watch them. Then watch the other Movies in Five Seconds. Some of them are pretty darn stupid. Others are hilarious.

Second, we've got Desktop Tower Defense. 'Nuff said.

Then there's Overhead @ BYU. Again, some of the comments are pretty dumb, but others are seriously hilarious. (Yay for my Alma Mater . . . and the occasional silly student who attends. :-))

Then there's YouTube. Everything's on YouTube, ain't it?
We've got:
You're a Woman, Harry! (Potter)
The greatest dating video of all time
Any of Jon Schmidt's and/or Steven Sharp Nelson's videos (done by ThePianoGuys. Their latest video, Where Are You Christmas, actually makes me cry.)
The organist mess-up while playing the Hallelujah Chorus.

I also love looking at all the pictures my brother, Glenn, has taken, though I don't want to call it a Time Waster. :-) His pictures of LDS temples are absolutely breathtaking.

Last but not least, there's Travelocity. Because it's fun to think about getting out of town, even if you can't afford it. :-)

What are some of your favorite Time Wasters? Post 'em in comments below, and I'll add them to the list!

Your Favorite Time Wasters:
Facebook
Other people's blogs
Playing Words with Friends

Can Guys and Girls Just Be Friends?

Okay, I need you to do something before reading more (or even watching the movie). Answer the poll to the right of this post. "Can Guys and Girls Just Be Friends?" I know it's hard to see (it won't let me change the colors), but the first option is "Yes," and the second is "No."

Have you voted? No? Come on, you know you want to do it. :-)

Now have you voted? Yes? Okay. We go on. :-)

Watch this video (it's not long). Then come back and discuss. :-)

Do you believe it's possible for guys and girls to be friends? What was your answer? What experiences have you had where this is concerned?

My answer was "No." My dad made sure to teach me at a young age that it's impossible for guys and girls to be friends without one being interested in the other, and subsequently being hurt.

While I was on a mission for my church (LDS), I got in a discussion with other missionaries about this. All of the guys said, "No," and all of the girls, minus myself and my companion, said, "Yes." I'm not sure if it's possible for many girls truly to understand how it works until they experience it. Either they'll be dying for a guy friend to ask them out and he never does, or he's waiting for a sign from her that she's romantically interested in him.

And one of my favorite music videos from Steven Sharp Nelson (and when he and Jon Schmidt go extremely big, I'll be able to say I've met both of them a million and a half times. I doubt they remember me. Ha ha. :-)):

Nature's Deadliest . . . Eeek.

My husband and I are sitting here, working on separate projects. I'm putting together some stuff for book marketing, and he's working on things for clients. To keep us company, we're watching documentaries on nature's deadliest creatures (Netflix, Discovery Channel). Needless to say, we've decided never to move to Australia, Africa, or Brazil.

It's really fascinating, and honestly, I'm finding myself inspired for future monsters to put in my stories.

There's this fish in Australian oceans that delivers a poison which targets the pain centers of the brain. No amount of medication or morphine or anything else will remove the agony. And it takes hours for it to wear off. Doesn't kill the person, just makes them wish they were dead.

Then there's the dingo - a really pretty wild dog in Australia that can kill an adult in ten minutes.

Next, the different kinds of snakes that kill really quickly. (Three minutes up to 48 incredibly agonizing hours. Lovely.) And of course monstrous crocodiles. And bull sharks, which swim upstream into rivers and kill within three minutes. Don't forget spiders and scorpions and Cape Buffaloes and rhinos and hippos. And killer bees. (Give them five minutes) And hyenas. (Only need three.)

We live in such a beautiful world. But dang, it's dangerous! :-)

Oh, and did you know the anaconda has six rows of razer sharp teeth? And I thought my Eetu fish, with its triple-lined teeth, was bad!

But seriously. If you write fantasy, or simply like to create different deadly creatures, why not get inspiration from these animals? The snakes, beautiful frogs, and spiders have enough differences to generate a lot of creatures.

Anyway . . . back to marketing. :-)

I'm putting together a list of somewhere around 400 middle grade and young adult fantasy books. I'd love to be able to read them all! Should I post them on my blog? I think I will. :-)

World's Deadliest Creatures . . . Eeek.

My husband and I are sitting here, working on separate projects. I'm putting together some stuff for book marketing, and he's working on things for clients. To keep us company, we're watching documentaries on the world's deadliest creatures (Netflix, Discovery Channel). Needless to say, we've decided never to move to Australia, Africa, or Brazil.

It's really fascinating. There's this fish in Australian oceans that delivers a poison which targets the pain centers of the brain. No amount of medication or morphine or anything else will remove the agony. And it takes hours for it to wear off. Doesn't kill the person, just makes them wish they were dead.

Then there's the dingo - a really pretty wild dog in Australia that can kill an adult in ten minutes.

Next, the different kinds of snakes that kill really quickly. And of course crocodiles. And bull sharks, which swim upstream into rivers and kill within three minutes. Don't forget spiders and scorpions and Cape Buffaloes and rhinos and hippos. And killer bees that can kill in five minutes. And hyenas that can kill in three minutes.

We live in such a beautiful world. But dang, it's dangerous! :-)

Oh, and did you know the anaconda has six rows of razer sharp teeth? And I thought my Eetu fish was bad!

Anyway . . . back to marketing. :-)

I'm putting together a list of somewhere around 400 middle grade and young adult fantasy books. I'd love to be able to read them all! Should I post them on my blog?

Kindle's Borrowing Program. Like? Dislike?

How many of you have Kindles? How many have Nooks? Have you heard of Kindle's newest plan to help push their products?

You can find it here for authors and here for readers, but in short, it allows Prime Members who own a Kindle to borrow up to 12 books a year (no due dates) for free. This is great - in my opinion. I'm a Prime Member, and once I can afford a Kindle, I'd love to participate. (Kindle phone apps don't apply.)

However, in order for the author to have their book in the borrowing program (which comes with perks), they have to agree not to upload, sale, or distribute their books via any other method, including their websites and blogs, for as long as 90 days.

Kindle, Nook, and other eReader device owners, how do you feel about this?

Indie (and other) authors, are you willing to take the risk of losing potential readers just for the extra perks?

As for me, I'm not. I don't get as many sales through Nook, but I get a ton of traffic from Smashwords and the eReaders it distributes through. And I really feel sick when I think of alienating those and my Nook people. Plus, Smashwords allows me to be in complete charge of my prices, including allowing me to drop a book to free for as long as I want it that way. Kindle doesn't give you this freedom (though, with the new program they'll let you post your book for free for a few days. Whoopee.)

Another thing: Smashwords has helped me so much with formatting, style, and sales (things applicable to Kindle and Nook) that it would be pretty stupid of me to pull my eBooks from their catalogs. And why would I want to prevent potential readers from accessing my stories for 90 days?

Lastly, I just partnered with an independent bookstore to sell my eBooks through their online store. That was hard work and I'm not about to throw it away!

I don't think the perks equal the disadvantages. Amazon usually does smart things, but for an author, this really isn't one of them.

JK Rowling on Failure and Imagination

JK Rowling's address to Harvard graduates is one of the most inspiring I've ever read. I hadn't known her depth of understanding or experience in true-life matters, aside from what we hear all the time: "She wrote Harry Potter on napkins in cafes," until I read this. She really "gets" it.

Her thoughts on failure are uplifting and inspiring, and she definitely understands her way around the English language.

Please take the time to read (or listen to) her address, located here. Her message is valuable! Plus, she's funny. :-)

Oh, and also, The Key of Kilenya is being featured on SavvySisterShops! Go here to see it. :-)