M.L. Ryan's Blog, page 2

#SexySnippet

This is my first Sexy Snippet!
In case you are also new to this, Sexy Snippets are seven sentences from an author's in-progress or published work. Today's is from the second book in the Coursodon Dimension series, Special Rewards.

Here's the set up: Alex found a rather dangerous package in his hotel room, but the guy at the front desk can't remember much about the woman who brought it.

 ~~~~****~~~~ 
“Let me guess, she had large breasts and was wearing a very tight sweater,” Sebastian said with a smirk.
“Close, she had very large breasts, wore a low-cut, tight sweater and the only other characteristic he remembered was that she had long, auburn hair.”
What is it with men and mammaries? Shove some humongous hooters in front of them and they lose 50 IQ points.
“Let me get this straight,” I began, shaking my head slowly in disbelief. “He can’t recall anything important because he was mesmerized by her cleavage?”
“One should never underestimate the befuddling power of boobs,” Sebastian replied. 

~~~~****~~~~
Thanks for stopping by.  Check out my work and visit again, maybe next Sunday!

Tidbits on Marketing for the Self-Published

Not that I am, by any means, an expert on the subject, but I thought I’d offer some personal marketing experiences for the self-published:
Any promotion where your book(s) are part of a giveaway isn’t worth your time or effort.  I’ve participated in about 10 blog hops, book tours, contests etc. in which people could enter to win a free copy of my book.  As far as I can tell, I’ve never made a sale as a result of one of these.  Sure, people are all gung-ho for a freebie, but if they don’t win, they don’t buy.  It makes sense.  If you don’t win, you probably forgot you entered.  Even if you thought the book sounded fabulous, you likely don’t even remember it by the time the giveaway is over.  If you are doing it because you just want to get your work out there, then these promotions are fine.  If you think your sales might improve, don’t hold your breath.
 Some paid advertisements are better than others.  This one’s a no-brainer, but the trick is to figure out which sites are worth what you pay.  In my experience, there aren’t many paid sites that get you more in sales than you shelled out for the ad itself.  If it’s more than $25, think long and hard about it, unless you know books in your genre do well on that site.  And the only way to find that out is to ask authors in your genre where they advertised with good results.  And make sure the author you ask is someone who will give you the real scoop – it doesn’t help if they exaggerate their sales just to make it seem like they’ve sold more books than they actually did.
 If your book is going to be free on Amazon, make sure you promote it!  Just because your book is free on Amazon doesn’t mean people will know it’s free.  I used the Author Marketing Club’s Free Kindle Book Submission Tool .  It lets you sign up for a bunch of promotions, most of which are free or a nominal fee, on the days your book is free.  Make sure you sign up as soon as you know when your free dates are; many sites require advanced warning so don’t wait until the night before.  I ended up with over 4,000 downloads of Special Offers in the 2 days I offered it for free and was #2 in free sales in my genre for about 10 hours during that time span!
Don’t pay a crap-load of money for a contest.  You know what I’m talking about, pay hundreds of dollars to enter your work in a contest for Independent/Self-Published authors so you can say you’ve won the coveted Obscure Literary Guild’s Gold Medal.  I have no specific evidence, but I’m pretty sure these are scams.  Use a fraction of the money and slap your own “medal” on your book’s cover or webpage if you feel you need validation to make more sales.   There are only a couple of literary awards that, when associated with your work, are going to make people stand up and take notice and I’d bet the Pulitzer people don’t ask for a fee.  Even if they do, if your book wins one of those bad boys, your sales are going to go up so it’s worth the cost.

Bewitching Book Tours Magazine

I've been extremely busy with my day job this last few weeks and I've been a slacker when it comes to the blog.  But I have been promoted all month by Bewitching Book Tours (I've kept everyone up to date on twitter and my Facebook page). Guess who is interviewed in the Bewitching Book Tour Magazine this month?  That's right, it's me!

April-2013-Bewitching-Book-Tours-Magazine

Big Cocks and Shamrocks (It's a Blog Hop)

Somehow, with a blog hop named “Big Cocks and Shamrocks,” shouldn’t the grand prize be a giant green vibrator?
Oh, wait.  It kind of is!
The grand prize is a Basket Full of Naughty. 
It contains the following in a Cabal of Hotness tote:
·         Two-sided Tickler/Flogger ·         Penis-shaped sour candies·         Flask that reads, “Girls with Class Don’t Need a Glass”·         G-spot vibe·         Oral Sex “Essentials” Kit·         Glow-in-the-dark erotic dice
We'll also include a $30 gift card and a Cabal of Hotness t-shirt. Wow! 
All you have to do is leave a comment and your email in the comment section of this blog.  That will give you an entry for the grand prize as well as one for my individual giveaway.  Here's the Rafflecopter contest form for the Basket of Naughty!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


And what is the giveaway prize on this site?  A pair of handcrafted, St. Patrick's Day inspired lampwork-glass bead and Swarovski crystal earrings made just for this hop by me!  



Note:  If the selected winner is from somewhere other than the US, they will receive a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card instead of the earrings unless they would like to pay for the shipping.  If I send out the gift card, I will choose another winner (in the US, natch) to receive the earrings.  You can increase your chances of winning my personal giveaway by using the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


But here's the best part!  You can enter at all the hop sites and increase your chance to win the Basket Full of Naughty.  Just go to Big Cocks and Shamrocks Giveaway Hop for all the sites.  

Lucky in Love Blog Hop

Welcome to the Lucky in Love St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop!
I have been incredibly lucky in love.  I met my husband at the pre-opening gala of a friend’s new restaurant.  I had an invite, he crashed the party.  Everyone else at the shindig seemed to be either married or gay, and as the only single, straight people there, we ended up talking near the bar.  He claims he was immediately attracted to me, but what else is he going to say, “You looked like you were alone and I’d struck out with all the other women I hit on?”  In any case, aside from the single and straight connection, we actually had a lot in common — we were both graduate students, loved college basketball and had strange senses of humor.  A love match!  And had he not been there, I probably never would have met him.  We’ve been married almost 23 years and I thank my friend every time I see her for having the party.  For me, that date is more important than our actual wedding anniversary.  The wedding  was planned, but the night we met was fate.
~~~***~~~
Here’s the scoop on the fabulous hop — over 300 bloggers have individual giveaways and posts about the men we love.  Just leave a comment and your email in the comments section of each blog and have a chance to win a prize. 
That alone would be fantastic enough.  But there are also 2 grand prizes.  Each time you comment and leave your email, you are entered to win not only the individual blog’s giveaway, but also a
$100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card or a Giant Swag Pack Full of bookmarks, paperbacks, eBooks and more!(Swag pack available only to entrants from the U.S.)
  Click Here for a List of the Other 317 Bloggers
I’m giving away another hand-crafted pair of lampwork-glass bead earrings designed and made by me especially for this blog hop! 



You’ll get one entry for the gift card and swag pack when you leave your comment and email here (or on the other hop sites), but for my giveaway you can have extra entries by using the rafflecopter entries below.  (If you live anywhere other than the US and you win my giveaway, you will receive a $10 Amazon gift card instead of the earrings unless you would like to foot the bill for shipping.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Is BookRooster A Good Marketing Investment?

I decided to give BookRooster a try last month. For $67, they guarantee at least 10 reviews from their list of over 3,000 reviewers.  

From their website: 
We charge an administrative fee of $67 per book to invite suitable reviewers to review your book, to distribute your book to those who have agreed to review it and to track to make sure at least ten reviews are submitted by reviewers.
They don't guarantee favorable reviews, I figured it's an easier way of getting my book in the hands of people who are willing to write a review.   They may like it, they may hate it, but at least I wouldn't have to send out a gazillion more emails to potential reviewers, most of which will never respond.  
I paid my money, and within a couple of weeks, I started seeing reviews for Special Offers posted on Amazon.  I think I ended up with 12 reviews (it might have been more, it's hard to tell sometimes if a reviewer got the book through BookRooster).   All but one were very complimentary.  The not-so-good review gave Special Offers one star, but explained why they hated it.  That's fine; I don't expect everyone to like the book and they had reasons why they wanted to blow their brains out after they read it. I don't agree with the assessment, obviously, but they made their case and that's all anyone can ask from a reviewer.
You might assume that the experiment was a success and I wouldn't hesitate to pay another $67 to have the second book - Special Rewards - sent out to their stable of eager reviewers.  That would be the case if not for one glitch.  One of the reviewers posted a 4-star review, but some of the write-up was obviously not for Special Offers.  
"I received a copy of this book for review. very good book, i read it in two sittings,(then got the book prior to it Spirit Binder. i suggest that spirit binder should be read first.) the characters were interesting and felt sort of real, or on the edge. I love scfi, romance, intrique,mystery this book has it all."
Special Offers is part sci-fi, part romance, part mystery but Spirit Binder is neither the previous book in the series (Special Offers is book one) nor did I write Spirit Binder. Okay, no biggie.  Maybe the reviewer just mixed something up, or was writing two reviews at the same time, or had a temporary brain fart.  
I emailed BookRooster, and asked if they could have the reviewer fix it, even if the 4-stars weren't meant for my book and I ended up with another low review.  
I never heard back from them, and the review wasn't altered.
That lack of follow up makes me hesitant to use their services again.  If they can't be bothered to respond to a concern, why should I fork out more money?  It wasn't like I was complaining about the 1-star review.  I wasn't expecting all fantastic, glowing comments.  I wasn't paying for good reviews of Special Offers, I was paying for reviews of Special Offers.  And that review seems like it isn't for my book.  
For BookRooster to let such a blunder go without remedy indicates they aren't really paying too much attention to details.  They take your money, send out the book, maybe make sure you get at least 10 reviews and that’s it. 
Technically, I suppose that’s all they say they’ll do.  Their Terms of Service state: 
While we do our best to ensure that your book goes to unbiased, competent reviewers, we are not liable for the content of any customer review posted by a BookRooster.com reviewer, whether at Amazon.com or elsewhere. Our liability to you for anything related to the services BookRooster.com provides is limited to the service fee you pay us for our services. Please double check the formatting of your ebook file before you send it.
They’re not liable for the content, but shouldn’t they encourage an obvious screw-up to be amended? And is doing their best include never answering their emails?
That’s my story.  Is BookRooster a good deal to get some unbiased reviews or just a guy's hands painted to look like a rooster?  You can decide if it’s worth the cash or not.

Sequestration and Self-Publishing

Today is the day — barring some miraculous, last minute complete personality shifts by everyone in the White House and Congress — mandatory, across-the-board budget cuts will begin for pretty much everything that the federal government funds. 
I’m fairly certain the “sequester”, as it is called, will occur because our elected officials have been so busy posturing and trying to look tough, their chests are too puffed out to see the cluster fuck right in front of them that will affect us all.  Well, except them.  I’m betting that the folks in Washington D.C. that came up with this idiocy and then did nothing to prevent it aren’t going to feel the pinch.  Federal employees will be forced to take furlough — as much a day a week — which means their pay will be cut accordingly.  That will affect millions of workers.  Of course, a 20% pay cut is way better than losing your job completely.  But their decrease in take-home pay will affect businesses because they won’t spend as much.  Which will mean layoffs in all sorts of places.  This doesn’t take into account all the federally-funded programs that will suddenly have less money.  Some of these are, undoubtedly, bloated and should be cut.  But what about those that are just making do with what they have now?
So what does this have to do with independent authors?  For indies, the sequestration is both good and bad.  Those of us that very likely will end up unemployed as a result of this madness will have all kinds of time to write.  Of course, no one will have any discretionary money to buy books; they will have to prioritize and spend on stuff like, you know, food.  So eventually there will be a glut of books (good) but no one to buy them (bad).  Or, another way to look at it is there will be more people with a lot of free time  — when they aren’t looking for work or standing in the unemployment line — to read (good).  Unless there are no unemployment benefits because that has been cut (bad).  The only entity I see benefiting is the Kindle Select Program.  Everyone will want free books, right?

Bikers, Buyers and Books. Oh My!

A couple of days ago, I received a message on my Facebook page from an unlikely reader.  The self-described "old bearded biker" wanted to let me know how much he enjoyed Special Offers.  Definitely far afield from my usual reader demo-graphic.  Nevertheless, this guy really enjoyed the book.  And he liked it enough to plunk down more bucks for the sequel, Special Rewards.  I asked if he could post a review on Amazon, and he did.  When he finished Special Rewards (the next day, in fact),  he left another 5-star review:

"I'm an old bearded biker who is not usually into reading romance novels. With that said, M.L.Ryan's books are not the usual romance novels. She blends romance, fantasy, and humor, (With a light touch of SF) into a funny/sexy tale that I could not put down. I enjoyed both Special Rewards and her first book, Special Offers so much that I read them each cover to cover in one sitting. I love a book that keeps you guessing the whole way through, and Ms. Ryan's books do that admirably. I came across these books by accident (was looking for Amazon special offers/discounts), and I'm very glad that I did. OK Ms. Ryan, get cracking on the next one!"
In the days since he posted, the sales for Special Offers have increased significantly.  I have no definitive information that his reviews have made the difference, but I am clinging to the idea that all the new buyers are biker dudes!  I'm hoping this means a whole new group of people will hear about my books.  And maybe the word will spread to some other under appreciated bunch of readers, like Daughters of the American Revolution members who also enjoy paranormal fantasy or firefighters who get hot reading about a girl who can blow things up.  Hey, the possibilities are endless.
This is a perfect example of how leaving a review can make a difference to us fledgling indie authors.  We all secretly hope that one day, some influential someone - you, know, like the book editor for the New York Times - will be randomly searching for a new read and come across our tome.  Of course, they will be entranced with our masterpiece and write an article urging everyone to buy this little gem.  A delusional scenario?  Probably.  But that's kind of what happened with my biker.  I'm not saying his influence will be equivalent to that of a NYT book editor, but he is someone unexpected that feels passionate enough about what he just read to actually message an author to let her know. 
So remember - if you like it, review it!  And authors like to hear from readers.  It makes us feel as though someone (other than our loved ones who have to say nice things whether they mean it or not) appreciates all the hard work.  

Why I Hate Valentine's Day

Now that Valentine’s Day is over, I wonder why everyone finds participating in a made-up holiday to celebrate love so appealing?  Is it because we are so deficient at showing the ones we love how much we care on the other 364 days of the year that we need a specific day to force us to do something nice?  Or are we so easily manipulated that we feel we must join in the V-Day hysteria or our loved ones will think we don’t care?  And who really benefits?  Certainly not those who aren’t in a relationship.  For them, it can be the most depressing day ever.  Not  one’s bank account or diets.  Nothing says “I love you” like an over-priced, four-pound box of chocolates in a heart-shaped box.  
Sure, that warm, fuzzy feeling one gets from a well-chosen gift can be wonderful.  But the real winners are the people who rake in our bucks selling jewelry, candy, cards, roses and fancy meals out.  They want to convince us that the gifts are a reflection of how much we cherish or are cherished.  Which forces people to buy said gifts so their loved ones won’t think they aren’t adored.  Just because someone gives you something nice on Valentine’s Day doesn’t necessarily mean they love you.  It just means they are easily swayed by mass marketing. 
Rather than buy into (pun intended) the manufactured hype, wouldn’t it make more sense to try to show your love all the time?  Rub their tired feet, offer to do some chore they despise.  Indulge in that freaky sex fantasy your love is always hinting at.  Look adoringly into their eyes and say, “I adore you,” and leave out the “but if you don’t remember to pick up your socks, I’m going to smother you in your sleep.”
See, it’s not so hard.  Let’s try and do something nice for those we care about every day and make fabricated love days a thing of the past.

Heartbreaker Blog Hop!!

Heart breakers come in two main categories:  Those who devastate you and don’t care and those who reduce you to a deflated shadow of your former self but feel really bad about it.  The former deserves to rot in a vat of toxic effluvium throughout eternity.   The latter probably should also be cursed with the same fate, but for some reason we always want him to realize the error of his ways and come on back for a happily-ever-after.   That can happen in books because as fictional characters, those bad boys usually have some altruistic reason for dumping you on your ass.  Like preventing the world from being destroyed by an evil demoness who desires him above all else.  In real life, the dude would leave you for a buxom bimbo he met waiting in line to pay the 27 parking tickets he owes (she had 32, they have so much in common), but every once in a while think that it would have been better to break up with you before you walked in on them doing the lust and thrust in your bed.
You have probably figured out that I don’t like heart breakers much.  My heroes are faithful and devoted.  Sort of like a dog, but a lot less hairy.  And they almost never lick their own butts.

Anyway, as long as you are here, check out Special Offers and Special Rewards, the first two books of the Coursodon Dimension Series. 

The series follows Hailey, a woman who is possessed by a supernatural being from another dimension who was previously trapped in her Kindle.  It’s fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi with a bit of romance and a lot of humor.


Now, onto the Heartbreaker Blog Hop.
Over 300 bloggers have giveaways and posts about those men we love (or love to hate)!
But that's not all....
We have THREE grand prizes. You can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 300 times!
Now what are those prizes?
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet2nd Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card3rd Grand Prize (available only to US residents): A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more! 
You’re thinking, could this get any better?  Of course!  Each blogger also has their own giveaway.  By leaving a comment and your email, you are also entered to win individual prizes!!

My giveaway is an awesome pair of Smokey Topaz, freshwater pearl and silver beaded earrings designed and created by me! 


(Note:  The extra entries provided in my Rafflecopter contest below apply only to the earrings.  Each time you leave a comment and your email on a blog, you get one entry for the grand prizes.  Also, the earrings can only be mailed to a US winner.  If you are from outside the US and are the chosen winner, you will receive a $20 Amazon gift card instead.)




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now go to Heartbreaker Blog Hop to find links to the other 
302 bloggers participating in this hop.