Lavinia Thompson's Blog: Seeking reviewers! , page 7

The Degrees of Monstrosity

Two things proved deadly back in Victorian England: the wallpaper, and a woman who only wanted men for their life insurance. In this two-part series, come with me as I explore the life, crimes and bizarre debate surrounding Britain’s prolific female serial killer, Mary Ann Cotton.

Victorian wallpaper held a unique eloquence in its floral designs and bright hues of green and yellows and neutrals. Yet the colours and vibrant patterns adorning the walls of homes all over England in the 1800s were also deadly to the families who lived there. The colours contained a fatal amount of arsenic. This also became a focal point in the murder trial of Mary Ann Cotton in 1873. Mary Ann is believed to have killed 21 people; husbands, children and her own mother. Today, let’s explore the timeline of Mary Ann Cotton’s life. Next week’s post will discuss her psychology and the plausibility of the arsenic wallpaper controversy.

October 31, 1832 - She was born as Mary Ann Robson in Durham County, England to Margaret and Michael Robson. This was an area known for coal mining, treacherous working conditions, restless and unhappy workers, poverty, alcoholism and ill-health. Gastric fever and cholera rampantly took lives while the men worked in dreadful conditions beneath greedy coal mine owners. Michael Robson, Mary Ann’s father, was one such miner. It would have been somewhere here where Mary Ann’s perception of the world would have been rooted; resentment against poverty, a need for a better life and watching the tragedies and adversities taking place before her.

Mary Ann Cotton

Copyright: Credit: ART Collection / Alamy Stock Photo

July 28, 1834 – Mary Ann’s sister, Margaret was born, though she only lived for a few months.

October 5, 1835 – Mary Ann’s brother Robert was born.

February 1842 - Michael Robson died on the job, leaving his wife, Margaret, with two kids, facing eviction from the family home, and a loss of income. Margaret remarried another miner in 1843, George Stott, with whom Mary Ann apparently didn’t get along with. Keep in mind, this was an era where women had few opportunities to maintain their independence, and marriage was often the only way to keep an income and roof over a woman’s head, especially if she had children.

At 16, Mary Ann left home to work as an under-nurse for Edward Potter, a viewer in the mines, who knew her father. There is no report of anyone being harmed when Mary Ann was working for the family. In 1851, When the Potter kids went to boarding school, her post with the family ended. She returned to her stepfather’s house and found work as an apprentice dressmaker.

Image by DarkmoonArt_de from Pixabay

July 18, 1852 – Mary Ann married William Mowbray, who was 26 at the time. She was 19, and pregnant. She went on to have two more children: one in 1856 and then in 1858. It isn’t known exactly how many children she had with him, since records were sporadic and not well kept and they moved frequently. This lack of records leaves holes in this era of her life. It is speculated that she had eight or nine children with Mowbray. They finally settled in Durham County in 1856. William took out a life insurance policy on himself and the three surviving children. Gastric fever took William’s life in 1864, and then the lives of two of the children. Mary Ann took the life insurance payout, left her daughter with her mother, and moved on to Sunderland to work as a nurse.

1865 – Mary Ann married George Ward, one of her patients. He died the following year, and Mary Ann collected the life insurance.

1866 - She began working for James Robinson as a housekeeper. He was a widower with five kids. Within weeks of Mary Ann starting her employment with him, one of his kids died of gastric fever. According to Martin Connolly’s book, “Mary Ann Cotton, Dark Angel”, Robinson’s young son had been sick prior to Mary Ann’s arrival. Medical records indicate that the baby, John, died of natural causes. This death isn’t attributed to Mary Ann.

Image by Please Don't sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay

1867 - Mary Ann visited her mother and daughter, Isabella. Her mother died within a week. According to records, Margaret was ill with hepatitis, which meant her death was inevitable. Mary Ann was close with her mother, and had no real motive to kill her if she did. After the death on March 15, she took Isabella with her back to the Robinson home. In April, Isabella and two of the Robinson children died. James received the life insurance money for his own kids. Mary Ann would have received only the payout from her daughter’s death. In August, Mary Ann and James married. Once again, she was pregnant at the time of the wedding.

November 29, 1867 - Margaret Isabella was born. She died on February 28 from “Convulsions – Not Certified” (meaning the doctor couldn’t confirm the true cause of death).

June 18, 1868 – Mary Ann gave birth to a baby boy, George.

1869 – James caught his wife stealing from him, and grew suspicious when Mary Ann pressed him to take out a life insurance policy. Either she left on her own or he threw her out. Either way, she took George with her. Mary Ann returned to leave George with a friend and left once more, never to retrieve her son. George went back to James.

1870 – Mary Ann met Frederick Cotton. Later in the year, his sister and his youngest child both died. In September, Mary and Frederick married, despite her still being legally married to Robinson. Within months, Cotton and two more children died. Mary Ann received the life insurance payout. After this, she became involved with former lover Joseph Nattrass, though she fell pregnant by a man named John Quick-Manning.

1872 – Nattrass died and left everything to Mary Ann, including his seven-year-old son, Charles Edward Cotton. Mary Ann couldn’t work with a young kid at home, nor could she marry John Quick-Manning. Charles was an inconvenience to her moving on with her life. A local official later described Mary Ann telling him she “won’t be troubled for long.” The official went to police after the death of Charles. Arsenic was found in Charles’ stomach.

After, the bodies of Nattrass and two of the Cotton children were exhumed and found to be poisoned with arsenic.

During Mary Ann’s trial, the defense claimed the arsenic came from the wallpaper in the houses. But too many other deaths had happened around her, and she never got sick.

January 1873 – She gave birth to her final child, and only the second of her children to outlive her.

March 24, 1873 – Mary Ann was hanged but it was a bungled attempt. The trap door was not high enough to break her neck, so the executioner had to press down on her shoulders. After three minutes, she finally died. She never confessed to anything.

Image by Robert Waghorn from Pixabay

A few things are clear about Mary Ann: she was exposed to death at a young age, looked upon the hardships and poverty of her childhood and wanted more, and left behind a trail of death and poisonings. Her father died when she was young and that little girl had to watch her mother remarry for survival. The coal mine owners also owned the homes in which their employees lived, so when Michael died, Margaret and her kids would have been evicted. With no income, except for whatever life insurance Michael may have had, Margaret would likely have been a homeless single mother. Instead, she married George. Mary Ann would grow up to survive on the life insurance payouts she continually received and didn’t seem to be interested in the responsibilities of marriage or children. She merely wanted money. She wanted independence in an era where women only had one option to move up in life and have any value: marriage.

Turns out, marrying for death could be a decent business, if one didn’t get caught.

The question isn’t whether she actually killed Charles Edward, the two other Cotton children and Nattrass, as the evidence is quite telling. It becomes a matter of wondering how many people she did killed. Gastric fever has symptoms very similar to arsenic poisoning, and they only exhumed three bodies to test. In the matter of James Robinson, he never got sick, while three of his kids and Isabella succumbed to illness with Mary Ann present in the home. It appears getting rid of Mary Ann was the only thing that saved him. Abandoning George is reminiscent of how she left Isabella with her mother. So, how many deaths were by the hand of Mary Ann and how much was from the amount of arsenic used in products at the time?

Next week, we’ll explore the history of arsenic in wallpaper in Victorian England, how common of a product arsenic was at the time. We will question Mary Ann’s guilt or innocence in each case while analyzing her criminal psychology.

Thanks for joining me! Take care!

Sources: "Mary Ann Cotton, Dark Angel", book by Martin Connolly, and the Britannica page .

Image by Prawny from Pixabay

Poem ~ Scratching at Walls

I won’t drive until I’m crazy;

that’s what I tell myself.

I won’t stand on the roadside

Staring at the moon.

Instead, I long for

a bed of roses in summertime;

might my spirit

finally rest then.

Scratching at the walls of this town,

the years passing like it’s a prison

until I’m too tired

to fight anymore.

What I’d give to drive

and never return

the way I watched you do

many years ago

I hung around awaiting

the day I would too,

but the whiskey runs dry,

dreams dissipate

in wisps of smoke outside

another neon light barroom.

We used to talk about

what you mean to me

but tonight, it’s a secret love

dead and gone.

Like wildflowers

growing through a skeleton

long forgotten.

I lost my way

staying in one place,

scratching at walls, at dirt,

anything that feels

destructive to this restlessness

eating away at my bones.

Maybe that’s how petals

came to caress the rib cage

and skull of another.

Who are you and were you

terrified of dying here too?

So, I drive until I am crazy

only to return to

scratching at these walls,

but the whiskey goes dry

and I

want to dissipate into smoke

somewhere as far away

as that ghost of me.

Image by ,Free-Photos from ,Pixabay

A Tale of Two Killers

Trigger warning: violence, mention of child abuse, mental illness.

When killers are given names like the “Devil’s Daughter” or the “Runaway Devil”, one would picture the truly fearsome and fatal women we have come to associate with female killers. Karla Homolka. Mary Ann Cotton. Aileen Wournos. Katherine Knight.

One wouldn’t immediately guess these names were given to two 12-year-old girls.

It’s a rare phenomenon, hence why it garners so much media spectacle when it does happen. It’s appalling to think an innocent-looking girl barely hitting her teen years could murder in cold blood. One of my friends has a daughter around this age. Even as a true crime addict, I cannot fathom that lovely kid I have known since birth to be capable of homicide. It’s foreign to me.

In a 2014 article from The Cut, criminologist Kathleen M. Heide (University of South Florida, author of “Understanding Parricide”) discussed girls who kill. She said that only about eight percent of juveniles convicted for homicide are girls. Most times, they kill someone they know. According to Heide, 80 percent of girls who killed did so as a result of conflict. These girls are also more likely to use knives or their bare hands. Rarely do they use guns. An interesting observation, given that female serial killers as adults are more known to use an MO that doesn’t involve a lot of blood or mess.

“Runaway Devil”

The “Runaway Devil”, or J.R. as she was known in the media, fits this profile. On April 23, 2006, in Medicine Hat, Alberta, a young boy looked into the window of the home to see the dead bodies of both parents and J.R.’s eight-year-old brother. I recall hearing about this case back then. J.R. and Jeremy’s involvement in the Goth culture caused backlash against Goths. Southern Alberta is a highly religious and conservative area, which added to the discrimination that fell on a culture that did not deserve it. Some of the Goth community called J.R. and Jeremy wannabes. I live a couple hours away from Medicine Hat, but the backlash also happened here. I think the Goth culture was blamed because people didn’t want to believe that a 12-year-old girl was capable of this. Something had to be wrong, and it had to be her social circle, right? Wrong. J.R. came from a good, middle-class family. She had a normal childhood. Her parents were loving and happy. So, what happened?

Image by ,Pete Linforth from ,Pixabay

J.R. immersed herself into an online world. Despite her activity being monitored by her parents, she fell into the grasp of 23-year-old Jeremy Steinke, a guy who donned the alias of “Souleater” and claimed to be a 300-year-old werewolf. The internet is where the lines between reality and fantasy blur. These two fell into a fantasy that wasn’t part of the Goth community or the normal world. It was their own bizarre, twisted abyss, rejected by both sides.

Her parents disclosed to close friends and family in the weeks before the murders that they were struggling to get their daughter under control. She was defiant, rebellious, was always crossing boundaries and had no self-accountability. Family therapy failed. Her parents wanted to keep her away from Jeremy. A 23-year-old man had NO business dating what he thought was a 15-year-old, let alone carrying it on when he discovered J.R. was only 12. He would later claim she planned the murders, and he only helped do it.

At around 5 a.m. on April 23, 2006, after months of talking non-stop about killing her parents, J.R. let Jeremy into the family home. The slaughter ensued. He stabbed and slashed her parents, while she attacked her brother. Jeremy later said she slit her brother’s throat. J.R. played innocent and said she choked her brother and stabbed him once, then couldn’t finish. The pair went on the run but it didn’t last long. A digital trail led the cops straight to them.

Profile

J.R. was diagnosed after the fact with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder. ODD is a well-established pattern of behaviour diagnosed in elementary-aged kids. Abnormal anger and irritability, frequent loss of temper, inconsideration of authority, vindictiveness and blaming others for problems are all symptoms. To be diagnosed, the behaviours must be severe and the issues having persisted for at least six months. I believe J.R. was a baffling exception to many killers. With no history of trauma or abuse, why did her defiance start so early?

Maybe J.R. knew her parents’ breaking point at a young age and pushed it until she had the upper hand. Her parents would have become more controlling. She would have kept rejecting and crossing boundaries.

Image by ,ALBERTO H. FABREGAS from ,Pixabay

Conduct disorder, diagnosed in the early teens, is an escalation that includes a difficulty forming healthy relationships, lack of self-accountability, hostile behaviour, and blaming others for problems. Stress and trauma are typically attributed to this disorder. But just because a kid is diagnosed with ODD, does not mean they will become criminals or killers. I believe the escalation was a mix of the hostile family environment she helped create, yet still lived in. It would have tied in with the adrenaline of a forbidden love and the dark fantasy in which she and Jeremy lived. They fed off each other’s negativity and dark sides, planning the murders of her parents who tried to keep them apart. A disturbing fantasy would have felt exciting. It’s likely that Jeremy, despite his actual age, was still in a teenager’s mentality. His mother was an alcoholic who apparently had a string of abusive partners. Trauma can prevent the brain from developing properly and maturing.

Where are they now?

Under the Canadian Youth Criminal Justice Act, an offender under 14 years of age cannot be tried as an adult. J.R. was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to a maximum of ten years. She spent four years in a psychiatric institution, then another four and a half under conditional supervision in Calgary. Reports following her 2016 release claim she was a “thriving 22-year-old university student”. Today, she is believed to still be in Calgary or back in Medicine Hat, and has led a quiet life. She expressed remorse at her final hearing, where the judge said that her parents would be proud of her progress. Jeremy Steinke was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, convicted of three counts of first-degree murder. It is not known what became of their relationship.

The “Devil’s Daughter”

Sharon Carr, on the other hand, knew nothing but violence and hostility. Her mother was abusive and cruel. Sharon’s upbringing was filled with all the red flags: abuse, neglect, no rules or boundaries, and a satisfaction from inflicting harm to others. Her mother taught her voodoo and animal sacrifice. Many neighbours in Camberley, England, believed Sharon killed their pets, yet they feared the young girl. She’d go on to be the youngest female killer in Britain’s history.

A teenage girl who murders an adult stranger is almost unheard of, according to an episode of “Killer Kids” with Jo Frost, which explored the life and crimes of Sharon Carr. In Peter Vronsky's book, “Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters”, he discusses an FBI study comparing male and female serial killers. Many family backgrounds saw a disruption to infant bonding with the mother. In 66 percent of the cases, the mother was the dominant parent. In most scenarios, the father had left before the child turned 12. Sharon Carr’s father was left behind in Belize when her mother moved Sharon and her to England to marry a man with money. Not only did Sharon have an abrupt uprooting of her entire life, she never settled into England. Due to her mother’s volatile behaviour, the marriage crumbled. A study by Keeney-Heide found that 100 percent of the female serial killers studied had suffered physical, psychological and sexual abuse in adolescence.

Image by ,Estefano Burmistrov from ,Pixabay

Sharon doesn’t meet the qualifications for a true serial killer. The FBI classifies a serial killer as one who has committed three or more killings which share common characteristics and has a cooling down period in between the crimes. Anti-social personality disorder also doesn’t get diagnosed until the age of 15. But Sharon was well on her way. On June 7, 1992, 18-year-old hairdresser Katie Rackliff was walking home from a nightclub when Sharon Carr attacked her. Katie was stabbed around 30 times and died. It was such a jarring reminder of Jack the Ripper, the police thought they were hunting for a male offender. It had all the indications of a male: genital mutilation that indicated a sexual motivation and the sheer gruesomeness would never have made one think of a 12-year-old girl.

Exactly two years later on June 7, 1994, Sharon attacked a schoolgirl in a bathroom with four-inch knife to the lungs. Sharon was caught red-handed when other people walked in. While serving a two-year sentence at an institution, she bragged about killing Katie Rackliff. Police searched her home and found her diaries which also bragged about the murder and how much she enjoyed it. While locked up for the knife attack, Sharon also attacked two nurses. She was convicted of Katie’s murder in March 1997.

Profile

Women don’t tend to use overkill. But given that she had already been decapitating and torturing animals, it’s not a huge surprise Sharon escalated to slaying an unexpecting woman. Sharon enjoyed the level of savagery. In a world where she could only watch the violence and chaos around her, taking a life was something she could control. Practicing voodoo served the same purpose.

I once saw a meme asking why teenage girls become fascinated with witchcraft. Girls and women live in a world we learn to fear. We seek something we can control. Most teenage girls either grow out of their witchcraft phase or become peaceful human beings. Few become raging murderers. But legitimate witchcraft also establishes boundaries and warns against harming others. Sharon Carr never had boundaries. Her mother showed her this behaviour was acceptable. While her mother was physically present, she was emotionally absent and incapable of nurturing Sharon when she needed it most. Children who lack that nurturing in their early years are more likely to develop anti-social behaviours as they become teenagers.

Sharon was diagnosed with schizo-effective disorder. This is a mental illness impacting moods and thoughts, and can have a mixture of symptoms from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Psychosis might also be present. Sharon was known to use cannabis. In people under 25, studies show that cannabis use can inhibit brain development and can cause psychosis. The roots for anti-social behaviour were already there. She likely started using cannabis to self-medicate, though it possibly had the adverse effect in combination with her mental issues and violent tendencies. Drug use gave her a way to control her emotions for the first time. Murder gave her the ultimate sense of power. The need for control simply escalated. In her diaries, Sharon went on about how killing was her “business” and how “business is good.” Criminologist Dr. Elizabeth Yardley, who appeared in the “Killer Kids” episode, said the entries were Sharon’s way of reliving the power and control she felt during the murder.

Where are they now?

In March 2020, it was reported that Sharon Carr faced life imprisonment after fantasizing about killing a fellow inmate. She is 40-years old and will never be free. She has never shown remorse for her actions. She remains in HMP Bronzefield in Southwest London, deemed too unstable to release, despite her minimum sentence of 12 years having passed.

Comparisons

The biggest difference between the two girls is obvious. Their childhoods were polar opposites. J.R. came from a normal, middle class family. Sharon didn’t stand a chance at ever knowing normalcy.

Both girls lived in a fantasy world. J.R. and Jeremy were lost in their internet fantasy where her parents were dead and they were free to be together. Sharon was introduced to voodoo and animal cruelty, leaving a morbid impression on her developing mind, blurring the lines between right and wrong, reality and her alternate world. In her diaries, she called herself the “destroyer of life”. Both girls displayed a level of savagery that is highly unusual for female killers.

One thing both girls sought in their lives was control. J.R. maybe didn’t understand something was wrong with her. Perhaps her parents didn’t know what kind of help she needed. It’s no secret that getting an accurate mental health diagnosis can be treacherous. If her parents couldn’t rein her in to obey basic rules, how would they get her through the numerous appointments and tests to diagnose and treat her? Sadly, it was much too late when J.R. did get diagnosed. The damage was done. She did, however, express remorse and seems to have been rehabilitated. If she stays the course and maintains care of her mental health, she can continue leading a quiet life.

Sharon Carr, on the other hand, has never expressed remorse nor shown any desire to be rehabilitated. I think the fact that J.R. never experienced abuse like Sharon did is the key. Not every abused kid goes on to be a killer or criminal of any kind. Many become productive adults. Some simply never seem to escape the demons. Sharon’s empathy would have been damaged at a young age, with her mother being emotionally absent. She would have no way of relating to others, or making genuine human connections. J.R. didn’t have this early damage to her empathy or emotional well-being. Perhaps she would have been better controlled had Jeremy never come into the picture. She wouldn’t have been so desperate to control a fantasy world she created with him, and maybe more willing to focus on her mental issues. Sharon fed upon the violence and chaos she knew. J.R. fed off the darkness of another person and his influence. Environment seems to be what made the difference between the two, and the sense of (or lack of) self-accountability. Was Sharon ever offered help, or did she refuse it?

Conclusion

Watching the “Killer Kids” episode on Sharon Carr made me think of J.R.’s case and the striking differences between the girls. This was quite the rabbit hole to jump down in researching both cases, the criminal psychology and the disorders with which they were diagnosed. But fascinating.

For more information, here is a list of certain things I touched on and where I got my research:

Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD)

Conduct Disorder

Schizo-effective Disorder

The Cut article about girls who kill

The Killer Kids episode about Sharon Carr

The book, “Runaway Devil” about J.R.

“Female Serial Killers” by Peter Vronsky

The Sharon Carr update from 2020

The 2016 update on J.R., the most recent I could find.

Monthly Musing: Marketing without KDP Select

Part 3 of my book marketing series.

To be exclusive, or not to be? It’s an age-old dilemma for the self-publishing world. There are already tons of articles and blogs ruminating over this. Some indie authors are hardcore about that KDP Select hustle. In scrolling through Reddit, some authors claimed that KDP Select makes up 75-95 per cent of their writing income. That’s incredibly tempting.

If you’re focused on short-term income and that instant gratification, then KDP Select can be successful. Some authors make a full-time living on KDP alone, so it’s more than a valid option. Especially when KDP holds 80 per cent of the eBook market in the UK and US.

I am not a believer in exclusivity. Personally, as a reader, I use Kobo and have a Kobo Plus subscription, and rarely buy anything from Amazon. With this pandemic ripping open societal issues that have for many years been swept under the rug, we see more and more a move to shopping local and less support for these ridiculously rich people. Amazon knows us indie authors are hungry for book sales and income. The exclusivity cause really feels a grab for more royalties, snatching that small share away from other stores. I know, I know. Capitalism, blah, blah, blah, competition, blah, blah blah…

My point is, the entire point of self-publishing is to maintain control over your writing career.

Why go exclusive with one company? If Amazon changes anything, you’re at their mercy and your only source of income could change overnight.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

And in breaking down KDP Select, the biggest pros for it are Kindle Unlimited and the Lending Library. However, Amazon is not the only company that offers similar services for readers. Kobo Plus does the same thing, though it has regional restrictions. Scribd is more international. But there are various eBook subscription services out there where you could have your eBook available. The same goes for the Lending Library – other sites do this. It is not purely an Amazon thing. While KDP allows authors to run campaigns and promotions, both Smashwords and Draft2Digital do the same. Smashwords has used digital coupon codes for years. D2D allows scheduled promotions and has an entire tab of the author dashboard dedicated to it.

I guess I never understood why KDP Select is praised when basically the same options are already out there. Going wide with distribution means hitting other audiences, reaching more readers and building a steady following. Maybe it isn’t the quickest way to rocket up sales, but it is still effective. You maintain more control over your career instead of relying on one giant. It means creating reader connection, which means they are likely to continue following you, versus the instant gratification of short-term sales bursts.

So, what are the alternatives to KDP Select?

Your author website is your best tool in book marketing. It is where you have ultimate control. See my full post on it here. But you can have a page for your books and where they are sold, you can have a shop on your site, sell books from there, and run endless promotions. It is your corner of the internet.

Alongside your website, your mailing list will be your best friend. Grow your readership and recruit them to your mailing list to announce new releases, promotions and to build your connection with readers. It gives them something consistent that doesn’t let them forget about you. With over seven million books on Amazon, it is easy to get lost in that ocean. You don’t want readers to buy your book, forget about you, then never come back for more. With a mailing list, you give them reasons to come back. MailChimp is the mailing list service I have seen most recommended.

Draft2Digital is the distributor I am currently using for “Beyond Dark 1: Belladonna”. It was incredibly easy to use and the site has lots of information. It also has a print program! I had no issues with automated formatting for either print or eBook. If you know basics of formatting, it is a breeze. If you don’t, hiring someone is usually affordable. I have also used Smashwords in the past and were equally as happy with them. I chose D2D for “Beyond Dark” because of the print program, but Smashwords is also easy to use for those who are just publishing eBooks.

Targeted ad campaigns are something I have heard mixed reviews about. This includes paid ads on Facebook, Bookbub or elsewhere. Some authors have told me these ads do little to nothing for their sales, while others have said their sales do well after. It comes down to experimenting, I think. It’s hard to stand out in an oversaturated market. Don’t spend your entire savings on ads until you know how they will work for you. Start small. Let it grow. I have yet to experiment with these, as I can’t afford to at this time. It’s in my future plans.

A common tactic for those who write a series is to make the first book permanently free, luring readers into the series so that they’ll buy the books to come after. I know a few authors who do this, though I have never asked how it impacts their sales. But readers love free books, and readers who love a certain book are usually willing to invest in more.

The slow and steady route is the alternative to KDP Select.

It is the route I have chosen in hopes I can build that steady readership and engagement over time, in order to have returning readers. At the end of the day, that’s what one must do when deciding to go wide or exclusive. I’ve also seen the advice to use KDP Select for the first three months of your book’s release then go wide. I read a few comments online that said this worked well for them.

If you choose to go exclusive with KDP Select, you should still have a professional-looking website where readers can sign up for your mailing list. A mix of the two tactics is by no means a terrible thing. You simply cannot make your book available elsewhere, which cuts off many readers outside of Amazon. As a reader, it becomes disheartening to see a book I want to read, but it is only available on Amazon. Don’t limit yourself to just one site. Be free to experiment before or after that 90-day period if you use it. At the end of the day, do what is best for you and your book, and look ahead to the long term.

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

I am purely curious to see if I can make a decent writing career without using KDP Select. Have any indie authors out there done this? What was your experience?

For more details on KDP Select visit this Reedsy post.

A list that compares different eBook subscription services.

Stay tuned for my next post in a couple weeks! I’ll be doing a monthly feature on various serial killers and criminal psychology! Thanks for stopping in, and don’t forget to subscribe!

Book Review: "Jersey Tough" by Wayne "Big Chuck" Bradshaw

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(5/5 stars)

Full of adventure, introspective analysis and fascinating glimpses into the world of a man who went from outlaw biker to undercover cop. "Wild ride" is an understatement. This book was harrowing and I had a hard time putting it down. As a psychology lover, I enjoyed his self-analysis as to how and why he wound up joining an outlaw biker gang after being in the military, and how his mindset changed enough to leave and better his life. An addictive memoir.

Monthly Musing: Is Blogging Still Alive?

Part 3 of my Book Marketing blog series.

The media we consume changes in the blink of an eye. Within one or two short decades, information has become snippets on social media and brief pieces on news websites. The art of the newspaper is dying out to news websites who offer paid subscriptions for readers because few people read newspapers in their once beloved physical form. We catch information in videos and Tweets and Live Stories. Information is plentiful, condensed and oversaturated. The internet giving everyone the ability to express themselves creatively is both a blessing and a curse.

Image by ,Gerd Altmann from ,Pixabay

Social media has made everything short. Everything revolves around instant gratification. Twitter, dating sites, Facebook, Instagram, all of that. We have the world of information at our fingertips. Everyday it gets more condensed. Are blogs a lost art? Are blog writers really yelling into a void? Or simply catering to an audience that has lessened, yet still exists in small groups? I personally love reading blogs. I admire those who have the dedication to have a weekly blog, consistently pumping out new content.

My friend pointed out that while there are still those who read blogs, it simply doesn’t pull in a large number of readers anymore to warrant the effort it takes to maintain one. If the effort isn’t a mental or emotional or time strain, and a person enjoys blogging, then it can be worthwhile if for nothing more than personal reasons. What does this mean for authors trying to attract readers and be professionals?

Personally, I think the art of the blog still survives for those who keep it alive.

We can still build communities and readership around a blog, but it takes a lot more effort. We swim in an oceanic market of creative content. The theory on blogs is to draw readers in with relevant topics to your writing, so maybe they will check out your website and be drawn to your book. It can add a little boost to sales.

And let’s be real: podcasts have become the new blogs. The written word has turned into audio. It’s happening all over, with both podcasts and audiobooks. It’s like radio shows are the trendy thing all over again, except we access it all on our magical little devices and the internet instead of those old school radios. There is no avoiding the quick, startling changes the creative industries take. It’s overwhelming and hard to keep up with. I forever feel behind, and I am only 31. Like, really – what is TikTok??? Back in MY day, that was the sound the clock made!

Image by ,TaniaRose from ,Pixabay

And within one TikTok, be it clock or video, is how rapidly it changes. So, let’s pose this inquiry: Why bother? Why go through the trouble of doing a blog or podcast beyond personal enjoyment? I feel like it's all sharing information. Some people feel an obligation to get certain information out there they deem important. Back in college, one of my professors called bloggers "civilian journalists". At times, that's what they can be, though often they lack the training and insight legit journalists do. BUT the flip side is that with media being so monopolized now, blogs/podcasts can also serve the purpose of alternative media. It can be effective if people are reporting true, proven facts and do their research. TRUE, proven facts. Not come conspiracy theory bullshit off YouTube. (That’s a rant for another day – or post. It requires more whiskey.)

It made me question why I still blog. Honestly, with my multiple mental illnesses and low empathy, it gives me the feeling of connection I don’t have with much of the world. I want to connect with the writing community, and those who have been through trauma. I am by no means a poster girl for childhood abuse, nor do I want to be. Years ago, that was what my blog revolved around. It allowed me to vomit my trauma into something. After all, that’s what most of my writing is: a manifestation of my own traumas and struggles.

But it changed over time. I have focused more on my writing career and how my mental illnesses have improved. It’s by no means perfect and I still have bad days and breakdowns over trivial things – an indication of a bigger problem. But I’ve learned to let that reflect more in my fiction, and use my blog for writing related content and book reviews.

My point is: if you want to start and maintain a blog, it will inevitably change as you personally grow. And that’s okay. Be ready for an oversaturated internet. Allow yourself time to build up a readership, and more importantly, a community, because that’s what your readers will become. Consistently put out content. Make yourself a schedule that works for you that won’t strain you and still allows you to focus on your books. Decide what content is relevant to your books and bring readers into your world.

Also: if you don’t want a writer blog, you don’t have to. An author website with the basics will suffice. Blogging isn’t for everyone, and it leaves more time for writing books. I am not a video gal – I hate making them and the sound of my own voice. It’s not something I have any interest in doing, so I don’t even bother with TikTok or YouTube or Live Stories. I am not a public speaker.

The “good ol’ blogging” days aren’t what they used to be, but that doesn’t make it a completely irrelevant art. Book marketing is by no means a one-size-fits-all thing. What I want to offer are options and the information I have gained through research and discussions with my fellow writers. What it comes down to, is to do what you can manage, what you are comfortable with, allow yourself growing room, and know your limits. You don’t need to be on every site every second of every day.

You should still be writing books. After all, that’s what it all comes back to. The love of books.

Cheers until next time! Thanks for reading and feel free to subscribe!

BOOK LAUNCH TIME!

IT IS TIME. “Beyond Dark 1: Belladonna” is finally published and available as an eBook at various retailers! To celebrate, I am throwing a virtual launch party on Facebook tomorrow, Feb. 13, at noon MST. I threw this together very last minute. If you can’t make it to this, I will be throwing a bigger launch party at a later time. Basically, I wanted to do something to kick off the release for this book to which I’ve devoted the last two years.

Paperbacks will be available soon – I am making an announcement regarding this at the launch party.

I also want to take the chance to say THANK YOU to anyone who has read, shared, supported, given advice or had anything to do with this book. It truly means the world to me. I have learned over time that while writing on its own is an isolating activity, the production and marketing of a book takes a team and the community you build around yourself. I am fortunate to have wonderful support backing my writing. So, thank you. All of you. I am so proud of “Beyond Dark” and what it is shaping up to be as a series. Please, never hesitate to give feedback on the rough drafts. I appreciate it all come the editing stage.

In other news, I did some website updates for the “Beyond Dark” page. It now has sub-pages. One will be made for each book as they are released. The main “Beyond Dark” page will have a menu for easy navigation.

I hope to see you tomorrow! For more information on the series, please visit the official page. And feel free to share the release and launch info with any mystery book lovers you know!

Monthly Muse: Book Marketing Part 1: Author Websites

With the upcoming release of “Beyond Dark 1: Belladonna”, I have been immersed in book marketing research. The bane of authors. Personally, it makes me want to pour another whiskey and lament about how much I hate marketing. Some of us simply aren’t salespeople. I am one of those authors.

Various Google searches about marketing turned up many sites that discussed Amazon and the perks of its exclusivity. In my humble, unknown writer opinion, I equate exclusivity with selling your soul to a giant corporation who is raking in royalties off your back while readers who don’t use Amazon miss out.

(Image by ,Perfecto_Capucine from ,Pixabay )

But who doesn’t use Amazon? I don’t, for one. I use Kobo, where I buy eBooks and subscribe to Kobo Plus. As a reader, it is frustrating to get recommended a book or find one on Goodreads, to find it’s only available on Amazon. From all of those sites that swear by KDP, many authors think it’s the best way to market. It is effective for those who are willing to go the exclusive route. Those enrolled in KDP Select who pay for advertising there don’t have to worry as much about where else to market outside social media, Goodreads and BookBub.

Mark Coker, the founder of Smashwords, posted his 2021 Publishing Predictions, in which he discussed authoritarianism vs democratization within the publishing world. In it, he said: “Authoritarians promise overly simplistic solutions to complex problems.”

Basically, when we put too much reliance into one power, or a select few, it eliminates options and enables said powers to further take advantage of authors who already live within an industry full of scammers and rip offs trying to profit off our dreams.

How do we take that power back? Well, in the words of Tom Petty, “I’m taking control of my life now.” If exclusivity isn’t your thing, then follow this blog and this series – I’m going to discuss my research on marketing outside of Amazon. We have options. But we don’t always know about it. I’m going to open this series with the ultimate tool in author marketing, over which we have complete control.

Your author website becomes your own corner of the internet which you can personalize and make your own. It should bleed your author brand and personality while maintaining simplicity and ease of use.

There are several site builders that are free and of decent quality. Personally, I use Wix. I love the ease of use, the short learning curve, and simple designs. There are templates with which to set up your site. Lots of creative freedom. Spend a little time on Google researching the different sites and which ones offer which. I am by no means an expert in this area. Based on my own reading, it looks like Wix and Weebly come with the best reviews. Keep in mind, you’re going to want something that also offers growing room as your career expands. You’ll publish more books, post more things and need to create more pages. You’re going to want to be creative with how you use the space. Give yourself that room. Wix allows you to set up a shop right on your website as well – hello, book merch sales? Why not? New income stream! I’ve seen poets on Instagram sell coffee mugs and other merch with their poetry on it. Poetry books don’t sell too well, but we all love pretty quotes on things we can display.

Let’s not get too far ahead. Leave that for the growing room. There are some basics every author needs on their website before anything – and I only learned these recently. It led me to revamp my own site to ensure it included the following:

(Image by ,Sofia Iivarinen from ,Pixabay )

Subscription Box

Ensure readers can subscribe to your mailing list right away. Note that on many sites, the subscribe box is either on the home page, at the top, or shows up in a pop-up box. This mailing list gives you access to your readers so you can send out newsletters about updates, new releases and more. Before you plan out the exquisite details of your design, plan where you want the subscription box to go. I made my own home page a sort of welcome page, with my name and a subscription box, and below that an arrow to enter the rest of the site. Anyone who comes to that page knows whose website they’re on and they see the subscription box.

A book page!

This is where you display your books and where they are available in all their glory. You can play around with this. I kept mine pretty simple. Cover images, short descriptions and where they are available. This is the first page I have after the welcome one. Don’t forget to add “buy” buttons to this page, and link it to where you want readers to purchase your book. You could add multiple buttons for different distributors.

Contact the Author

Give readers a way of contacting you. Mine has the icons for my social media and then a contact box linked to my author email. (Another word of advice – make a new email for your author life. It will soon take over your main email. I use mine for conversing with cover designers, my editor, any writing blogs I’ve subscribed to, and more. It makes life MUCH easier.)

The blog

Wix is wonderful and provides a free blog with your website. I don’t know about Weebly or the others, but if they don’t, then Wordpress caters specifically to bloggers. I’ve used it previously. I started my Wix website and decided it was easier to have both in one place. But Wordpress was good to me for many years prior. A steeper learning curve in terms of design, but if that’s not a problem, then it provides a great place for blogging. Again, take a look around, read reviews, and decide what will work best for you.

A blog provides a way of offering readers insight into your writing world. I’ll be the first to admit I am terrible at consistently posting things, so for 2021 I am trying something different – monthly planned posts with book reviews in between, and whatever else comes up that I may post. I enjoy sharing my writing research, updates, and random pieces or poetry. Ideas can be found on Pinterest or other writing sites. But regardless, make it you. Find your voice, find who you want to be on your blog. Who do you want to be towards your readers? How do you want them to see you? I’m still figuring this out for myself. My blog over the years has been a personal journal for my mental health (sometimes still is), a home for my poetry, random writing rants, and more recently I have been posting research dumps from my novels.

Take your time

Look around at other author websites for inspiration. Decide what theme will go well with your personality and your books. I decided on a dark floral vibe to accompany the fact that “Beyond Dark” focuses on female serial killers and much of my poetry has references to wildflowers. It’s a vibe I’ve always loved. I used a combination of my book covers and quote images, with stock photos off Pixabay, which is free to use.

Most of all, have fun. It’s your corner of the internet. The home for your books, your writing life, the first place your readers should go to know everything they need to contact you and buy your books. It’s your little world you can keep simple or expand on.

I hope this has been helpful! I am not sure what the next post will be about, but it will be up next month! Thanks for reading!

Mark Coker's 2021 Publishing Predictions can be found on his blog.

And I found a list of reviews for website builders here!

If you guys know of any more, or have anything to add, let me know in the comments! And share with anyone who may need help getting started.

Anarchy, novellas and a short announcement

Writing without chapters feels like anarchy. Complete God damn anarchy. But then again, strange has been the prevalent theme of 2020, hasn’t it?

I’ve had a new writing project idea in mind since earlier this year. But I’ve been busy with “Beyond Dark”: editing book 1, then rewriting and reworking the others. However, with how heavy, daunting, and exhausting this year has been for everyone, even I needed a break from serial killers, the mafia and writing fiction about the dark side of humanity.

Just as January 2019 saw me enter the crime fiction genre when I started “Beyond Dark”, 2021 will see me enter yet another new genre: Chick lit/ mystery. Yes. I, the cynical, foul mouthed, whiskey drinking, serial killer dictionary, am going to attempt something that mixes “Sex and the City” vibes with mystery. Martha Holmes is a private investigator who has just left her marriage, is getting a divorce, re-joining the dating world and encounters a case that changes everything for her. She and her best friend start a podcast, which follows their dating escapades and moving on after life falls apart. The series is named after their podcast: “She’s So Lovely”. I’ll be posting this to Booksie eventually.

This also introduces me to a new format: novellas.

Novellas are a bit of an enigma in the writing world, I have found. They hang in the bizarre length of 10,000 to 40,000 words, with a slight controversy on whether they should have chapters. Readers rely on chapters to mark where they leave off or to remember where they were in the plot. But, for how short these stories are, the plot moves fluidly and is meant to be consumed in one sitting. The compromise seems to be splitting the story into parts. Which would work for those who utilize the three-act story structure. Part one would end at the first plot point. Part 2 would end at the third plot point, then the final part would encompass the climax and resolution. This would make posting online too. One could post in parts instead of waiting for the whole thing to be finished.

Image by ,Eli Digital Creative from ,Pixabay

A few things enticed me towards the novella. Since they’re shorter, they can be written and edited, then published quicker. Paired with this genre, I think it will serve as a series of fun, more light-hearted reads for people who don’t invest fully into novels. We live in a world of short attention spans. Digital content is written in short format so people can read quickly and move on. Novels have a specific audience of those who focus on longer stories. Hardcore readers. But this digital age means that as writers, we can also offer good quality, short, and entertaining stories.

Finally, changing genres in 2019 gave me the inspiration to pursue new challenges in my writing life. It means stretching the skillset and becoming more versatile. Sometimes us writers get stuck in this rut where we hack away at one story or genre and run out of inspiration. That was me a few years ago. I am excited to slowly get into a new genre and challenge myself once more. “She’s So Lovely” will be somewhat autobiographical in terms of how I coped after my own marriage fell apart, and what moving on looked like for me. Everything since 2017 has been about healing, learning to thrive instead of survive, about transformation, rediscovering myself and finally figuring out what I want to do with my life. The journey has been arduous and agonizing, yet I am at the point where I am ready to keep moving on and transforming, both as a person and a writer. And it is through writing that I discover the most about myself.

So, stay tuned! Many things to come in 2021. And one more short announcement: “Beyond Dark 1: Belladonna” is going to be ready for release soon. The editing is nearly done and then I just need to format it for both eBook and paperback. I know many of you have been waiting a while for this. Hang in there! And thanks for your patience!

Happy New Year to everyone. May 2021 be one of healing, recovery and better things for everyone.

Book Review: "Women Who Kill" by Brody Clayton

⭐️⭐️

(2/5 stars)

While I enjoyed the format presented in this book of short snippets about female serial killers, I was disappointed in a few areas. This books needs good, professional edit. There are many repetitive words, some grammar issues, and it does interfere with the overall readability. Just because a book is shorter than a novel doesn't mean it can survive without being well edited.

My second issue is how vague the book is. It discusses two female serial killers: Delphine LaLaurie and her house horrors, and the notorious Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory. I found LaLaurie's story to be fascinated but felt it lacked a lot of details. I was disappointed in the lack of source citation, where the author got his information and did his research. For example, LaLaurie allegedly suffered a head injury that some attribute to her behaviour. When did it happen, and how? And how was it treated that leads people to believe this? And who believes this? Did this come from psychologists and doctors or is it mere speculation? As for the deaths of the kids, what were their symptoms? And in what years did they happen? The author says there is "no proof but no doubt" about LaLaurie's guilt but there wasn't enough present in this book to convince me either way. She also allegedly killed her mother and husband - but it's not stated how the mother died.

The Bathory case is one I have studied prior. This part of the book felt very rushed, most of the details skipped right over and again, little presentation of evidence or how sadistic of a woman Elizabeth Bathory was.

I just don't feel like I got a comprehensive understanding of these cases in reading this book. Us true crime readers like being presented with enough evidence to come to our own conclusions and be convinced of guilt or innocence. We live for mentally solving cases as we read along, especially when it's a case we haven't encountered before. I think this book, and the author's interest in serial killers, has lots of potential, as short reads are popular. But this book needs a good edit, polish, and a lot more details on the cases to keep readers engaged.