Sherry D. Ficklin's Blog, page 17

Thanks for the memories…

Hey everyone! I just wanted to take a quick minute to thank everyone who came out for the Extracted Utah Book Tour events last week. We had a fantastic time and signed so many books I think I may have permanent wrist damage! You were all amazing. I would also like to thank the great people at Bountiful High School who hosted a Q&A with us and made us honorary Braves. We had a great time, and to those lucks students who won copies of the book, be sure to let us know what you think!

 

We also want to thank the stores and the staff who were so kind and helpful and all around spectacular!

Layton Ut. Barnes & Noble

Gateway Crossing Barnes & Noble (In Bountiful)

The King’s English

SugarHouse Barnes & Noble

And of course, thanks to Laura, Heidi, and the staff at Grand Junction Barnes & Noble for hosting our tour kickoff and launch party! We packed the store (literally!) and they were so kind, even amidst the extreme chaos!

Thanks for making our tour great!

How to host a book launch party

I have discussed this here on the blog before, but I still get people asking me for tips, so I think it’s worth doing again. Plus, it’s good to mention the differences between doing a launch party in a major store (like a Barnes & Noble) and an indie store or other venue or even online. So I hope this will be informative.

Basically, there are three ways people do a Book Launch Event.

1) In a chain store

2) in an indie store or non-store venue

3)online

 

I’ve done them all and I can say that while online launch parties are wonderful, they just aren’t as fun as physical events. Your best bet is to combine them. Do your physical party in the evening, and your online event the following evening. Why? Because you *might* have leftover goodies from your physical party to add to your online event giveaways. And yes, there should be giveaways. What’s a party without goodies?

Your physical event, regardless of venue, should have:

1) You and your books. Duh. Now if you are at an indie store or a non-store venue, you will most likely have to provide your own books. So make sure you have them in plenty of time. But also be sure to have book plates, a type of sticker you can sign, for people who have ordered your book online and don’t have the physical books yet. (These will also be very useful for your online event)

2) A signing set up. That is your table, a small display (something book related is great, or simply balloons, etc.) and a nice tablecloth. If you would like, you can add a banner, poster, sign, or whatever else you want to use to draw people to your signing table. I know many authors put out bowls of candy or bookmarks as well. Most stores provide a table and chairs, but when you set up the event, just check and see. Better to be prepared than to be signing books on the floor!

3) Giveaway goodies and swag. Maybe you can’t afford to give away a big prize like a NOOK (but you might want to check prices, they can be very reasonable and bookstores (especially B&N’s) LOVE when you buy something from them to raffle off. If you can, consider a few $10 gift cards or even a gift basket of some kind. As a bonus for the store hosting you, make the raffle “you must be present to win”. That way people will stay for the entire event, milling around the store and (hopefully) buying other books as well. The better the event is for the store, the more likely they are to ask you back. Also have at a minimum ONE giveaway swag item. It can be bookmarks, postcards, anything at all. Something people who maybe can’t get a copy that day can take with them, and perhaps use to remind them to purchase it online or later. Remember that many people will browse a store, then go buy online.

4) Snacks and drinks. This can be tricky depending on your venue. Many stores don’t allow food and drinks in store, others (like B&N) don’t allow outside food and drinks. Your best bet is to check with the venue and simply ask if you can bring food in. If not, ask if you can bring sealed food (pre-wrapped cookies or candies and mini-bottled waters). If the store has a café inside, ask if you can purchase food from the café for the event. Many in store cafes will divide things into smaller portions so while maybe they normally charge $2 for a cookie, they will make that one cookie into four smaller cookies for your event. It’s worth asking because if you are going to keep people there for the entire two hour signing (to see if they’ve won a prize!) you better give them snacks.

5) Entertainment. Whether you are in store or online, you MUST entertain people.  This can be done by reading a section of your book, telling stories about writing your book, or with a simple Q&A session. Keep it fun, keep it light, but remember that the more they like you, the better chance they will buy your book.

6) Have someone there taking pictures. It doesn’t have to be a professional photographer, but you want lots of images for your websites and scrapbooks. A good set of pictures can turn a hum drum event into the event of the century (or at least, that’s how it will look when you post those picture online)! Be sure at least one of those pictures is a nice one of you and the store staff. I’ll explain why later.

7) BEFORE THE EVENT be sure to send out invitations, paper and digital, and contact all the local media outlets so the event can be listed on all the newspapers ‘things to do’ sections. And be sure to alert the TV and radio stations too, they MAY want to stop by with a camera crew, or at least give the event a quick mention. They may not, but it’s worth a shot.

Bonus tips for online events:

1) Games. Consider a scavenger hunt, photo puzzle, anything that engages the crowd, but nothing that takes too long. Generally during an event online, people pop in and stay only for a few minutes so you have to hit them fast.

2) Post a schedule of events a few days before, so the audience knows at what time what is happening. Something like, Facebook Q&A at 3, Scavenger hunt at 5, twitter chat at 6. Very simple. And if you can make your online event cross platforms, you will draw more attendees. So don’t JUST do a Facebook event or JUST a website event. Try to plan things on many different sites throughout the event.

3) Don’t forget the prizes. Big or small, you want people to walk away from the event feeling like a winner, so have one thing that all attendees get ( a sneak peek at a scene from the book or a deleted chapter, or the first chapter. Some sort of digital content you are willing to freely give to the world). Then, to a few small prize packs and one or two larger prizes. Gift cards work well, as do books from other authors (which many authors will donate to events like that as a sort of cross promotion).

 

And after all that is done, you still aren’t finished.

1) Stay and help clean up. Don’t just pack up and run off. Remember that the store staff often get asked, “What do you recommend?” and again, if you’ve left them with a good impression, they are more likely to recommend your book.

2) Send thank you cards. You’d be surprised how many people forget to do this. It’s really just courtesy. And remember that picture you took with the store staff? Send them a copy of it to put up on their bulletin board (or wherever).

3) Be sure to leave a few signed copies at the store or (if they run out, hooray!) offer to come back in when they receive a new shipment and sign the shelf copies for them.

 

Now, about the venues. Does your launch party have to be in a bookstore? HECK NO. I’ve done them in my home, at restaurants, and many other places as well. Think outside the box a little. Did you write a book about ghosts in a mall? Have your signing IN THE MALL. Is your book a little off beat? Talk to the owners of that off beat crystal shop in your town, they might love to host an actual book party! Or, if you think you have enough fans to draw them in to something bigger, rent out the ballroom of your local hotel and have a masquerade or zombie prom or whatever. You can be as simple or elaborate as you want (and can afford). Remember, you put a lot of work into writing that book and getting it published, you deserve to celebrate!

So get out there and have fun! (oh, and hopefully sell a few books too!) Happy partying!

EXTRACTED book launch party and book tour

Tuesday November 12th

5:30 pm

Barnes & Noble

2451 Patterson Avenue

Grand Junction, Co.

Join us for an evening of celebration in honor of the release of

EXTRACTED: The Lost Imperials Book One

During the event we will be giving away the following:

~We will be signing the first copies of Extracted

~The first ten people in line will receive signed copies of Extracted: The Comic Book

~We will be raffling off a brand new NOOK Simple Touch e-reader

~We will be raffling off two jewelry pieces from the Hydeaway Cottage Lost Imperials jewelry

~There will be a limited number of Lost Imperials swag bags including Contra jelly beans and trading cards given away at random

~There will be snacks and drinks for everyone

To RSVP for this event, you can go here.

Our Book tour will kick off on

November 14th

at the Layton Utah Barnes & Noble

1780 North Woodland Park Drive

2-4pm

Then we will be appearing

November 14th

At Gateway Crossing Barnes & Noble

340 South 500 West

West Bountiful, Utah

at 6pm

And

Friday November 15th

at The King’s English Bookshop

1511 South 1500 East

Salt Lake City, Utah

at 6pm

You can see more details and pre-order a book for this event here.

and

Saturday November 16th

at Sugarhouse Barnes & Noble

(in the McIntyre Center)

1104 East 2100 South

Salt Lake City, Utah

from 1-4pm

We hope to see YOU at one of these wonderful events. But if you can’t make it, you can always follow our Blog Tour via The Lost Imperials on Facebook.

Meet The Characters Blogfest

 

Welcome to the Meet the Characters Blogfest!
Readers, get ready for a whole month of some of the most interesting, hottest, attention grabbing characters in today’s YA, NA, Romance, Horror, and Paranormal fiction! 
 
All month long I’ll be introducing readers to amazing characters through character bios, artwork, interviews, and contests. Check out the schedule below from what you’ll find each day this month. 
 
That’s Not All…
We’ll be having some fabulous contests, each of which has it’s own giveaway. Readers will get to vote on the characters, and one lucky voter in each contest will win a copy of the book the Winning Character comes from. The character giveaways will include: 
 
Hottest Guy Contest (10/4)
Feistiest Girl Contest (10/11)
Cutest Couple Contest (10/18)
Steamiest Couple Contest (10/25)
 
There will also be one MAIN GIVEAWAY starting today where 1 LUCKY WINNER will win a prize pack of 40 books from some of today’s hottest new authors. Additional winners will be chosen to receive runner-up prize packs as well. Scroll down and enter below! 
 
SO, WHAT CAN YOU FIND EACH DAY?
10/2 — Character interviews with Zadie Stonebrook (My Sister’s Reaper – Dorothy Dryer),            Tizzy Donovan (Laid out and Candle Lit – Ann Everett), Kristi Becker (A Plain                  Wish – Cyndi Lord), Zander Roth (Wicked Hunger – DelSheree Gladden)
10/3 — Character Bios from Kristi Becker (A Plain Wish – Cyndi Lord), Bryan Sullivan                    (Arcadia’s Gift – Jesi Lea Ryan), Brandon James (Love and Other Games – Aria                  Kane
10/4 — Hottest Guy Contest (Stop by and vote for your favorite!)
 
10/7 — Character Surprise Posts from authors RH Ramsey and DelSheree Gladden
10/8 — Character Artwork from The Other F Word (Susan Stec) and Wicked Hunger                    (DelSheree Gladden) 
10/9 – Character interviews with Kate Everett (A Slight Change of Plan – Dee Ernst),                  Jean (In Polester Pajamas – Catherine Dougherty), Ben (Twenty-Five – Rachel                    Hamm), Vanessa Roth (Wicked Hunger – DelSheree Gladden)
10/10 – Character Bios from Kassia (Ice Magic), Maze (The Ballerina and the Fighter –                    Ursula Sinclair), Lucien (Smoke, Wings, and Stone – Marijon Bradley)
10/11 — Feistiest Girl Contest (Stop by and vote for your favorite!)
 
10/14 – Character Surprise Posts from authors Kara Leigh Miller, Sharon Kleve, Linda                  Budzinski 
10/15 – Character Artwork from On a Wing and a Dare (Linda Ulleseit), Invisible                            (DelSheree Gladden)
10/16 – Character interviews with David Corbin and Jon Reyes (Sign of the Throne –                    Melissa Eskue Ousley), Rosie (In Polyester Pajamas – Catherine Dougherty),                        Ketchup (Wicked Hunger – DelSheree Gladden)
10/17 – Character Bios from Nadia (love and Other Games – Melinda Dozier), (Karen                      Gastreich), (HL Carpenter)
10/18 — Cutest Couple Contest (Stop by and vote for your favorite!)
 
10/21 – Character Surprise Posts from authors Stephanie Wardrop, Lucy Crowe, Ana                    Blaze
10/22 – Character Artwork from Haunting Joy (Lena Goldfinch) and The Destroyer                        Trilogy (DelSheree Gladden)
10/23 – Character interviews with Rachel Blackstone (The Relcutant Medium – GG                        Collins), Nell (The King Series – Tawdra Kandle), Arcadia ( Arcadia’s Gift – Jesi                  Lea Ryan), Olivia & Mason (Invisible – DelSheree Gladden)
10/24 – Character Bios from (Karin Gastreich), Sam and Cole (Fate War: Alliance – EM                    Havens)
10/25 — Steamiest Couple Contest (Stop by and vote for your favorite!)
 
10/28 – Character Surprise Posts from authors Susan Stec, Shauna Roberts, Lisa                          Cresswell
10/29 – Character Artwork from My Sister’s Reaper (Doroth Dryer), Twin Souls                            (DelSheree Gladden)
10/30 – Character interviews with Nathan Shaw (Reflection – Kim Cresswell), Nia (In the              Winds of Danger – Linda Ulleseit), Jayden or Merch (dark Night of the Soul – EM                Havens)
10/31 — Winner’s Announcements!!!
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Javascipt for the Meet The Characters Blog Button

Giving balance to your characters

I was having a discussion with my writing group last night (hey guys!) and I had to get their opinion about something my MC says in my new WIP. Basically, he makes a rude slur about a gay student and his (girl) friend. My question was simple, does this make him too unlikeable?

I ask because having a character react in an honest way is important. And at the beginning of a story, a character can be more rude and unlikeable–because it leaves room for that character to grow and become better. But there are some lines that can make a character completely unredeemable to a reader. Did your MC just kill a puppy? Yeah, no WAY is a reader going to be on his team, EVER. Like, ever.

It’s a delicate balance. In this situation, my MC is hurt and frustrated and acts out without thinking. Does he mean it? No. But just saying it is enough to put a few dents in his shining armor and make him a more real, honest person. Who among us hasn’t, in a moment of pain or anger, said something we regretted? Something we didn’t mean?  I was able to use his breakdown to create conflict with the other characters and move the story itself forward. Will he redeem himself later? You bet. But if a character is perfect all the time, readers have a hard time connecting with them then. It’s almost worse than a character being unredeemable. It’s unbelievable.

So when you are writing, just remember that giving your character flaws and having them make mistakes is great. But too far one way or the other (too perfect or too evil) and you lose your reader.

And when in doubt, ask your friends/crit group. That’s what they are for! (Seriously, I love mine!)

 

Happy Reading!

Stages of nerd grief

When I got the news that Ben Affleck was cast as Batman, I went through several stages of nerd grief. Here they are, in gif form,

Author’s Blog Hop

Hey everyone! This week I’m participating in the Author’s Blog Hop sponsored by Lady Amber’s Reviews.

 
 
Today, as a special treat, I’m happy to present, an EXTRACTED bonus scene. It isn’t used in the book and this is the only place you will ever find it.
 

Ember’s Guide to Time Travel

 

Foreword:

 

Don’t be alarmed. If you’ve picked up this book by mistake, by all means, put it down and walk away now. While you still can.
 
I’m Ember and I’ll be walking (okay, more like kidnapping you, tossing you in the back of a van, and screaming at you as we speed out of control down the street) through the ins and outs of being a time traveler. Try not to panic. Breathe deep and accept that if you are reading this, you are most likely one of us and thus, you are screwed. Because for all the glamour, we are really nothing more than glorified slaves.
 
But more on that later.
 
Lesson one:

 
The title time traveler sounds so Jules Verne doesn’t it? And trust me on this, that guy was seriously bent. Had the misfortune of meeting him once. He gave new meaning to the phrase one egg short of a dozen, you know? But I digress. We prefer the term Rifters. There’s some shiny nugget of awesome in our DNA that lets us not only separate ourselves from time, but Rift it like surfing a massive wave. That, in and of itself is pretty cool. Here’s where things get dicey. There are rules to Rifting. I know, lame, right? Most of us have to study for years before we have all the info hammered into our fragile little brains but you—you my lucky friend—are getting the cliff notes version. So keep up. Because there WILL be a test later. (That part is not a joke and you DO NOT want to fail.)
 
Rifters are like superheroes. Or mutants. Whatever. Pretty rare anyway. So whenever one of us pops up in the time stream we are recruited by a faction, of which there are two.

 

 
The Tesla Institute is my home turf. Basically way back in the day Nicky Tesla (see: Mad Scientist) stumbled across the time stream during an experiment with electricity and radio waves. I’m glossing over the boring details here (and trust me, they are SO boring) to get to the important stuff. He couldn’t actually cross into the stream. But one of his assistants could. She was the first Rifter. Frustrated, he set about discovering why she had the ability that she did. Turns out, it’s part of a genetic condition (like turrets, which my teachers have often suggested I suffer from) specific to a family tree. Here’s the problem with that. If you go back far enough in any family tree, most people share common ancestors. So it’s sort of a crap shoot whether one person from the tree will develop abilities or not. Some of us are stronger than others, strong enough to navigate and access the stream on our own. Some, not so much.
 
Once he realized what he stumbled across, Tesla devoted his life to tracking down the most powerful Rifters he could find and bring them together. At the Institute we learn not just how to control our abilities, but lots of other super useful stuff as well. Like combat skills, history, and physics. It’s like a school. Only the headmaster is the disembodied brain of a mad genius jacked into a massive computer and if you fail the final exams here, you die.
 
Which sucks.
 
So why do I stick around? Well, the food is semi-decent and the people are pretty cool. Oh, and we have a mission. Fancy, right? See, we are the guardians. We preserve the stream, preserve history. Sometimes, we can even make a small change to make things better. Nothing major mind you, but we help when we can.
 
The first class of Rifters Tesla gathered had a couple kids who went all dark side and split off. We call them…

 

 
The Hollows. They pretty much the bottom feeders of the Rifting universe. They scavenge whatever Rifters they can find no matter how weak and use them as cannon fodder in their personal war against Tesla. Oh, and remember those rules I mentioned before? Yeah, these guys could give a flying crap about the rules. Actually, I kind of like that about them. Except I know what breaking the time rules can do, and it ain’t pretty folks. Some limits, even I don’t push. But the heathens have zero respect. Or maybe they are just idiots. (Okay, I might be a TINY bit biased)
 
The Hollows are run by what’s left of a dude named Claymore. He was one of Tesla’s first Rifters. Rumor has it he was so badly injured during an attack on the Institute back in the day that he’s nothing more than a brain in a dive suit. Kind of like Tesla actually. Irony, thou art a heartless wench. Anyway, he corrals the scavengers and sends them out into the time stream to run little missions. Mostly stealing stuff and generally screwing around with history. No one is exactly sure what his end game is, which makes him unpredictable and dangerous. Basically, he’s a big, shovel sized thorn in Tesla’s side.

 

 
 Lesson Two
 
The Rules:

 

I mentioned this before. Time is a living thing, flexible in some ways, but stubborn as an ass in others. I’ll start with the hard and fast rules, the ones you NEVER challenge.
 
1)      NEVER Rift into your own path. Because people are only supposed to be able to be in one place at a time, coming into physical contact with yourself could literally destroy the stream. Best case scenario the stream splits like a fork in a river and an alternate time line is created or worst case scenario the universe implodes. No one is entirely sure which, but Tesla has run the calculations on it and he believes it would cause a paradox that would cause time to sort of rip itself part. In other words, BAD THINGS.
 

 

2)      NEVER change your own history. If you go back and prevent yourself from ever being born, then guess what? You were never born, but the version of yourself that went back to make the change still exists. Boom! Paradox. Yep. Why, you ask? Because once you step through the stream for the first time, you are changed. You become a creature of time, separate and apart from it. The slavery I mentioned earlier? You probably thought I meant the Factions. Nope. We may be able to bend time into a bag of pretzels, but at the end of the day, we are slaves to it just like everyone else. Maybe more so. 

 

 
On to the softer rules. These are really more guidelines:

 

 
3)      Don’t jump into the future. Yes, it can be done, but it’s risky because you never know where or when your future self might be, thus the best way to avoid Rule #1 is to stick to what’s predictable. The Past. Tesla had a couple of his early Rifters jump into the future to gather the tech to build the Institute and let’s just say, there was a VERY close call.

 

 
4)      Don’t alter history if you can possibly avoid it. This is the one rule The Hollows break regularly. Tesla, being the supercomputer he is, can predict the way changes in the time stream will alter history. He knows whether me stopping to buy that candy bar will somehow change the life of some random person I’ve never met. It’s heavy stuff. It’s also how we track the Hollows. Every change they make leaves a ripple in the stream that he can trace. Some ripples are small. Some are big enough to drown the dinosaurs. We try to stop them, but we only get one chance because…

 

 
5)      Never Rift to the same time/place more than once. Again, this is to prevent the breaking of rule numero uno. Let’s say I rift back to stop the Hollows from sinking a boat. I fail. I can’t go back and try again because I’m already there, trying the first time. See? Miserable. But there you have it.

 

 
            Not too many rules, but all very important. I mean, sure, there are other suggestions. Like, don’t rift on a full stomach (because you will barf) or don’t expose your abilities to the normals (it makes them think they are nuts-o).  But that’s all common sense stuff. I do want to give you a free friendly neighborhood warning.

 

Lesson Three:

 
Side Effects
 
            Rifting has some side effects you should probably be aware of. Nothing fun like hairy tongue or permanent scales, but some are just as awesome.

 

 
1)      Memory loss. It’s permanent as far as I know. Something about the first trip through the time stream throws sort of a mental veil over your memories. It isn’t a bad thing though. Tesla doesn’t snatch people from happy, normal homes. He chooses us because something terrible has happened to us, or we are going to die. His rules. So not remembering it is a blessing really. Of course, some of us have so much damage it leaks out under the door a bit sometimes. But we are taught that to be effective Rifters, we have to have no ties to anyone or anything but our mission. If we don’t like the terms, Tesla can always send us back to our fate. Not much of a choice really.

 

 
2)      Pain. The first trip through the time stream sort of feels like being rolled on a bed of hot needles. Maybe it’s the trauma that drives our memories away. Whatever. Bite your lip and suck it up. It doesn’t last long and the more you rift, the less it hurts. Or maybe you just get used to it.

 

3)      Getting Lost. Sometimes, you can get so turned around and the stream will just carry you away. It happens. That’s why we train for so long to prepare. We rift a couple times with a partner to get used to the pull, then we take our final test. If you fail, you either get dumped wherever the time stream spits you out after chewing you up and you live out your days there, or your heart explodes and you die. If you pass, congrats. You’re one of us. And, you know, NOT dead.

 

4)      Accidental Rifting. It’s really rare, but it happens. Some of us, when we get scared or angry, can tap into the stream without meaning too. Most of the time when that happens, it’s to kids who have no idea who or what they are and they meet a gooey end. Sometimes, if they survive, Tesla or The Hollows will track them down and bring them in. I suppose The Hollows uses them but Tesla just patches them up and sends them home after a good memory wipe. He’s never kept one of the strays, as we call them.
 
            Don’t go yet. We are almost done. Just a few more high points to hit. I’m going to call it the bonus section. And it will be on the test.
 

 

 
1)      Tesla Tech.
 
All the goodies we use during missions. Sure we have some cool weapons, but more important is the life saving stuff.
 
A.     Tether- A device that helps us find our way back to the exact place and time we left from. After losing a couple Rifters who couldn’t find their way home, Tesla made us a leash. It also allows us to set the time and date we are traveling to and from. It helps us navigate the stream.

 

 
B.     Earbud- Tesla, ever the micro-manager, developed a small transmitter we wear in our ear so he can keep in contact with us during a mission. We can get directions, he can warn us about potential ripples, pretty much everything but ordering pizza.

 

 
C.     Bable Stone- A ring that allows the wearer the ability to speak and understand any language. A definite bonus when doing a mission in twelfth century China.
 
 
2)      Hollows Tech

 

Ha! Like they have any tech. No, that’s not entirely true. They have weapons too, though mostly standard stuff like knives and swords. What can I say? They dig the pointy. But there is one thing you should be aware of.

 

 
A.     Contra- a pill that enhances their natural Rifting abilities. We have no idea what’s in it or where it came from, it’s probably the tears of babies knowing that bunch. But it allows even the weakest Rifters to navigate the stream. Unfortunately for them, it’s also a little radioactive. So prolonged use causes all kinds of grossness and, as a bonus for us, it’s pretty easy to track (though it dissipates quickly).

 

I suppose that’s it. The nitty gritty, as it were. So um, good luck with all that. I hope you don’t die, I really do. We could use a few more players for our weekly poker game.
 

 

Welcome to the war!
 
~Ember

 
 
 
Now on to the fun stuff, the giveaway!
 
To enter, leave a comment on THIS post and on July 11th I will choose one person at random to win a $20 Amazon gift card! This giveaway is open international! Good luck and be sure to head over to the other participating stops for more fun and more chances to win!