Bethany Maines's Blog, page 10
December 11, 2019
Time to Get Serial
This week (12/9 – 12/13) one of my short stories, Oh, Holy Night, is being serialized on Frolic – the site for all things romance. Oh, Holy Night is a Christmas romance involving bank robbery, coffee, and best friends. And while I’m always ecstatic to sell and share one of my stories, I have to say that I’m a little more over the moon about this story because of the significance of serialized stories in the history of writing.
Most people think of Charles Dickens when they think of serialized stories. And although A Christmas Carol was not serialized, his Pickwick Papers (1836) was written and shared in nineteen installments, each costing a shilling. Partially, the success was due to the format of bite-size, cliff-hanger segments sold in a time when people couldn’t dash off and find entertainment on their phones. But, let’s think about that for just a moment. Now that we can dash off and find entertainment at any moment of the day, wouldn’t now be the perfect time for bite-size, cliff-hanger segments of a story? The old adventure movies captured this idea in the early days of film with short movies that were meant to keep you coming back next Saturday or at the least for the next reel. Have you ever wondered why some movies (ex: James Bond) will give you a 15 minute opening adventure before cutting to the credits? Thank the early days of film when complete reels were 15 minutes long and the projectionist needed to hustle to change reels. Current television has captured this format with long story lines and cliff-hanger episodes and then broken the mold by allowing everyone to binge watch all the episodes at once. The idea of writing extended stories that leave the reader wanting more with each chapter is a unique skill that is hard to master. One that I’m sure I haven’t mastered it yet, but one that I’m excited to work on.
If you Pop over to Frolic to read Oh, Holy Night for free and check out my effort at a serialized story!
November 27, 2019
Dead Zone
Welcome to the day where no one is on-line, but everyone is at the grocery store. Hopefully, you are successfully home from such an excursion and have yet to launch into the holiday madness of bake, travel, eat, travel, flop face first onto the pile of laundry on your bed because you didn’t have time to put it away before you left. My hope for you, dear reader, is that your home with your feet up reading a good book and sipping hot cocoa, cider, or the nog of your choice. That is also my dream for myself, so let’s dream the impossible dream together.
The dream starts with good books. Here are some of mine that you can snag for a quick, easy and cheap!
Blue Christmas – Want a hilarious romantic holiday thriller? Simply join my newsletter and get this one for free. It’s as easy as that.
Link: bethanymaines.com/free-e-book/
An Unseen Current – Murder, mystery, a hunky Sheriff’s Deputy, a granddaughter / granddad detective duo, oh, and there’s a dog. The third in the series, An Unfamiliar Sea, comes out in January. Grab book one for $.99!
Link: Amazon
Shark’s Instinct – Crime, humor, and a heroine and hero that are more than they seem, the Shark Santoyo Series follows a duo that have the odds stacked against them. Buy book one for $.99 or check it out on Kindle Unlimited.
Link: Amazon
Now let’s talk Nog. I personally do not believe in egg nog. Too much egg. Not enough nog. But I do believe in cocktails. So with that in mind I suggest the Moscow Mule. Served in a festive copper cup (but really can be drunk out of anything) try this drink with a slice of lime as a garnish.
Main alcohol: Vodka
Ingredients: 4 oz Ginger beer, 1 1/2 oz Vodka, 1/6 oz Lime juice
Preparation: Combine vodka and ginger beer in a copper mug or highball glass filled with ice. Add lime juice. Stir gently and garnish with a lime slice.
Served: On the rocks; poured over ice.
Drinkware: Copper mug or highball glass
Good luck out there my friends. Don’t let the holidays be anything less than jolly!
November 13, 2019
Reviews
Ahhhhhh… The soothing feeling of not being in a mad marketing scramble.
Being in a post-book release time frame is both relaxing and a little bit of a let-down. The majority of sales happen around the book release week and after that, there’s just general marketing and gulp, waiting for reviews to come in. Reviews, believe it or not, are quite hard to come by. In a world where literally every service seems to ask for you to thumbs up, rate, review, rave about, the good old fashioned recommendation of a book has become both more important and yet, even harder to get.
Readers get intimidated by the process – do I need to write a book report? Ahhhhhh!!!! The answer to that one is no. Short reviews are frequently the best. For example, here’s the latest review for The Second Shot…
“A drunken mistake in college cost U.S. Marshal Maxwell Ames the love of Dominique Deveraux and six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up. But there’s just one tiny problem. When I started reading I couldn’t put it down. Bethany Maines is magnificent and amazing writer. I cannot wait to read more of her books. Keep up the great work. You should definitely read this book. Can’t wait for the next book.”Now obviously any review that calls me an amazing writer is going to be tops with me, but beyond that, the reviewer did the one thing that is required in a review – said what she liked. Then she gave it a rating and moved on with life. No synopsis, spoilers, no over thinking or hard work. Read the book, reacted, bam, done.
Then readers think – does it really matter if I leave a review? Short answer, yes, it really, really does. Even on older books? YES!! There are some marketing options that I can only get if I have enough reviews or a high enough rating. Your kind words really matter. And of course, saying I’m an awesome writer is the kind of thing that keeps me going when some meanie leaves me a two star review. (It happens to everyone, we are breathing, we are breathing, and letting it go…)
So to anyone who has left a book review, even if it wasn’t for one of my books, I say thank you. And if you’d like to give a writer a gift… may I suggest leaving a review on Amazon, BookBub, or Goodreads.
October 23, 2019
The Second Shot Goes Live
Have you ever seen one of those Looney Tunes characters just runs around screaming? That feels like me today. I mean, I’m trying to keep it contained, but… inside I look like this.
My latest novel, The Second Shot, is now available to the public and that means that people will (hopefully) buy it and then (ack!) read it. Today is the day that we see if all of my writing, marketing, and general daydreaming has paid off. I’ll be celebrating the release with on-line “take-over” parties and giveaways.
GIVEAWAYS:
Enter to win 1 of 10 print copies on Goodreads – giveaway ends 10/26 – CLICK HERE TO ENTER
Enter to win a $40 Amazon card and a signed copy on Facebook – CLICK HERE TO ENTER
Meet me online and maybe get more free stuff!
October 25: Take-Over of Next Steps PR Facebook Page
October 30: BestStellars BestSellers Release Party (stay tuned for who’s partying!)
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY:
The Second Shot is a thriller/mystery dished up with a heavy side of romance. Think that sounds like you’re cup of tea, but aren’t quite ready to commit? Read the first chapter at: bethanymaines.com/the-second-shot-chapter-1
WHAT ITS ABOUT:
A drunken mistake in college cost US Marshal Maxwell Ames the affection of Dominique Deveraux and six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up. But there’s just one tiny problem—someone wants the Deveraux family dead. Dominique Deveraux never expected Max to reappear in her life, let alone apologize, but as Dominique investigates the mysterious attacks on her wealthy family Max quickly becomes far more than her one time college classmate. Now, Max and Dominique must dodge mercenaries and bullets as they try to make sure that they’re the only ones who get a second shot.
Buy on all platforms: https://books2read.com/The-Second-Shot
October 8, 2019
The Marketing Paradox
A funny thing happens when you begin marketing book. Suddenly a project that has been intensely personal becomes public property. And even worse, once it’s public, the public begin to have opinions about it. (The nerve!) And as much as an author wants everyone to universally love our precious baby novel, not everyone is going to. From reading while in a bad mood, to just not being someone’s cup of tea, not everyone is going to like a book.
But even if everything does go as smoothly as possible and someone does love the book, suddenly ownership becomes shared with everyone who loves it. The story takes up residence in someone else’s head which, for an author who has had those characters living in her head for months or years, is intensely strange and disconcerting. With each book I write I start out wanting to share about it immediately. It’s like falling in love. You’ve met these wonderful, hilarious, romantic, daring people and you want to tell everyone about them. But as I move into the marketing stage I find that in some ways I become more protective of my characters and story. Please love that one even though I’ve made him annoying. And don’t make fun of her – she has hidden depths! Although, yes, go ahead and hate him. We all should hate him.
Except that a book needs to be shared to be successful. I want strangers to talk about it, readers to review it, and friends to share it. Those things are literally what make a book a success. It is a very strange dichotomy of wanting to shout as loud as possible while at the same time hoping nobody looks at me while I’m doing it. So nobody look at me while I say this next bit…
The Second Shot is coming out in two weeks!!! Please share the news with others.
A drunken mistake in college cost US Marshall Maxwell Ames the love of Dominique Deveraux. Six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up, but there’s just one tiny problem: someone wants the Deveraux family dead. Now Max must make sure that the only one getting a second shot at Dominique is him.
Pre-Order on all Epub Platforms
Want a chance to win a free print edition of The Second Shot? Enter to win at Goodreads!
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Goodreads Book Giveaway
The Second Shot
by Bethany Maines
Giveaway ends October 26, 2019.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
September 25, 2019
All the News!
The Second Shot – Release Date: 10.24.19
My romantic suspense novel was named a Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association 2019 Finalist in the Romance category! Although, I have to admit, my love story shares it’s DNA with a mystery-thriller I’m extremely excited and proud of this award. It was also featured in Frolic – the online magazine for people who love love-stories. And it has made it onto the Goodreads “Most Anticipated Release for October” List. This list is voted on by Goodreads readers, so if you’re on Goodreads, please go vote The Second Shot! You can also enter to win one of 10 signed print copies through Goodreads. Use the widget to enter. AND, last but not least, there’s a Rafflecopter Giveaway for a $25 Amazon Giftcard. Entering is easy, just go click a few things and follow me on social media and you’re entered!
Read the exclusive Frolic Excerpt Here >>>READ ME!
Vote for The Second Shot on Goodreads >>>VOTE HERE!
Enter to win $25 Amazon Giftcard >>>ENTER HERE!
Pre-Order on Apple iBooks >>>ORDER NOW!
Coming 2020!
An Unfamiliar Sea – Book 3 of the San Juan Islands Mysteries will be released in January.
Tish and Tobias Yearly are back to business finding bodies, solving mysteries and delivering death pie to the bereaved.
Shark’s Fin & Peregrine’s Flight – Book 4 of the Shark Santoyo Series, along with a Peregrine Hays centered novella, will be released in late April of 2020.
Shark and Peri are finally facing down mob-boss Geier and no one is safe.
The Cinderella Secret – Book 2 of The Deveraux Legacy will be released in October.
Aiden Deveraux has a secret – he’s not the Prince Charming he pretends to be and the Deveraux enemies are about to find that out.
Pending
Short Stories – I have two out on submission – stay tuned for whether or not they get accepted into their respective publications!
Galactic Dreams Volume 3 – After taking a hiatus for 2020, Galactic Dreams, the Blue Zephyr Press Sci-Fairy Tale anthology, will be back in 2021!
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Goodreads Book Giveaway
The Second Shot
by Bethany Maines
Giveaway ends October 26, 2019.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
September 19, 2019
Cover Reveal
Have I mentioned I have a new book coming out?
I have a new book coming out!
My new romantic-suspense novel (that’s action plus some steamy bits, for those who don’t track genres) The Second Shot is a Pacific Northwest Writers Association 2019 Literary Contest Award Winner and guaranteed to provide all the oohs and awwws you want in a romantic thriller. It will arrive on shelves and devices on 10.24.19. And here is the cover!!!!
EXCERPT
You can check out an exclusive excerpt on Frolic – the website for everyone who loves a love story! CLICK HERE
GIVEAWAY
Want to win a $25 Amazon giftcard? Sign up for the Rafflecopter contest! A Goodreads Giveaway for the print version is also in the works – stay tuned for details!
Add to Goodreads
Pre-Order on Apple iBooks
Enter the $25 Giveaway!
September 10, 2019
New Things
Yesterday was the first day of Kindergarten for my daughter. She looked a little bit nervous, but mostly seemed to be taking it in stride. Many of the other parents weren’t. Someone kindly went around and passed out tissues. My husband and I made it through without tears, but we did feel a bit glum about our baby not being a baby anymore. And like many events that are symbolic markers of something new, even when we poo-poo it as “just another day,” there is still the sense that it is the time to begin a project and shake up the routine.
Toward that end, I took a stab at cleaning my office. It was a very small stab. Sort of a paring knife kind of stab rather than a meat cleaver, but efforts were made. Then I started a new short story because, let’s face it, I’ll do anything to avoid cleaning my office. This one I think will be a reverse Miss Marple (the old lady is the killer). We’ll have to see how it turns out. I also started a Facebook Group called the Reader B’s. Facebook groups add greater interaction and flexibility than pages, making them more equivalent to conversations. If you would like to belong to a group dedicated to readers and authors, please do join. I’ll have posts about books, book reviews, posts from other authors and discussions about all of my books and short stories.
The Reader B’s: https://www.facebook.com/groups/374780216776919/
***
THE SECOND SHOT UPDATE:
My next novel, The Second Shot, is releasing October 24 and is now a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Literary Contest. If you have a netgalley account and want to read a great new book for #free, check out this blogger/reader sign-up! Don’t want to be officially a part of the excitement, but want to keep tabs on all the news? Add The Second Shot to your Goodreads list or pre-order for iBooks today.
August 14, 2019
Fifteen Minutes
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, this year is all about trying new things for me. From submitting to contests and magazines to trying different kinds of writing I’m attempting to push myself into growth. I truly want to understand not just what makes good writing, but how to construct a story. One of the things I’ve discovered is that forcing boundaries onto a work can actually improve the work itself. From outlawing specific words (swear words, oh how I miss you!) in some pieces to declaring that certain elements must be included (there has to be a dog, OK?) by working against/with a constraint it forces creativity. But one boundary that I consistently seem to be rubbing up against these days is time—I don’t have enough. Particularly since the birth of my daughter, the effort to carve out extended periods of time to be creative is monumental.
I have managed in some cases to do this by ignoring other areas of my life (Dishes? What dirty dishes?) or through the understanding of my husband who swoops in and carts our kid off while I’m furiously typing up some scene or another. But on many days, there is no “vast, unbroken slab of time.” Which is why I found this article about What You Can Achieve in 15-Minute Bursts of Creativityto be an interesting articulation about the approach I’ve developed. Working on a project in smaller chunks does allow the project to always stay fresh in my mind and churning away in my subconscious. It also forces me to stop waiting for the perfect time to think or do something. I had not realized that the “perfect time” was such an illusion or that I clung to the illusion so much until I switched to a “do it now” approach. The accumulation of tiny chunks of time allows for a productivity that would have seemed impossible to me before the process was forced on me. This bit by bit approach does work. It may be a constraint I didn’t want, but like many of the other boundaries, it has forced me to come up with creative solutions that I might not have otherwise discovered.
So if you’re out there despairing of finding the few hours you want to do something – don’t give up. Take your fifteen minutes and do the thing (whatever the thing is) now. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You can undo half of it tomorrow if you like, but it’s still more than you had before.
July 23, 2019
Award-Winning!
This year has been an unusual one for me. I set out with the intention of pushing myself into uncomfortable and new areas in my writing. As a result, I’ve submitted short stories to publications, submitted my work to contests, and tried out different genres and formats. As I expected, there have been rejections and a few “not quites”. But I have been surprised to see that several of my gambles have paid off.
I’ve had a short story published, taken a screen-writing class and subsequently won an award for my screenplay, ventured out to read my work in public and had it featured on the radio. My most recent success came from the Book Excellence Awards where my novella The Seventh Swan, a sci-fairy tale, was a Finalist in the Adventure category. I must confess that this award makes me happier than it probably ought to. My story features alligator-men, robots, nanites, an evil queen, and of course, true love – it’s a throw-back to the Flash Gordon, Tarzan-type adventure tale that I’ve always loved and I thought that it was probably a bit too weird to win. So to see that someone else thinks it’s a gem is very encouraging.
But, while winning awards is nice, it’s not my goal. The majority of the places I’ve submitted to came with the promise of feedback. My goal was to learn from the responses I got to help my writing become stronger. No one really likes hearing that something isn’t working, but it has been really helpful to hear the commentary and discover what exactly people are responding to. And of course, I can now say that I’m an award-winning author and who doesn’t like that?
