S.B. Niccum's Blog, page 2

The Cover

Part of the creative process is creating a book cover that conveys what the book is about. This is the cover that I did to put my vision before the cover artist. He in turn grabbed my vision and created a more polished version of my cover.
The end result was this beautiful cover.
As you can see, I wanted the book cover to look like a teen fashion magazine because my main character is a teen movie star who would no doubt be in magazine covers. 
 

Kindle Scout Publishing Countdown -- 18 Days Left

Help Nominate

Kindle Scout Nomination Campaign--19 Days Left

Nineteen days until my nomination period is over, and I have to tell you, it's been really challenging to keep my book trending "HOT" all day like the first ten days of my nomination. Once the fervor on your social media sites wares off and your closest friends have already nominated you, the whole system seems to slow down. 


As you can see, I had four days where my book stayed "Hot" for the 24 hours. The other six days, I had to literally post and tag people like crazy, calling them out by name to go nominate me. 
I think that the trick to staying on the front page and trending "Hot" against the new books that pour in every day, is to use every single shred of online presence at your disposal. 
You should have a website, and advertise it. You should have an established blog, and blog daily. You should have a strong social media presence and maximize it. As you can see below, I'm a Facebook girl. I've been building my Facebook page and personal account for years. I should focus on other social media, but alas, it is what it is! Still, after all my facebooking, most of my traffic comes from Kindle Scout traffic. That is, fellow authors or maybe people who go nominate their friend, sees my book cover and they find it interesting, so out of the kindness of their hearts they nominate me.

That leads me to tomorrows post. The cover!!!

As always, if you're reading this post, and you are a kindhearted, magnanimous person, please NOMINATE INDIGO!!!

Twenty Days Left on Kindle Scout

Okay dear friends,
I'm starting down the countdown! I'm ten days into the campaign and so far my book has steadily been HOT; at least for a number of hours per day.
This experience has been very educational. I'm very glad I chose to upload to Kindle Scout, no matter what the final outcome. Why?
Because it has forced me to do a huge book campaign, and I feel like people know more about this book than any of my other releases.

Indigo

Indigo is my latest book. I've been working on this one for a while. It involved a lot of research, and I wanted to make sure I understood her. I know it's weird to say that about a fictional character, but she was tugging at me, and I had to let her out of my head. 

She is troubled due to her upbringing. She is also very smart because of her upbringing. 

In just two days, the book will go up on Kindle Scout for nomination. I would really appreciate your support. 

Sincerely, 
S.B.

Pippi Longstocking

Pippi is one of those books that kids will always love. 

I didn't know about Pippi until I moved to the U.S. But I wanted to see what the story was all about, so I added it to my kids reading list. 
 And boy, they loved it! They were begging to keep reading--something I found funny, since I thought the story was a bit annoying. 

But as far as the kids were concerned, the story was fabulous! They even pulled it out on a Saturday night to finish it, so they could watch the movie. 

So... to each it's own. Perhaps the things I grew up with they might find annoying. All and all, it was a good story and I'm glad we read it.  



Next on the list: The Railway Children

Hunger Games: The Musical

I just saw these hilarious skits last night.
I thought they did a very good job summarizing the first two books of the trilogy. They accentuated the angst and anticipation of the question on everyone's mind (at least those who didn't read the books) as to who will Katniss choose? Why is Peeta such a great catch and why is Gale such a broodish hunk? Thor's brother none-the-less.

  

 And I also think you should follow up and see what Gale thinks about all this.

 

The Witch of Black Bird Pond

I found The Witch of Black Bird Pond while looking for historic fiction books for our homeschool History Through Literature class. 
The book came up at the bottom of the page as a "title you might also like". The most attractive thing about it was the price. It was free for those who have enrolled in Kidle Unlimited. 
The other attraction was the fact that it was a Newbery award winner. Always a good sign when looking for approved books.
Well, this award was not lost in this book. It was fabulous!  
It was enlightening glimpse into a Puritan colony of the late 1600's in Connecticut. 
The main character was so normal, so easy for anyone to relate with. Conversely, the Puritans were so stiff and so hard to relate to! 
The author did really did a great job of putting you (the reader) in that time and space. It's not hard to imagine how you would react if you were in the main character's situation.
The main character, Kit, is 16 yrs. old, but I think that any young girl could easily relate to her. I would read this to my seven year old, and I know she would be all about it. 
In fact, I will venture to say that any woman, of any age would enjoy this book thoroughly. 
Also, if you're looking for more freebies, and you are a Kindle Unlimited member, be sure to download my books! 

Life: Our Grace Period

I was privileged to participate in the youth lesson at church yesterday. The topic was Grace. Something, I have to admit, I seldom think about.
The teacher asked the class what Grace was. One of the girls said that when she thought of Grace, she thought of the term "grace period". She continued to explain that a grace period was extra time to study for a test, or more time allowed to finish something unfinished.
I thought this comparison was brilliant!
Isn't this life a grace period, where we are allowed to come to earth and be tested?
God was gracious enough to give us this opportunity to experience mortality and test the waters of our conscience. Thanks to His grace we are redeemed when we fall out of grace. Through His graceful sacrifice we can hope to live again.
The Spanish word gracias  and gratis comes from the Latin root word gratus. These words mean thank you and free.
His grace most certainly frees us and I for one, am most grateful. Cool Pin!