Sandy Appleyard's Blog, page 8

Do KDP Free Days Lose Their Zest?

Deciding whether to enroll in Kindle Direct Publishing, or KDP Select or not has often been a debate among indie authors. Personally I’ve tried placing my books on other platforms such as Kobo and Smashwords, which netted me very little, so I decided for the time being to stick with KDP Select.

One of the benefits of KDP Select, of course, is the option of offering your book for free. Again, the argument is whether or not giving your book away will actually increase your sales after the promot...

Interview with Romance Author Jan Romes

Having read several of Jan Romes‘s romance novels, I just couldn’t wait to ask her some questions that have been burning in my head for the longest time!

If you’re unfamiliar with Jan, she wrote such great titles as Stella in Stillettos, The Christmas Contract, Married to Maggie, and Three Days with Molly.

Join me in picking Jan’s brain about her successful writing career!

First, we’ll ask the expert: what do you think makes a good story?

Awesome question, Sandy. In my humble opinion, it’s a tie...

New Program for Book Reviews

I understand how hard it is to get book reviews…

In my pursuit to get book reviews I soon discovered that the best way to do it was to form some kind of team.

Enter my new website called Bestsellerlineup.com.

The idea behind this site is to offer a program for authors who are willing to purchase books, review them and post an Amazon verified review for the author. The key point being that we all take turns in this opportunity. So all members will get their turn to have their book purchased and g...

Book Review-Gone Girl

Gone Girl goes far and beyond the limits, pushing the envelope in exploring the remote possibilities of what can happen in a very messed up marriage.

Amy Elliott comes off as a girl who is viewed as a ‘Tomboy’. She’s a vulgar, down to earth, tell it like it is without sugar-coating a word type girl. Nick Dunne is a handsome, semi-hard-working, likes to hang with the guys, mostly without the wife kind of guy. Who just happens to be best friends with his twin sister, Margo or ‘Go’.

The first sect...

Interview with the Creator of Amber and Blue

Today I have the privilege of speaking with (Karen) K.R. Rowe, author of the Amber and Blue series. Being a fan of romantic suspense myself, I have read and reviewed the first book, and I’ll use an excerpt from my review to give the audience a little background.

“K. R. Rowe does an amazing job weaving two stories together in this romantic mystery. Amber and Blue begins with some back story, setting the stage for the mystery portion of the novel. Afterward, we are knee deep in an enthralling ro...

Interview with Romance Author Carol Rose

Carol Rose is an award winning author of many contemporary romance titles and is my guest today! Here are some questions I had for her after reading her novel ‘Read All About It’ (review forthcoming)!

How do you come up with so many titles about romance? What is your inspiration?

I’m sometimes title-impaired and rely on my wonderful critique partners for titles. Inspiration, however, can strike me from all kinds of places. It’s crazy. Books, movies, television shows and random life moments hav...

Book Review-Read All About It

In this sizzling contemporary romance, Read All About It, Lindsey is a newspaper reporter hell bent on making the headlines with a terrific story on dating. She comes up with an idea that rattles a few feathers; including her boss’s (whom she shared a heated kiss with not long before). Her boss, Jack, however, is also hell bent….on shaking Her Royal Hotness, Lindsey, up.

The young reporter wants to date three willing men hand-picked from a series of interview questions formulated by none other...

I’ll Never Look at Goldfish the Same Again

Author John T. Sonne puts a horrifying spin on an innocent childhood pet that will leave you chilled to the core in his novella Bubbles.

In a little town where one neighbour smokes pot while hanging solar panels on his roof, and another conducts sex acts akin to Fifty Shades of Grey, a little goldfish named Bubbles swims, seemingly innocent in a pond.

Unbeknownst to said neighbours, with each passing remnant of food, the fish gains strength and mutates, eventually growing into a bloodthirsty an...

The Story Behind Sugar’s Song, Dance and Her Night

The Sugar series was written by the wonderfully talented author Katie Mettner. Not only did I read and review all three books in the series, but I’ve also been given the opportunity to interview her with questions pertaining to the heartfelt stories. Without giving too much away, I wanted to give the audience a bit of background on the story.

I’ll use an excerpt from my review of ‘Sugar’s Dance’ before getting into the interview.

“Tula DuBois, or Sugar, is an amputee. In a tragic car accident,...

The Real Reason Why Writers Miss Deadlines-Pt.1

We can come up with glamorous excuses: “I was off at some fancy writer’s conference.”, “My editor insisted we vacation in the Keys.”, or better, “My agent said my titles are doing so well he pushed my deadline back.”….sigh….don’t we all wish?

The real reason why writers miss deadlines is more like this:

This is Tigsey the cat on author A.J. Waines’s lap, getting between herself and the keyboard! What a sweetie! Good luck getting work done!

Alison writes psychological thrillers. The Evil Beneath...