K.C. Sprayberry's Blog, page 160

Setting a Location

One of the most important things we can do as writers is set our location. That must be evident from the very first page. People want to know where the story is happening. The question becomes exactly where should our stories be—an exotic locale, a small town, rural community, or major city. Perhaps it can even be in different countries.
We have all heard the adage “write what you know.” That includes location. In many genres, the location might be a fictional town, universe, or world. Even though it doesn’t exist on any known plane, setting up a location can be as simple as a bit of research or garnered through first hand experience.
I recently published a novella that has two very diverse locations and happens during the end of year holiday season. Both are areas I know well, but haven’t visited in many years and therefore, required some research before I could actually start writing. It was necessary because most of the information I sought was in the past, about twenty years ago. Once I had everything necessary, and the memories were flowing from things I remembered, I sat down to write the story.
How can you, as both writer and reader, discover the richness of the past making a story come alive? What devices are needed to blend two cultures into a tale while also sticking to plot and characters? It’s all actually very simple.
You take the same crafting tools you’ve used to create all your other stories and apply them to the one you’re working on. Yes, you might work a bit slower. You certainly will be hitting up people you knew at that time for information you might have missed. Your research might even require a field trip to the locations you’re using, if that’s possible.
One thing to remember while you’re using an area you haven’t visited in a while for your story’s location. Make sure the details are right. Even if that means taking a break for a few days and contacting individuals in the area you’re writing about or the government’s tourism office. You certainly don’t want to have someone reviewing your book and mentioning that you have something incredibly wrong.
Fröhliche Weihnachten Merry Christmas



Riona’s life of self-doubt stranded her in an abusive marriage with four small children to raise. Her children and a successful career in the Air Force made her life bearable. She needed out—and Fate handed her a way.
Once, when she was younger, there was a man she thought good until he stood her up. She had no way of knowing that he had endured a bad marriage and a bitter divorce, leaving a teenaged daughter in the middle. He had never forgotten Riona.
Both their hearts were hurting. Fate would help them heal.
 

Overnight Fame

Instant or overnight fame is the dream of anyone who has tried to develop an audience for their books. All of us wish for it, but the reality is far different.
Becoming a published author isn’t about just writing and putting up a book for sale. It’s far more than that. There are steps you can take prior to publication that will ease you down that road, but the reality is that for most of us, it will take a minimum of five years of hard work to be discovered.
What can you, as a fledgling author, do to improve your chances of having your first book have a great debut?
First, there are no guarantees that you will actually sell many copies of your first book, until you’re discovered as an author. Some people do, others don’t. Those who do work hard, every single day, including weekends and holidays, to get their books noticed. We haunt Facebook and Twitter, oftentimes finding ourselves in a time out for posting too often. We will talk about our work to people we meet on the street, reinforcing the idea that authors are a bit touched in the head. Many of us will hand out postcards or bookmarks to perfect strangers after striking up a conversation. Every waking moment of our lives is consumed with “how do I improve my promotional tools” and “where can I set up an appearance, to possibly sell books and find more fans.” That’s in addition to plotting out our next novel. In between all of that, those authors completely dedicated to improving their name brand, to getting more people to know about them, will be competing to be included in anthologies in their genre. We’ll be writing shorts that are similar to our novels, to offer potential new readers the chance to check out our work without paying a great deal of money.
All of this is called name branding. We are getting you to know our name, what we do, and how much we’d like you to love our work. It’s shameless. It’s a twenty-four a day job. And it’s never ending. Our families are used to our muttering about how this or that didn’t work, but hey, this one did. They roll their eyes while out with us in public, claiming we’re embarrassing them, but secretly smiling when we engage a potential new fan in our work. Our meal time conversations often begin with “This character is driving me nuts…”
What the good, determined authors never do is give up. We take our lumps. We moan privately about reviews that don’t give us the satisfaction we desire. We take a deep breath and dive into social media discussions about how to deal with cyber-bullies or cyber-pirates. Our hearts skip a beat when we see there was a sale of one of our books. We do the happy dance with our fingers while talking about what new story has hit us.
Fans eager to know more about us will haunt our Facebook fan pages or Twitter feeds, where we will connect with many, many people in one day, and come back to do it again the next day. There will be discussions about the private part of our lives, which we will protect with the fierceness of a lioness protecting her cut. But we will never, ever disclose some things about our lives.
Name branding as an author is as important as having a well edited book, of having an attractive and eye-catching cover. The ability to attract attention to our books is as important as writing them. And then it happens…
Your sales spike up one month, and then the next. You’re soon being touted as the “new” author whose work is well worth reading. It doesn’t matter if it’s the day your first book releases, or five years later, or even ten years later—the feeling will be the same. You have made it, but only if you realize that overnight fame often takes many, many overnights.

A Band of Bullies

In today’s world, stopping bullying has become the thing to do, yet most people when on social bully without thinking.
“What?” you say. “I would never do that!”
Really? Think about the posts you’ve made. Do you share a post putting down a political candidate, laughing about another’s beliefs, or ridiculing what another person has said? That’s bullying, my friend. Plain, pure, and simple, you are bullying someone else because of their beliefs.
Today’s bully doesn’t terrorize the schoolyard. They don’t lay in wait for someone to walk past. They take to social media and create posts where others who believe as they do agree with their words and pass them on to everyone else as a type of gospel we all should follow. And don’t dare contradict these internet bullies with facts. They’ll turn them around and attack you for your own beliefs.
I address bullying as a theme in Inits, a book about a teen going through his first year of high school. It’s traditional schoolyard bullying with a tongue in cheek look at how others advise him how to deal with the problem. Alex never goes onto social media, as his interests haven’t gone in that direction. He discovers a solution to the problem himself and goes through with it.
If he were faced with the current mode of ridiculing someone because of their faith, their stance on an unpopular trend, or his political beliefs, he might do as many are on social media—remain silent because we know what awaits us if we do speak up.
The next time you decide that posting your beliefs in such a way that you make others feel they can’t respond because of how they will be attacked, sit back for a moment. Contemplate how you would feel if you were put in that position. Then ask yourself, “Is this really worth my time and effort to post, if I were to be responsible for bullying someone?” You might be surprised by the answer.
We all have beliefs. They differ. That’s what makes us good friends. If everyone we connect with were to become carbon copies of ourselves, we would soon find that we were bored to tears. Diversity is what makes us who we are, even if we are miles from realizing that.
Blurb
Alex Starkey is a normal teenager with unfortunate initials. Initials which have been his nemesis his entire life. Initials matter when all the kids call each other by them instead using their names.
If that isn’t awkward enough, there’s Payne, who’s made a career out of bullying kids he thinks deserve it. Alex’s inits make him a target. Alex can deal with that on his own, until Payne crosses the line and tries to force him into doing things with long-range consequences. That’s when Alex stands up and faces him down.




Inits 

Stop Thief!

No one likes a thief. These people will take what most of us have worked hard for without a second thought. Their motives are always the same—to get something for nothing
Yet, most people will download an ebook where it is offered it for free without thinking about whether or not that website is allowed to give away the book. They see an opportunity and think they’re getting a great deal. How true is that?
Most of these giveaway websites are cyber-pirates, taking the work of authors who have labored hard to produce a fabulous story only to discover their sales are low. Sometimes, it’s because they’ve not yet been “discovered” by a large audience. Most of the time it’s due to websites that are taking copies of their books and giving them away, but not extending a royalty payment to the person who wrote the book.
How can you tell what is a pirate website and a genuine website? That is usually very easy. If you discover a book by an author on a particular website, don’t just download it without checking out a few things first.
Visit the author’s website or Facebook fan page. Check out the links they’ve posted about where to purchase their book. Do any of those links lead to the website you’ve discovered is offering a great bargain? No? Back away fast. You’re about to become a thief. Alert the author to the website’s presence by emailing them (many authors have an email dedicated to their fans contacting them) or post on their Facebook fan page about the link. Most of us are willing to do what’s necessary to remove our work from that site.
Of course, there are still a good number of people who are willing to grab that free book. It’s free, after all. Who doesn’t like a good deal. One thing to remember about these sites—you never get something for nothing—and what they accept as payment often is a virus or Trojan horse that could steal important data from you that could lead to bigger problems.
As an author, I don’t just write books. I constantly search for websites offering mine for free. Then comes the long and difficult task of demanding that this site remove my book, and alerting other authors about its presence. I’m willing to do that, because I don’t want my fans being caught up in the problems that can come from downloading one of my books from these places. I want them to enjoy my work, come back for more, but never to be inadvertently angry with me because they discover a problem after getting one of my books from an unauthorized site.
Support your local author, but only from sites authorized to sell their books.

Ripples in the Pond

I’ve written young adult fiction for years. It’s the primary genre I work with, but I consider myself a multi-genre author. The story dictates how it is told. Even careful planning never gets me to where I usually start out.
Most of my contemporary teen novels have a theme of real life incidents being brought forth in a fictional atmosphere. Underage drinking, school violence, child kidnap, bullying, texting and driving, stalking, and non-custodial parental abduction have all been explored in stories that grip the reader from beginning to end. No holds are barred in these stories where the main character learns to stand up for their beliefs despite the odds against them.
In my latest young adult tale, I’m diving into a twofold theme, a first, but not one that will go away. The primary theme of The Lie is not telling the truth when you should and the aftereffects of that action. The secondary but still a strong theme is teen suicide.
How far can a person be taken from a comfortable middle class family with seemingly no issues to the outside world until they get to the point where they will take their own life just when they have supposedly achieved everything they’ve desired? Can that person be brought back from the brink? Or is it too late to do anything once that decision is made?
Suicide is a conclusion of a scream that no one has listened to for a long time. It’s not a cowardly act, but one that occurs because the individual sees no way out of the emotional or physical pain they’ve been living with for a very long time.


What can bring about that pain? In The Lie, it’s a simple thing, an avoidance of the responsibility a young woman has always taken seriously. But she soon discovers that isn’t just the only issue.
A lie, once told, is like ripples in the pond. They spread increasingly further away from the source, until they encompass the whole body of water. In my latest young adult novel, I’m exploring a teen that tells a lie. It’s not a big lie. The whole thing was supposed to be a practical joke… until it went horribly wrong.
This is where the guilt associated with the lie comes into play. How can one go one with their life if they are constantly thinking about the consequences of this fib? Does the person who believes they’re guilty of causing pain and grief just forget everything and move on with their life? Do they wallow in guilt? Confess their transgression?
All of that and more is explored in a complex teen story told from two viewpoints. The allegedly requisite happily ever after ending is missing here. It’s more of a bad event and then life moves forward, but not in a way it was planned.

Don’t Put Me In A Box

There are those who will tell you that an author must write in the same genre, no matter what the story demands. That can’t be further from the truth in the twenty-first century publishing world.
First of all, the story demands the setting. A tale that must have a foreign locale, with a romance setting won’t work well at all as an action adventure. The narrative and dialogue will be stilted, hard to read. A sci-fi story set in a faraway universe will falter if it’s languishing in small town USA.
These are just a few examples of what can happen if you attempt to tell a story from a perspective the characters hate. If you’re a planner, an author who must write an outline before starting the story, then you need to allow your characters to come alive and tell you how they want things to go. A panster will have to be aware when the characters have gone silent and are no longer talking to you. More than likely, you’ll need to reevaluate the setting and try it elsewhere.
That’s the fun of writing in this very diverse world. We switch around from romance to westerns. Young adult stories are the most fun—coming of age can switch to sci-fi with a touch of action/adventure. Fantasy can also be time travel. Don’t forget about paranormal—witches, warlocks, creatures of the night, and ghosts are great for taking over a young adult novel and creating situations where you characters have a lot of fun.
I’ve been writing fiction for nearly twenty years. Since the beginning, I haven’t stuck to one genre. My stories are set where they belong. Most are multiple genres, to give the characters the chance to develop along with the story line. Recently, I’ve seen too many authors proclaiming that multi-genre authors are “confused” “don’t know how to write” or “need to go back to school.” My response to these people will always be—bet I’m having more fun than you are.
Don’t let those people stop you from creating great stories in whatever genre they fit in. Remember—this is your book!

Cyber Monday

The holidays are upon us and with them the spending frenzy that leaves most people exhausted by the end of the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Yet, there is one more day in which we spend in a crazy manner, one more time where the limits are ignored, as people attempt to find the perfect gift for those they love.
Cyber Monday, November 30 this year, is an annual celebration of the way we’ve become connected on the internet. Millions worldwide will be searching their favorite sales venues in search of the perfect gift, the one thing they couldn’t locate in the Black Friday sales or during the aftermath of that event.
Many say books are a thing of the past. That reading is no longer important in their lives. Yet, these novels can open a whole new world to a child or adult. There are tales of fun, horror, and romance available. Have you tried a story about a galaxy far, far away or a space station rife with humor? Can you imagine the world of a teen caught up in small town issues? Or a home where love really does conquer all?
All of these types and books are available from a growing number of authors who are opting to go the route of a small traditional publisher or to publish themselves. These men and women work hard daily to write their stories, to garner attention for their work, and to achieve a dream many have had for as long as they can remember.
Their lives are devoted to one objective, finding someone who discovers the novel they’ve labored over for years has spoken to a person, brought them joy, made them cry. Many an author has spent ten, twenty, or thirty years waiting to be “discovered.” And they post on social media, investigate new types of swag to give away in an effort to interest a person in their work, or sit down and reevaluate what they’re already doing in an effort to sell more books.
This is a career path all of us have chosen because of the urging in our souls to write the stories in our heads. This is a job that is as important as being a CEO of a major corporation or working in a fast food restaurant. But there is one major exception—our choice isn’t one done for economic reasons but to fill a deep desire to make the stories we’ve imagined in our heads available for an audience whose choice of method to read their books has expanded exponentially in the last decade.
No longer does the reader have to sit down with a physical copy of a book in their hands. They can now opt to pick up an e-reader (Kindle and Nook are the most popular) or even download a free reading app to their smart phone to read on the go. Those outdated magazines in the doctor’s or dentist’s office are no longer your only option to while away the time while waiting to go in for your appointment. Standing in a long line at the store to checkout? Open your reading app and enjoy a short story by your favorite new author. Searching for a way to find new authors? Check out anthologies in your favorite genre. Trying to interest your children in something other than the latest video game? Get them a book to go with that new phone, tablet, or laptop.
One other thing to remember about gifting an ebook for this holiday season. Amazon offers the option to email your gift directly to your recipient. This puts a whole new spin on the last minute give—you can send one out the day before or the day of the celebration.
Remember, Cyber Monday sales aren’t just for those hard to find at the store specials. You will soon discover a whole new option in your online sales venues—the books section. Welcome authors from the small traditional publishers or those who self-publish into your gift giving experience.

Teasers

Twitter explodes with people sharing teasers every Tuesday. It’s become a fad for today’s author, and one you should indulge in. Just what is this and how to you join in with the fun?
Simple, you devise a media kit for your book and include a teaser from the first three chapters. That teaser can be a few lines, a couple of paragraphs, or even a full page. It shouldn’t be much more than that. After all, if you share too much, people won’t want to purchase your book. That’s exactly what you want to do—entice people into purchasing your book and finding out how great it is.
How do you go about setting up the media kit for your #TeaserTuesday blog? It’s actually very simple.
First you need to have your bio at the top of the page. Be sure to include a picture of yourself. Before you decide your bio is ready to visit the world, go over it. It should be short and focus on your professional life. If you want to mention that you have a partner, go ahead. You can even say that you have children, but don’t use their names.
Next, you’ll need your book’s blurb. This is also called a back cover blurb. Nitpick this over and over. A good blurb should be 125 to 250 words. It should tease and tantalize—but you should never give away any important plot points.
Between the blurb and your next item, the excerpt, you need your cover art. Make sure you have a good copy of that before attaching it to the email or inserting it into your blog. Ensure that your cover art doesn’t explode until it’s huge. If that happens, you’ll need to click on it and “grab” one of the corners to make it smaller.
You need to decide on what to use for your excerpt. I’m partial to a paragraph or two. Remember, you will be using blog space. You don’t want a long excerpt that goes on and on and on. People will be turned off. They’ll stop reading before the get to the last item
Finally, you must include your social media links. Any sales venue that carries your book needs to have a direct link to the purchase page. (Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, etc.) You should also have links to your Facebook fan page, Twitter feed, blog, website. Other links that are good to include are your Amazon Author page, Pinterest, Instagram, or any other site where you are actively promoting your book. Before you post or send out your media kit, ensure all of the links work.
That was pretty simple. It’s easy to assemble. Once you have volunteers who will post your except for Teaser Tuesday, ensure you have the links to their blogs. Then, when the post is live, promote them hard.

Develop A Thick Skin…

It has to be said. You will get that 1 star review, with a commentary that the reviewer wished they could give you zero stars. It will happen, sooner or later, and you will feel the terrifically strong urge to blast the reviewer about how wrong they are.
First of all, there is no need for you to break down weeping. Don’t dive into that gallon carton of chocolate ice cream either. A review is one person’s opinion about your book. Instead of having a panic attack, read their review and compare it to other reviews. Are they on the point about your sentence structure not being varied? Did you not proofread prior to publication as thoroughly as you should have? Could you have taken a little more time developing your characters? Or are you using too many clichés?
Those are the things you need  to worry about. If the reviewer marked you down because they don’t like the formatting, let it go. Don’t panic because they mentioned that you use too many commas. Ignore the commentary that your paragraphs are too long or short. There are people who have a set template for a book they’re reading, and if you deviate, they will take off “points” in a review.
The things you do need to worry about in reviews are: Do you have misspelled words? Improper punctuation? Have you completely blown of finishing an important plot point? The rest is personal choice and no reason to start a flame war on Amazon or Goodreads.
In fact, you shouldn’t address the reviewer at all. All you can do is shake your head and walk away. Don’t put this person down in an open post on Twitter or Facebook. Don’t rant on and on about how they did you wrong. Don’t stalk them on their blog or fan page, leaving nasty notes about how you’re waiting for them to publish a book, so you can return the favor. Most importantly, don’t call the reviewer names.
In other words, you have to be a professional. You must hold your head high and act as if the review didn’t bother you. You can rant privately with your friends, but make sure you trust them enough so that they don’t pass your words around the cyberworld. 

A Winter Holiday Celebration

Solstice Publishing proudly presents these offerings from our extremely talented authors. Each has created an upbeat story celebrating holidays all around the world. And those authors themselves are an international group. Settle in and discover these fabulous tales about many holidays coming to all countries, all nationalities.



A Winter Holiday Anthology
Ten stories about holiday celebrations from a multinational group of authors. From a Hanukkah celebration to a young woman taking her duties as St. Lucia in Scandinavia seriously—two military members make St. Nicholas day memorable while a lonely woman takes a cruise. Volunteering to help out the local fire department ignites feelings between a couple and a mischievous granddaughter gets her grandmother into hot water when the child sends out a love potion through the mail. A pagan child learns to enjoy the holidays with her Christian neighbors while an enlightened fly observes a Hindu festival of lights. Finally, a woman’s family rejoices in her life as she passes to another plane while a young daughter of vineyard owners yearns for a dog.








A Winter Holiday Anthology








Holiday Novella Riona’s life of self-doubt stranded her in an abusive marriage with four small children to raise. Her children and a successful career in the Air Force made her life bearable. She needed out—and Fate handed her a way.
Once, when she was younger, there was a man she thought good until he stood her up. She had no way of knowing that he had endured a bad marriage and a bitter divorce, leaving a teenaged daughter in the middle. He had never forgotten Riona.
Both their hearts were hurting. Fate would help them heal. 




 Fröhliche Weihnachten



Sweet Christmas Romances
Four of our romance authors, Susanne Matthews, P.A. Estelle, E.B. Sullivan, and K.C. Sprayberry present to you sweet tales of this holiday season. From a grandmother protecting tradition, to a woman rediscovering the magic of Christmas; from a woman in financial straits discovering that Santa Claus does exist for adults to a couple overcoming adversity to present a beautiful rendition of Silent night—we will give you stories that will overcome those long days spent shopping or preparing meals.






 
Her Christmas Hero
  The Ornament   
Christmas Escape
An Angel Sang Tonight 


What can you do while standing in line to pay for your holiday purchases? Two of our very talented authors present you with shorts that will allow you to enjoy the wait rather than become frustrated. And you don’t need your Kindle along, Amazon provides a free app for most smart phones!




Say Hi For Me
The Decorator



Finally, what would Christmas be without dessert—the candy, confections, cakes, puddings, and pies? A lucky thirteen of our authors are sharing their favorites with you, and the cost of this cookbook that could become one of your most treasured treats is absolutely nothing. It’s free on the Solstice Publishing website!



This book is a gift from Solstice Publishing to our fans. Grab your free copy now!
Winter Holiday Desserts 



Click on the links, discover an escape from the holiday shopping madness, discover a new author to help you relax after a long day, present your family with a beautiful dessert that may soon become a tradition.

We at Solstice Publishing wish you Happy Holidays!