Pippa Jay's Blog, page 84

Guest Blogging at Space Freighters Lounge

Hi all! I'm honoured to be blogging over at the Spacefreighters Lounge here today with what I hope are some helpful tips on coping with that first round of copy edits (or at least reassurances that we've all been there!).
Please feel free to stop by and say hello. :)

Working on promo stuff

For me, the marketing side of being an author had come the hardest. I am not a salesperson, unless you count the tons of eBaying I used to do, and the odd car boot sale (for my US buddies unfamiliar with the term that's like a garage sale, but we do it out in a field usually, hundreds of us all flogging junk from the boots of our cars). Learning that I not only have to promote my book(s) but myself as well came as a bit of a shock.

It also seems like pretty much any kind of marketing and promotional items have been done to death. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the promotional items I've seen. I'll happily collect bookmarks if they're pretty. Postcards too. Fridge magnets tend to fall victim to my youngest child, often vanishing under the fridge until years later when we buy a new one. Sadly if they're of the paper/card variety they don't survive the interim. Bags and T-Shirts seem a step too far - certainly too expensive for my budget! If I'm going to pay out hard cash, I'd rather spend it on some decent advertising.


I've been blessed with a stunning cover, so creating a bookmark was an automatic must (but I asked my publisher's permission first!). I have a cunning plan you see...but I'm not giving that one away, mwah-ha-haaaaaa! Er, sorry... I've had a printing company recommended to me - sadly in the US (I'm in the UK) and their shipping costs to me were downright heinous! $83! Luckily I have a good friend there who will ship them to me if I send them direct to her for about a tenth of that. Another fabulous author told me that he prints his own and laminates them an A4 sheet at a time (after autographing them), and then cuts them up. I'm going to give that a try too. Well, as soon as I've bought myself some card and a laminator. :)


An idea I came up with when the SFR Brigade were looking for promotional ideas/swag was for an sfr charm bracelet, so I did a little research and even made one of my own. I'll be making one, or maybe more than one, specific to Keir at some point.

The other thing I wanted was a business card. I could just hand out bookmarks (since they'll have my blogsite address on them anyway) but I wanted something that related more to me than just my book. I mean, hopefully at some point I'll have more than just the one book to my name. I do have a short story I published myself although I probably haven't done as much as I could to promote that. Right now, everything is centering pretty much on Keir alone.


I'm not entirely sure about it yet. Just putting 'author' doesn't seem quite right, although the 'weaver of words' may be a little OTT. I need to play with it some more. I did think of using the banner from the blog, but since that's a free image I'm not sure I'm allowed. Also that bright glow in the middle makes it hard to place text that will show up. Something with a general sci-fi theme is enough for me I think.

So how are you finding the promotional side of being an author? Did you have a marketing plan set up beforehand? Did you have any idea it was coming? If you have any tips you'd like to share, please do so! :)

Nebula's Music by Aubrie Dionne

I've just reviewed Nebula's Music by Aubrie Dionne over at Critique de Book here. I have to say I loved this book. It also makes the second book in my 2012 SFR Reading Challenge.

Guest Blogging with Liana Brooks

Due to the SOPA protests, my guest post for the lovely Liana got moved a day. Apologies if anyone was waiting on it, but if you pop over to her blog here now, you should find out about some of the myths of being a published author. Enjoy! :)

Jaq's Harp by Ella Drake - Review

I've just posted my review of Ella Drake's Jaq's Harp on the Critique de Book website. You can check it out here. A recommended read for fans of science fiction romance who like great world building and dystopian futures.
This is the first book in my 2012 SFR Reading Challenge, woo hoo!

Hunted by Elle Hill - Review

I've just reviewed Elle Hill's Hunted on Critique de Book - you can check it out here.
A recommended read for those fans of paranormal romance, especially those on the lookout for something a bit different from shifter, vamps and witches. :)

SFR Brigade's Calendar Coordinator

So it's official - I'm honoured to be the Calendar Coordinator for the SFR Brigade. Yay! This means you can send me details of any SFR related events, such as your upcoming releases, book tours, giveaways etc - basically anything that might be of interest to writers of SFR. If it's a book release, please send me your name, title, publisher, a brief blurb and a sales link. You can contact me via the SFR website, or as pippajaygreen(at)gmail(dot) com or even tweet me as @pippajaygreen with a link to the information. To check out the calendar feature, go here.

Six Sentence Sunday #44

Hello and welcome to another #sixsunday post. Huge thanks to those who come by and comment each week. I'm continuing with my sfr Keir, with both the main characters locked in the dungeon. But there's not much sense of camaraderie going on...


She moved toward him and his old suspicions flooded back."Another step," he growled, "and I will kill you."The girl stopped and squinted into the shadows. After a moment, she raised the light over her head. "That isn't very friendly." Her tone was calm and even, but the way she held herself told him she stood braced for any sudden movement, the lamp a weapon should she need one.

© 2009-2011 Copyright Philippa J. Green All Rights Reserved
Please check out the other fabulous participants by clicking on the banner below. :)

Guest Post by Sandra Sookoo - FRACTURED

I'm delighted to be hosting the lovely Sandra Sookoo on the release of her new scifi romance FRACTURED. Please make her feel welcome by leaving a comment! :) (and of course to be entered into the giveaway too.)

Giving fairy tales new life

Thanks for having me on your blog, Pippa! You're very welcome, Sandra! :)

Anyone who knows me also knows I'm a big fan of fairy tales—old, new and retold.  Fairy tales are one thing every reader has in common.  We've all read them in various versions.  They're comfortable.  They're warm.  We all know going in that we're promised a happily ever after.

Sigh.

Yup, that's why I love them.

But, of course, I couldn't march to the beat of my own drum if I didn't try to put my own spin on the classics.  When Liquid Silver Books announced their Silver Slipper call for reworked fairy tales, my brain went into overdrive thinking about what I could do with that.  I was in heaven.  I'd already had a reimagined fairy tale (which came out last December) but I needed more.  My muse wanted another shot at something else.

So FRACTURED was born.  It's a blending of two popular fairy tales, and no, I'm not going to tell you which ones they are in this post.  You'll have to read the book and see if you can guess!  The great thing about doing fairy tales in the modern day is…well, it's modern with electricity and technology, but I went a step beyond that.  I set FRACTURED in the future, but I didn't stop there.  I wanted the heroine to be something other than the usual fairy tale gals.  I made her…well, I won't ruin it, but let's just say she's purple LOL

And, here's a secret exclusive to this post, the real-life event that set the whole story up was the US discontinuing the space program.  Frankly, I'm still annoyed by that decision.  I guess that's why my hero Rick is too.

Here's the blurb:  What happens when beauty is the beast?

Major Rick Keenan has a near-impossible mission: repair his broken shuttle, rescue a missing crew member and get off an almost-dead planet.  Angry that the U.S. is discontinuing the space program, he wants to find a discovery that will revise the government's position.  Unfortunately, that discovery might just kill him.

Marin is one of the last of her people.  Forced to flee to the planet in her childhood, she's kept herself hidden away in darkness, safe in a castle-like fortress, only coming out when she needs to feed--from human blood.  Convinced she'll never fit in, she shuns all contact, yet taking Rick hostage as a food source chips away at her perceptions.

Though their differences threaten to tear them apart, their humanity binds them together.  In a world where only the strong and determined survive, does a happily ever after stand a chance?

Book video:

And a short excerpt from the beginning of the book:

"Major, I'm under attack!" Static crackled over the com-link, but didn't hide the panic in Private Jenkins' voice. "...requesting back-up!"

Rick Keenan depressed the talk button on his handheld com-link. "Where are you?" He'd made the decision to send the lieutenant out alone. The man had escaped from trickier situations than this before. It shouldn't have been a problem.

Another long period of static broke the response. "...castle... couldn't see... Oh, my God!" The static gave way to a man's terror-filled scream.

Rick's gut clenched. "Be there as soon as we can. Hold on." He glanced around the Redemption's interior. Auxiliary power flooded the cramped space with anemic white light. Hoses hung from a few built-in compartments while the crystal panel gave off intermittent flickers then finally blinked off. We're so screwed.

"Reigen, what do we need to get this bird back in the air?" Rick barked out the question as he strode to the crystal panel. Down a power source, they'd be sitting ducks to any being—dangerous or otherwise—on the planet.

"Without a whole crystal array replacement, we're not going anywhere. Power core's busted, but I think we can get moving, given enough time." The wiry, red-haired man turned to face him, his long face tight with stress. "Core's needed for hyperspace; crystals are needed to get airborne. You choose which you want more. I'll figure out how long we'll survive without both."

"No time to argue. Grab your gear. We're going after Jenkins." Barely waiting for an acknowledgement, Rick strapped a dagger to his right thigh. "If we're lucky, we'll find someone who can help us."

"And if we're not?"

"Then we'll have a fight on our hands."

Available at -

All Romance e-books

Amazon 


I hope you'll pick up a copy of this book.  I had the greatest fun writing it, and besides, the ending is sigh worthy!




  Want to connect with Sandra?  Find her here:

Website 
Believing is Seeing blog 
Twitter 
Facebook 

Giveaway open to international guests:  One random commenter will receive book swag (bookmarks, postcards, etc.) Please be sure to leave your contact info.  Name will be drawn January 16th.

Thanks so much, Sandra! I'm going to put this on my TBR pile, and I absolutely LOVE that cover. :)

The SFR Pitch Tournament Weekend - Results

I'm pleased to say that my new sfr Tethered came in the top three winners of the final heat. No outright winner was declared, but the feedback I got was incredibly helpful and encouraging. I should also add that Keir came high in the top heat. You can see the results