Christine Nolfi's Blog, page 18

99 Authors, Books & $990 in Prizes!

These prices are available on Amazon only.
For a listing of books offered and to enter to win, click here!!

 

What’s Next?

When Patricia Sands http://www.patriciasandsauthor.com asked if I’d like to contribute to the SheWrites http://www.shewrites.com meme on an author’s upcoming projects, it immediately dawned that writing such an essay this far into December would urge any writer to gather together a list as fresh as an armful of lilies to lay upon the altar of a bright new year.

Here’s mine:

Finish those edits! Two novels await the final spiff and polish before reaching Amazon and other online stores. Fire Mountain will arrive first, hopefully right after the holidays. 

Add more tips. Over the last eighteen months I’ve received a dizzying amount of private mail from first-time authors struggling with the review process. Having donned the PR hat for many years prior to writing fiction, I’ve pulled together my best advice on how to garner reviews. The easy-to-follow tips will reach online stores as soon as I add several more suggestions—including a section of sample query letters for the uninitiated.  Hopefully the manual will help more writers secure the glowing reviews needed to boost sales.

Become website savvy. All right, it’s true: I admit to Website Negligence. I adhere to the theory that a novelist’s most creative hours should be reserved for the writing of her novels. Even so, it seems a no-brainer to learn how to add cool widgets and more graphics to my author site. I shall do so in 2013.

Dive deep. I’ve written 100 pages of a bordering-on-literary novel I’d like very much to finish by spring. A week in Istanbul would certainly help the effort. If you’re reading this post and have an extra airline ticket handy, please sent it my way.

Return to laughter. But what about the Liberty series? Both Treasure Me and the newly released Second Chance Grill continue to draw accolades from readers, spurring the need for a quick return to the fictional town of Liberty, Ohio. Several chapters of the third Liberty installment were written months ago. Now I’m torn between completing that novel or the Istanbul WIP. Watch for updates.

Continue Connecting. As 2012 draws down, I’m warmed by the close connections I’ve made with other authors this year. Molly Greene, Martha Bourke, Terri Long, Fred Brooke, Rachel Thompson, Rob Guthrie—the list goes on and on. I cherish the friendships and look forward to promoting with many of my favorite authors in 2013.

 What’s next for the SheWrites meme? Check Martha Bourke’s blog this week http://www.marthabourke.com for the skinny on her plans for the coming year. If you haven’t yet read her fabulous Jaguar Sun and Jaguar Moon, what are you waiting for? 

Launch Your Book with Great Reviews

Searching for rocket fuel to launch your book? Great reviews can shoot your masterpiece right up the Amazon lists.

Potential buyers demand an unbiased critique of a book’s merits to simplify the task of finding great reads. Most expect to find at least ten glowing reviews on a book’s Amazon product page before they’ll purchase. Naturally it’s best to approach reviewers before your launch date so they’ll have time to read and post as soon as your debut goes live. But if you’re late to the game, no worries: many sites will review months after the publication date.

As you begin the search, keep reviewers’ contact information in a Word doc or Excel file alphabetized by blog name, with room for updates. Record the blog address, reviewer’s name and email, and submission instructions. As you hear back from each blog, add notes about dates and responses.

Locate book reviewers on Amazon and GoodReads. Search your genre to find books similar to yours. Along with the review, a professional book reviewer will often list his or her full name and the name of the book blog. Use either one for a Google search. Once you’ve accessed the reviewer’s site, read the Review Policy carefully. If you’ve only published in electronic format, check that the site will accept eBooks.

Giveaway Gold. Running a giveaway on GoodReads or a blog? Ask each winner to post a review. Most readers will happily comply. This is the letter I enclose with paperbacks or transmit with an eBook to each winner:

Dear [NAME]: Many thanks for entering the giveaway. After your read, please consider posting a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and GoodReads. Indie novels would rarely reach the light of day without the dedication of readers willing to post a review. If time permits, please let me know directly what you think of the novel. I love hearing from readers.

Search Google for book blogs and reviewers. Many directories are available (a few are listed at the end of this post). Yes, it takes time to scroll through the Google search results, visit each site and read each Review Policy. And some blogs don’t name the contact person in an About Me section. Read several posts to find the name of the reviewer—don’t transmit a query to DEAR REVIEWER and never transmit a mass query. The dedicated bibliophiles who run book blogs deserve your respect and a thoughtful, individualized pitch letter.

Find blogs on Twitter. If you’re just starting out, read the tweets of successful authors in your genre to find reviews they’re re-tweeting. Go to the site and add the information to your growing Word doc or Excel list.

Prepare an effective query letter for reviewers
I prepare an overall letter template then personalize each email query. Reviewers are increasingly buried in requests; make your pitch succinct.

Query letter example #1. Dear [REVIEWER NAME]: I hope you’ll be interested in reviewing my women’s fiction novel Treasure Me, which was a semi-finalist in the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Publishers Weekly reviewed the manuscript and said, “Birdie Kaminsky, a beautiful blond bombshell of a con artist, has met her match in investigative reporter Hugh Schaeffer, in this zesty novel rife with witty dialogue and well-drawn characters. Their catty romance and zany interactions filled with witty double entendres are gems.”

Example #2. Hi [REVIEWER NAME]: Last year I released my contemporary fiction debut, Treasure Me, which USA Today calls, “Light and refreshing: your old-fashioned feel-good novel.” Midwest Book Review says of my second release, “Poignant and powerful, The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge is as much a saga of learning how to survive, heal and forgive as it is a chilling crime story, unforgettable to the very end.” Both Treasure and Tree continue to earn 4- and 5-star reviews on GoodReads and Amazon.

NAME, I hope you’ll consider reviewing my latest release Second Chance Grill for [NAME OF BLOG.] The eBook is ready for transmission in MOBI, ePub and PDF formats. If you prefer paperback, I can mail a copy.

About Second Chance Grill [SHORT SYNOPSIS]

[CLOSING]
Many thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing from you. Wishing you all the best,
[NAME AND WEBSITE]

Build the Relationship. As you continue to publish, nurture your relationship with the reviewers who fall in love with your books. They’ll help build your career if you treat them with the professionalism they deserve. I’ve had reviewers hand my book off to another reviewer if they’re under the weather and can’t review, and share private lists of blog sites they admire. One reviewer recently scheduled Tree of Everlasting Knowledge promotions on five blogs in the U.S., Europe and Africa because we’d struck up a warm friendship.

Resources:

Book Blogger Directory bookbloggerdirectory.wordpress.com

BlogRank Top Blogs http://www.invesp.com/blog-rank/Books

101 Book Blogs You Need to Read http://tinyurl.com/ygjpyqc

The Indie Book Reviewers List http://www.theindiereview.com/indie-reviewers/

Photography: Dublin. Another gorgeous shot from my daughter Christian’s semester in Europe.

Your Book’s 5-star Status on Blogs

If your relationship with the blogging community consists of a mass email dump to Dear Blogger every time you release a new book, you’re missing the point.

Blogs don’t just add to the string of 5-star reviews you’re hoping to wrap around your book on Amazon. They also host authors, participate in hops and provide content related to reading and the writing life.

As an author, don’t simply seek review. Make an effort to build a relationship sure to augment your publishing career for many years to come.

Offer Original Content.  It’s true—no hardworking author can afford to spend the day writing one blog post after another. How would we ever complete the next book? However, sites with a large number of followers keep an eye on the blog’s ranking, and they don’t want the essay you’ve already posted on ten other sites. Whenever time permits, offer to write original content to ensure you remain visible before readers. You’ll also gain the appreciation of a blogger who may push your next release to the top of her TBR list for review.

Offer Free eBooks and Paperbacks.  If you’re promoting your book’s tie-in with a holiday, event or tour, offer each participating blog free books. I’m only now beginning to contact indie bookstores and libraries, but I produced paperback versions of each of my works with one thought in mind: many blogs still prefer a combination eBook and paperback giveaway. Yes, it’s more expensive but you’ll build your readership faster, and the blog hosting the giveaway will receive more entries—and potentially new followers.

Promote Your Favorite Blog’s Content. Re-tweet a recent review. Repost blog hop information on G+ or LinkedIn. Share news on FaceBook. Independent publishing continues to flourish due to the dedication of bibliophiles who host us to ensure readers—most of whom would never learn our names—are introduced to literature’s newest wave of books. Successful indie authors understand that by promoting other quality reads, the movement as a whole benefits.

Do your part by helping your favorite blog get the word out.

Build the Bond.  Whenever a blog agrees to review, do your homework: begin following on Twitter. Add the blog to your Twitter “Book Reviewers” list for future re-tweets. Connect on FaceBook, G+ and LinkedIn. If the blog hosts a GoodReads group, consider joining if you have time to participate.

The closer the relationship, the more you’ll benefit. Through book bloggers I’ve received promotional opportunities, introductions to other reviewers and invitations to join high-powered groups I couldn’t possibly have discovered on my own. You’ll receive the same 5-star treatment by helping your favorite blog’s promotional efforts.

A note about the photo: I’m lazy. Or busy. Either way, I continue to post photos from my daughter’s semester in Europe. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Why Books Matter

A world without books is a prison stripped bare of our deepest emotions, the primordial soup of flesh bound to synapses in a miraculous synergy that gives rise to human thought. What we think nestles in the arms of what we feel like a babe cradled to his mother’s breast. We prefer to live beneath the illusion that the higher order of our brains reigns supreme, as if our choices are selected then executed by the benevolent function of our minds. But we are animals still.

Books are humanity’s only perfect invention. You may marvel at the Internet’s speed or stand in awe of a rocket breaking free of earth’s jealous gravity; you should praise the lucky inventions of antibiotics and electricity and an internal combustion engine capable of turning agrarian economies into thriving meccas of commerce. Yet first lay a wreath on the altar of the written word, a form of communication rendering us immortal as it carries thoughts and emotions from one person to the next over years, decades and centuries.

We place words in a cocoon we call a book. This invention is more startling than spring’s first butterfly rising from dormancy in a burst of cerulean blue or fiery orange. Open a book, and you open your mind to a blending of logic and emotion sure to transform the way you view the world and experience every feeling we’re taught to suppress or cultivate or ignore.

Throughout the centuries, the hard and soft sciences conduct a lively discourse through books. Aristotle sits on a marble step while teaching the great Alexander about truth and beauty, or rhetoric and politics. Fast forward several thousand years to any college campus on the planet, and find a strapping youth dully flipping through a tome of the philosopher’s works. It’s a sunny day at university and our youth doesn’t wish to read another word; he certainly doesn’t want more homework. What he doesn’t know yet is that the words he will read carry fire, a straight shot of emotion spun with logic in a volatile mix sure to light something inside him waiting to be born.

Of all the forms a book may take one is the king’s scepter, the symbol of sovereignty marking the highest evolution of civilization’s most civilizing achievements. The novel may or may not draw from science’s sturdy frame—some novels do, and they provide a stunning glimpse into a world we will one day inhabit. But even the novel’s use as divining rod doesn’t capture why this form of communication is supremely important. Its greatest gift, the largest of the gems scattered at our feet as we read, is the novel’s ability to transform us. The magic trick may be fleeting but as we turn each page, we align more completely with the author’s train of thought, we follow syntax and symmetry on a path to emotion so powerful we are suddenly walking inside a character’s skin.

If the storyteller is masterful, we carry the memory of the character’s thoughts and feelings, and her many adventures, for the rest of our lives. The connection allows us to fuse our animal nature with intellect in a form of community without equal. We come to know—and to feel—what it is to be someone else.

What Makes a Classic?

Consider art, literature or even your favorite memory and you’ll find some things are classic. The Mona Lisa. Moby Dick. The Hot Toddy-infused holiday caroling your Uncle Daniel embarks upon after he leaves your mother’s table with your cousins in tow.

The Ford Mustang is a classic. So are the soulful, velvety tunes of Motown and the notion that Freudian interpretation lurks inside your sleep. Queen Elizabeth, Frank Gehry, black silk and pearls, Gershwin, Harry Potter, ice cream, The Beatles, blue jeans—add them to the list. Yet all are modern examples and the notion of classic reaches across the whole of civilization to include Greek philosophy, Arabic mathematics and the Chinese ships that might have discovered the New World if not for the infighting among the country’s royals. The invention of pasta, van Gogh, Mozart, diamond rings to mark a betrothal, the handshake, Gothic cathedrals, Machiavelli and Shakespeare also deserve a place on the list.

If you think about it, we tout the word when referring to goods, music or art enjoyed by millions. Or when speaking of emotions we’ve all experienced or dreams, both collective and personal, to which we all aspire. If you stand in Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia with a sense of the divine suffusing your bones, you are within the grip of a classic moment in the highest sense, an awestruck rapture shared by the thousands who tread the marbled aisles in the centuries prior to your arrival.

But I’m a novelist, which narrows my purpose if not my interest. How do I take the silver-threaded gossamer of classic and apply it to my art?

I strive to create characters inside stories that stir your deepest emotions and portray the similarities hidden behind humanity’s alleged differences. Think of the fast-paced dialogue as a magician’s sleight of hand employed to encourage you to laugh before a secret is revealed and the narrative pace slows with a deepening characterization that compels you to tears. Do you wonder about a character’s name? So do I, which is why I can spend weeks agonizing before making the perfect choice, the definitive choice sure to depict the story arc.

Yet writers are also readers. I savor the emotional roller coaster when I pick up Molly Greene’s Mark of the Loon, a celebration of friendship among women deliciously wrapped in a mystery. Terri Long’s In Leah’s Wake draws me to the frightening divide that can separate a mother from her reckless daughter. Rachel Thompson’s A Walk in the Snark is a hilarious tribute to men and the women who put up with them. Classics, all.

What makes a book a classic for you?

Join us on January 3 – 7, 2013 to share the books on your Classic Reads list. We want to hear about your favorite stories, authors and books – whether they’re old favorites, new fiction, controversial or simply heartwarming. What elements catapult a book from a good read to a must read for you?

Don’t miss this fabulous opportunity to share your favorite reads and hear about more. If you write a post featuring the ClassicReads banner you’re automatically entered in a $200 Amazon/B&N gift card drawing. Additional prizes are available for helping spread the word via Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Here’s how to take part:

1. Visit Terri Long’s website and complete the Classic Reads Blog Hop sign up form. http://terriglong.com/blog/classic-reads-blog-hop-2013

2. If you’d like, write your post or choose another way to spread the word.

3. Several days prior to the event, we’ll send an email with graphics and a linky code to directly link all participating posts.

4. If you’ve written a post, schedule it to go live at 12:01 EST any day from January 3rd to 7th and respond to our email with your direct post URL. Your post URL will be added to our linky and used to validate your Rafflecopter entry.

5. For EXTRA entries and chances to win, please promote one or more of the sponsoring hosts’ books at the bottom of your post by adding our book cover & synopsis. All this information will be sent to you by December 24, 2012.

6. Don’t forget to enter the prize draw via Rafflecopter!

7. Spread the love January 3-7 – and learn about everyone’s own classic reads – by visiting and commenting on as many hop participant’s posts as you’d like.

8. Follow #NewClassicReads on Twitter for updates, news and discussion throughout November and December.

 

Indie Publishing Soon? Follow These Tips

If only I’d known … What I didn’t know in 2011 when I released Treasure Me http://tinyurl.com/72mvu8m could amuse you for hours. Like so many novelists, I’d worked hard with one then another literary agent to sell my books to a New York house. But I didn’t easily fit the brand of “romance writer” or “women’s fiction author” and the compliments the books received from editors never led to a contract.

Even so, I did go on to publish successfully. You can too. A few basics to help you on your way:

Write a stellar debut Whether you write within a specific genre or mix genres to delightful effect, your first release must stand head and shoulders above the competition. As we approach 2013, independent publishing is reaching maturity. Many of the authors who jumped into the fray between 2009 and 2012 have built a readership, released many books and become experts at using social media. Yes, you can compete with them. But you need a standout book.

If you aren’t sure your debut is ready for the limelight, consider joining a national writer’s group like Romance Writers of America http://tinyurl.com/8bx5fzk or Mystery Writers of America http://tinyurl.com/9m9kbbr I’m not a romance writer per se but hold an RWA Associate Membership for non-romance writers because the group is invaluable. Critique groups, online workshops, conferences—if you’ve been working outside the established writing community, now is the time to join. Years ago I found my first editor, first agent and first critique group thanks to RWA.

Find Actively Publishing Authors on FaceBook Type WRITER’S GROUPS into the FB search window and you’ll discover hundreds of groups. Which should you join? That’s up to you. Lurk on several sites listening to the conversation and you’ll quickly find the right groups for learning the ropes of publishing, what’s new, and how to share promotional opportunities with other authors.

Publishing in Paperback? Welcome to GoodReads! In retrospect, I wish I’d learned how to use the site sooner. My first three releases are in both eBook and paperback, but months went by before I understood the value of active participation. http://tinyurl.com/7e2xgjq  Create a GoodReads author page with a link to your blog so each post will appear on GoodReads. Run a giveaway of your debut, promote it, and friend each reader kind enough to enter. You’ll discover many of those readers will go on to purchase your book whether they win the giveaway or not. And before you ask: I’m sure LibraryThing and other sites built for readers are just as great. I’ve simply been too busy writing and promoting my books to become actively involved—yet.

Choose Social Media Sensibly Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest—a week doesn’t go by without a desperate writer sending private mail asking how it’s possible to be everywhere at once. It isn’t.

Contrary to every post you’ll read about how you must post here or tweet there, the truth is simpler. Authors successfully sell books through a variety of channels. For example, I rarely tout my books on FaceBook but use Twitter daily—not simply to increase reader awareness but to connect with other writers and post “How To” content on publishing. Prior to writing fiction I owned a PR firm. Once I got the hang of Twitter, I knew I’d found the right home for providing good content while connecting with readers and the publishing community at large.

In the last year since writing the post about garnering reviews from book blogs http://tinyurl.com/8xtolt3 I’ve learned a great deal more. Provide book blogs with original content whenever possible, which helps a site’s ranking. If a book reviewer is running a giveaway, offer to add your eBook or paperback. If a site sends out a request on FaceBook or Twitter for authors to post about the writing life or another topic, be the first volunteer. Without the dedication of review sites determined to bring independently published books to the reading public, few books would break out, let alone break even.

Don’t Forget Your Backyard I’ve only recently learned what is probably an obvious lesson: you can sell books in your own city as easily as on the Internet. Print bookmarks and hand them out whenever the opportunity presents itself. Join a local reader’s group. If there’s a professional writer’s group nearby, become a member. Check the library for a listing of regional book fairs—many will allow independent authors to attend for a minimal fee. Nothing builds sales like work-of-mouth, and your own backyard can be the launching pad for your career.

The Next Big Thing

Thanks to Laura Zera http://laurazera.com I’ve been tagged to write a post about my work-in-progress. The idea for this post originates from SheWrites http://www.shewrites.com. What follows are my answers to the interview questions.

You’ll have to forgive me for straying from the original theme. I’m releasing my next book on October 30th and preparing for the launch is a work in progress!

What is the working title of your book? It’s Second Chance Grill. The book is a prequel to my 2011 release Treasure Me, which recently became a finalist in the 2012 Next Generation Indie Awards.

Where did the idea come from for the book? The character of Blossom Perini, a precocious preteen in fictional Liberty, Ohio, arrived in May 2004 during yoga class. The instructor asked each of us to take a few minutes to meditate on a private intention and I asked the Universe to give me a starting point for a novel. Somewhere between Downward Dog and Child’s Pose, Blossom popped into my head.

Here’s an interesting side-note: After writing three chapters of Second Chance Grill I sent the partial out to several literary agents. I assumed six months would pass before anyone dragged my pitch from the slush and requested more chapters. Several days later a highly regarded West Coast agent called to request the full manuscript. She’d been struck by how the pages had made her laugh one minute and cry the next, and felt the story had the potential to become a bestseller.

After listening in stunned silence, what did our faithful scribe do? Well, I lied. I lied through my teeth.

In a wavering voice, I said I was putting the final touches on the manuscript and would have the full on her desk in two weeks.

The next twelve days were spent in a hellish frenzy to produce 400 pages. Murphy’s law being what is it, naturally the heat went out in the pool at the local gym. To my dying day, I’ll never forget the freckle-faced lifeguard as he shouted, “Stop! You shouldn’t swim laps in water this cold!” But swim I did. When I wasn’t grabbing thirty minutes for exercise or taking short naps, I pounded out page after page of Blossom’s story.

Naturally the agent found the final result episodic, and would I mind revising? I did, and discovered the frenzied outpouring of ideas provided enough fodder for many books—an entire series on the fictional town of Liberty, Ohio. Soon the first ideas for Treasure Me began percolating in my brain as well as a third book about the nefarious Wish Kaminsky, slated for release in 2013.

What genre does your book fall under? Contemporary fiction.

Which actors would you choose to play characters in a movie rendition? Convince Whoopi Goldberg or Viola Davis to play Liberty’s fiery town matriarch Theodora Hendricks and you’ve made my day. The other characters? I don’t know. Thinking about a movie version doesn’t preoccupy me during the creation of a novel. By mid-book I’m convinced I’m writing about real people kind enough to share their most remarkable life events and most private emotions.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Dr. Mary Chance needs a sabbatical from medicine to grieve the loss of her closest friend but when she inherits a struggling restaurant in Liberty, Ohio she isn’t prepared for Blossom Perini. Mary can’t resist falling for the precocious preteen—or the girl’s father. The bond they forge will transform all their lives and set in motion an outpouring of love that spreads across America.

Oops. That was three sentences.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Second Chance Grill is my third self-published novel. After working with agents and two near misses (Random House, NAL) my critique partners convinced me to try publishing my unusual brand of fiction independently. Treasure Me and the more literary The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge continue to earn 4- and 5-star reviews on GoodReads and Amazon. I’m praying Second Chance Grill will receive a similar reception from readers.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? After the write-a-book-in-two-weeks fiasco, I calmed down and hired an editor to work with me during the following year. Random House sat on the next version of Second Chance for yet another year as I wrote the first draft of The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge. Then I rewrote Second Chance yet again, right around the time Treasure Me became a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. And, because I’m never truly satisfied with any book I write—or read, for that matter—I put Second Chance through one last revision earlier this year.

I noticed I didn’t answer the question correctly. But, to my mind’s eye, most of those versions were first drafts. You wouldn’t believe how many pages I can summarily vanquish from a manuscript. It used to give my critique partners the shivers to watch twenty or more pages they thought were pretty damn good disappear during a rewrite. The point is this: if you plan to become a career novelist you must suppress feelings of attachment to your prose. Once you do, your natural voice will lift your work from the prosaic to the singular.

The kids, at our wedding last summer

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Random House thought Second Chance Grill would appeal to readers who enjoy books like Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. Another agent compared Second Chance and the other books in the Liberty series to the movie Steel Magnolias. I enjoy writing about ordinary people performing extraordinary acts of good. if you’d met my vast and varied extended family, you’d understand why I depict so many eccentric characters.

My eccentric, blushing groom, Barry

Who or what inspired you to write this book? Explaining would give the story away. A spoiler right before the October 30th release is not a good thing.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Anthony Perini, Blossom’s father, is a richly detailed character. Reading about single parenting from a male point-of-view is both amusing and poignant. On the best of days men don’t “get” women. Imagine you’re the single father of a sassy preteen who’s decided she’ll choose who you’ll marry … and your dating skills are rustier than a ‘69 Mustang.

Now it’s my turn to tag fellow author Frederick Brook http://www.frederickleebrooke.com  Please pay him a visit to learn more about his work.

Books in a Series

 

In October the next installment of the Liberty series, Second Chance Grill, will reach Amazon then other sites soon after. The core cast introduced in the award winning Treasure Me makes another appearance, notably the town’s feisty matriarch Theodora Hendricks and her fluttering and rather ditzy nemesis, Ethel Lynn Percible. While they don’t carry the show—something they will do in a future book that reveals the root causes of the bad blood between them—they do interact with the main characters in surprising ways.

 

The preparation for the Second Chance Grill release started me thinking about the key components of a successful series—and the fact that most, if not all, fall into one of two categories:

A story in stages Think The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or The Hunger Games trilogies. Through successive books we’re immersed in an expanding plot leading to a satisfying conclusion. One hero—or in the case of my examples, two distinctive and strong heroines—carry the action. Pick up the books out of order and your enjoyment is diminished.

Same characters, different problems Think of the episodic works The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency or Sherlock Holmes. The same cast of characters encounters new problems in each book. No matter the order in which you read the novels you won’t risk losing the story thread, which is sure to resolve by the closing pages.

In which camp does the Liberty series fall? Both, actually. You’ll find stories in stages like the bad blood between Theodora and Ethel Lynn, a bit of foreshadowing harking back to family feuds from the 1800s. Liberty, Ohio’s secrets are tied to events in U.S. history as varied and priceless as the Civil War gems Birdie Kaminski hunts for in Treasure Me. One of the town’s characters is the descendant of a spy who ran interference for George Washington during The Revolutionary War. And in case you’re wondering, freedwoman Justice Postell left more fascinating treasures hidden in town than revealed in the series’ debut novel.

Yet even as these secrets unfold, you’ll discover the same supporting cast in each book. New characters will often carry the show, but not always. The skillet-wielding cook, Finney? In a future book her romance is sure to make you laugh one minute and cry the next.

On another note, Treasure Me recently became a finalist in The 2012 Next Generation Indie Awards and was cited by The Midwest Book Review as “highly recommended for those who enjoy adventure fiction.” If you’re looking for an amusing mix of mystery and romance, I hope you’ll give the book—and the new Second Chance Grill—a read.

 

Seven Sentences You Can’t Live Without

You never know where you’ll sell your next book.

At your kid’s soccer match, during an impromptu chat on FaceBook or while stuck waiting at the pharmacy—potential readers are everywhere. Making a memorable impression, and sealing the deal, is easy when you’re equipped with these must-have seven sentences.

What do you write? Sure, you’re thrilled several of the women in yoga class have expressed the slimmest of interest. Now isn’t the time for a monologue on the sequence of dreams that drove you to write your masterpiece. If you drone on, your audience will roll up their yoga mats and slip out the door.

Two sentences, please.

Here’s mine: “I write contemporary fiction—a blend of romance and mystery. My debut, Treasure Me, is more comedic, like the movie Steel Magnolias, but my second release, The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge, is a darker, more suspenseful read.”

Notice the comparison to a familiar movie. It’s a subtle way of saying, “You loved the movie. You’ll be glad you bought my book.” Genre also matters. Some readers prefer clean romances, for example, or love horror novels. If your work draws from more than one genre, all the better. You’ve increased the chances of making a sale.

What is the story about?  Three sentences: think “back cover copy” or “product description on my Amazon page.” Introduce the characters (first sentence), present the story problem (second) and finish with a hook (third).

No, you needn’t memorize a three-sentence synopsis. Your story pitch works best when tailored to appeal to a particular listener or group. If I’m discussing The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge with an adoptive mother, I lead with the plot’s main character—a foster mother. If I’m chatting with men, I’m more inclined to mention the novel’s fast pace and thrill ride ending. And, no, I don’t give spoilers. I want to give each listener enough information to encourage a book purchase.

Why do you write? No one will ask, but you’re wise to volunteer an answer in two succinct sentences. This is your chance to build credibility for your writing career.

The volume of poorly written eBooks streaming onto Amazon and other sites is no state secret. Separate your work from the dreck by touting your successes—awards won, glowing reviews, high sales or the earlier profession that prepared you for your writing career. Whenever I have a captive audience, I tend to mention my previous career in public relations and a plug by USA Today citing my debut as among the best of the Indies. Or I mention USA Today and a recent award or review.

If your book has racked up twenty 5-star reviews on GoodReads or received high praise from a well-known author, by all means, tell your audience. This isn’t the time to feel squeamish about boastful behavior. Avid readers are on a quest to find The Next Great Read. Which is your book, if you have the courage to tell them.

Polish those seven sentences, and you’re on your way to yet another sale.