Ninette Swann's Blog, page 2

Memphis Nights Giveaway WINNERS!

Happy Halloween! After a fabulous book tour with great reviews, we've got our winners.



Winning the three copies of the book are:

Veronica Cummings
Andrea Cordova
Jenn Tillery McElroy

Congratulations!

And the $25 Amazon giftcard goes to:

Carra Edelstein Saigh

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Memphis Nights Book Blog Tour

The blog tour for Memphis Nights is just around the corner and chock full of amazing book bloggers and reviewers. Don't forget, there will be a giveaway, so make sure you stop by one of these pages and sign up!



Here's the lineup!



Oct. 15 – A Place That Does Not Exist, SPOTLIGHT / EXCERPT, http://aplacethatdoesnotexist.wordpress.com/

Oct. 16 – Accidentally Mommy, SPOTLIGHT, http://accidentallymommy.blogspot.com/

Oct. 17 – Dakota Rebel, AUTHOR INTERVIEW, http://www.dakotarebel.net/

Oct. 18 – Nina’s Literary Escape, SPOTLIGHT / EXCERPT, http://ninasliteraryescape.blogspot.com



Oct. 22 – The Mind Meanders, SPOTLIGHT, http://www.kristenduvall.com/

Oct. 23 – Busy Mom’s Book Reviews, REVIEW, http://busymomsbookreviews.blogspot.com

Oct. 24 – Book Nerds Anonymous, REVIEW / EXCERPT, http://avasmith.org

Romance Bookworm, REVIEW / SPOTLIGHT, http://romancebookworm.com

Rolo Polo Book Blog, REVIEW, http://rolopolobookblog.com

Oct. 25 – Rose’s Book Blog, REVIEW, http://rosecaceres.blogspot.com

Oct. 26 – A Bookish Escape, REVIEW / SPOTLIGHT, http://www.abookishescape.com



Oct. 28 – Accidentally Mommy, REVIEW, http://accidentallymommy.blogspot.com/

Oct. 29 – Two Tall Tales, AUTHOR INTERVIEW, http://two-tall-tales.blogspot.com

Oct. 30 – Faerie Tale Books, REVIEW, http://faerietalebooks.org

The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath - Book Review

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because Sylvia Plath is an inspiration to one of the best writers I know.

And it was good, it really was.

I wasn't in the right frame of mind to read it, though. I'm a happy, bubbly person, and it's hard for me to understand depression, despite my attempts. I was disappointed that Plath couldn't really explain what changed as she went through the different phases of the book. I didn't expect her to be able to, but I had hoped. An unfair hope, for sure.

Everything seemed very emo, fittingly so, given the author, but not something I could relate to.

Questions I wanted answered went unanswered...the most menial of which being, does she ever regain her ability to write, penmanshipwise?

Some interesting lines:

"Woman haters were like gods: invulnerable and chock full of power. They descended, then they disappeared. You could never catch one."

"It would mean getting up at seven and cooking him eggs and bacon and toast and coffee and dawdling about in my nightgown and curlers after he'd left for work to wash up the dirty plates and make the bed, and then when he came home after a fascinating day, he'd expect a big dinner, and I'd spend the evening washing up even more dirty plates till I feel into bed, utterly exhausted."

I'm glad I read this book, but I'm equally glad it's over.

View all my reviews

COVER REVEAL: Memphis Nights

My newest book, a romantic suspense entitled Memphis Nights is coming out in September, and I've just received the cover!

  Blurb:  Aster Dunn has an axe to grind against the entire world. Just twenty-one, the girl is one of Memphis' top bounty hunters, spurred to action when her parents were brutally murdered by criminals on the run. She lives alone and hopes to die alone, quickly and heroically. The first time police officer Brian Cultry interrupts her catch, she chalks it up to bad luck. The second time, she's not letting him go. She needs all the help she can get because keeping Dick Harbinger off the streets isn't business. It's personal.  When her two-faced friend, Laurette, breaks into her apartment with Dick and sets her on the run, she finds herself knocking on Brian's door—or, more accurately, lying in his bed. Now she has to choose between protecting her friends or saving herself. Police officer Brian Cultry had always put his job first, until he met Aster Dunn. After a night together, he can't get the woman out of his mind, and agrees to help her bring in her next catch…from the other side of the law. Together they learn whom to trust and whom to burn.

Romance Thesaurus - Part IV

The other night, I was having a conversation with my friends, and, yet again, the ridiculous nature of romance euphemisms came up. It's been a while since I've done a Thesaurus post, and while we've covered breasts, penises, nipples, balls, peen heads, butts and their holes, there is still so much ground to cover!

How about...

Crotch area (female)

That sounds super romantic, doesn't it? No? Well, never fear. Romance writers are here to help.

Acceptable terms for this are: mound, core, center and apex between her thighs.

You can also use curls, as in "he reached out to caress her dark curls." Of course, be sure through context, the reader the reader knows you are not referring to her head. Also, don't use the adjective "coarse" with her curls. That's okay for men, not so much for women. Realism isn't big in the romance world. Ask all the men getting blowjobs in their bathtubs.

Notice, I'm not touching the actual vag yet. That's another post. I can't hardly even with the words for that one.

That said, lets move onto...

Crotch area (male)

Here is where coarse curls will work, particular if you have "her eyes travel down his hard abs, trailing the hair that culminated in coarse curls at his base."

Oh, there you go. Base is another word you can use.

Groin is acceptable for men, usually used as "blood pooled in his groin."

Loins is a big one. You'll see a lot of action in his loins.

In either sex, genitalia or genitals is rarely used, though I have seen it here and there.

Hmm, let's do one more...let's make it a good one. How about cum?

Cum

One of the most important things to remember, before we get really into it, is the difference between the verb and the noun.

People are going to come, coming, about to come, etc. Then when they've come, the cum spurts inside her, lands on her chest,  splatters on her body, coats his hand, etc.

You get the idea and see the difference, right? God, these posts are so gross.

Okay, so how do we refer to cum?

Cum works, believe it or not. Perfectly acceptable.

There can be spurts of it, ribbons of it, streams of it, shots of it, ropes of it.

You can refer to it as cream, juices or moisture...but, please. Don't.

A good thing to call it is...it. "She licked it off her lips."

I, personally, would love it if you didn't have your character lap it up in any form. Whether he's lapping up cream from his lover's chest, or lapping up juices from his girlfriend's "core" I cannot even contain my cringe.

We are people, not dogs. A good mantra for a romance writer to keep in mind. Unless, of course, you're writing shape-shifter porn fic. Which is more common than you'd probably think.

Oh, gosh, and one of my most hated terms is weeping. I know some authors who prefer the term, but please, for the love of erotica, don't make your peen weep. That brings to mind...not sexy things. Maybe a doctor's visit is in order.



Okay, I've had enough for now. Stay tuned for the next edition, whenever I regain my stomach to post it!

A Walk in the Snark - Rachel Thompson: Book Review

A Walk in the Snark by Rachel Thompson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'd like to start out by saying I love Rachel Thompson. The woman is a promotion god. She's friendly, she puts her time in, she makes the connections, she works incredibly hard. She's a total inspiration to me. She does what I wish I could.

That being said, her book could have greatly benefited from an editor's eye. I could be wrong, and I'm sure this was her intention (to mix up the chapters as the blog posts they actually are) but to put a book together you need continuity, transition and a reason for the reader to be there.

If I wanted to read a blog, I'd have read hers. It's different. Blog posts have titles, synopses, a social presence. Books...don't.

The heavy stuff needed more than a "Hey, this isn't going to be funny, deal with it" announcement. Because it's not that it wasn't funny. It's that it was out of place, and all of those serious posts flowed together in a way that needed to be presented together.

Other issues I had have nothing to do with her writing, so much as I simply don't have as much in common with her as I assumed I did. For instance, I'm a SAHM / WAHM blogger, and I make drinking jokes all the time. Like, all the time. But half of her martini jokes left me flat for some reason. And Prada. Name brands and I...eh, I don't care about them. And it's mentioned a lot. And all the times she's trying to make a joke about her husband going to the store, I have to stop and think, "But, Rachel! YOU HAVE A HUSBAND WHO GOES TO THE STORE!"

We simply speak two different blogging languages which is so strange since they are so incredibly similar. A few differences, do indeed, make all the difference, I suppose.

In the end, I was really disappointed in this book. It's a bunch of blog posts strung together without consistency about stuff that somehow doesn't apply to me.

I'm still going to read Mancode, and I hear Broken Pieces has a more serious bent, so I might try that one as well. I really want to like this woman's work and I'm determined to find something she's done that I can rate higher.

View all my reviews

Love and Summer by William Trevor

Love and Summer by William Trevor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Love and Summer is a very well-written story, where the dialogue and simple description steal the show. The way in which Trevor sets up issues and slowly reveals their backgrounds and solutions is subtle and understated, lacking in drama, and thus transforming his literature into a deepening look at a time period and personal journey through ideas rather than schlock. It all fits together in a sound package that I quite liked, however, if you are looking for a thrilling page-turner, this book wouldn't be for you.

View all my reviews

Direct Contact Blog Tour Schedule

We're just a week away from the kickoff tour for my newest release, Direct Contact. This book was a bit of a stretch for me, as it's the first time I've delved into science fiction, but I'm quite pleased with the result, and I hope you'll be, too.

This tour is going to be attached to a giveaway, where three people will win a free copy of the book, and one grand-prize winner will get a $25 Amazon gift card! I'd like to thank all the blogs participating for their time and space!




May 13th: Babbling about Books and More

May 14th: After Dark Online

May 15th: Momma Sez and Bibliognome

May 16th: Bibliognome

May 17th: Kristen Duvall, Writer



May 20th: The Book Whisperer

May 21st: N3m3sis42

May 22nd: Accidentally Mommy

May 23rd: Browyn Green's Random Thoughts and Musings

May 24th: A Tiffy Fit's Reading Corner



May 26th (27th): Ex Libris

May 28th: Close Encounters with the Night Kind

May 29th: Elizabeth Hawksworth, Writer

May 30th: Love, Romance, Passion

May 31st: Winners Announced! Here at Patch of Sky.


  
 

So, You Think You Want to Promote, Huh?

Promoting yourself.

It seems like such an easy thing to do. With all these social networking sites, giveaways, support groups, and of course, your own genius, you should have hundreds of followers by next Wednesday if you just work hard enough, right?

Wrong. It has nothing to do with how hard you work. (Okay, a little bit to do with that, meaning, you actually have to post and spend time on your various sites.) And, little known fact, if you actually work too hard, in the wrong ways, you'll actually get yourself banned or suspended from the sites you're trying to grow.

Before we get into specifics, let's get your basic outline ready. (If you don't think you need this...you do. Many, many people forget their original promotion goals as they start down this path.)

So, here's the way to promote yourself, and build your audience organically. Remember, you want them to like you, not be annoyed by your existence.

1: Determine what you are promoting.

This is important. It seems silly. Duh, Ninette, I'm promoting my books / blog / online store / ebay business / whatever. Yes, you are. Don't forget it. Each has a different purpose, and will need to be promoted in different ways toward the end of your journey. Write it down. What are you promoting?

2: Use a multitude of platforms.

Each site has its own unique audience, and there are posts, pictures, and memes that will be wildly popular on some, but fail miserably on others. (Don't worry, we're coming back to this after three).

3: Post a variety of content.

 - Ecards have worked very, very well for me, memes that you've created--please, do not lift memes from other people. You want people to like you. You do not want to fool them into thinking you're something you are not, and plus, don't you feel squidgy taking someone else's work? I bet you're funnier / more genuine / more informative than them anyway.

How to do this? Take a picture of something, or use a free meme generator. Slap the photo into paint, and caption it. Then upload it to your wall...with your branding. The goal is for people to share your content from your page, everyone to love it and come flocking to you. (This does, sometimes, work. Last week I went from 350 likes to 1180 likes on Facebook. From one card.)

Post recipes with amazing pictures (that you took). Or crafts that you can do easily. Or photo-essays, voice-over comics. Post anything you want. Make some longwinded and some short and snappy. Have some lead with links to your blog / content / product, have some lead to your other networking sites to cross your audiences, and have some be the end product all by themselves.

Variety in all forms.

DETOUR: Here is a list of sites you can use to promote and what types of posts work best on each:

Facebook: Ecards, small graphics, macros, status updates (use your status updates as a shareable item. Post funny, off-the-cuff updates. They circulate almost as fast as meme photos), blog links. Remember, people on Facebook are used to clicking on articles that lead them off-site. They will be more likely to click on your blog link than almost any other audience, excepting:

Twitter: Blog links work here, too, but if you want a successful Twitter account, you must play Twitter's game. Use the hashtags. Use them. And not as tags like you would on your blog, and not just for random stuff you are saying. Twitter is a conversation. Think of it as the Starbucks of the 1990s. The coffee shop where everyone is shouting to be heard, but everyone is too hip to shout. Yes. That. Find the trending hashtags, and see if you have anything to say. Say it. Don't link there unless it's relevant. The more intelligent 140-character statements you can make under a hashtag, the more you will be seen. Follow a lot of people whom you find interesting. Tweet at them only when you have something to say. You'll find that once you've built an organic following, people will be tweeting at you and forwarding your links because they are interested in you.

Tumblr: Best for gifs, macros, fandoms, quotes, youtube videos, etc. Tag all your posts so that people looking for women's issues, or romance, or books, or writing, can find it. They'll follow you, no doubt.

Your blog: Derp. Just put your posts here, and link to them where you can. After a certain number of posts, Google search engines pick you up and you'll see an uptick in traffic. Use pictures. That way those looking for images will stumble across your blog, too.

Here are some I don't get, but are a force: Reddit, Stumbleupon, Digg, Instagram.


4: Share content from others freely with attribution.

Other bloggers will take notice of you eventually, and you broaden out your base by sharing original content from others. For instance, on my mommy blog Facebook, I post gardening, cooking and crafting pictures from other people from their page. People on my page appreciate being shown another page they might be interested in, and they appreciate that I'm diversifying my content for them (because I cannot post original crafts, cooking, or gardening. Trust that. I suck at them.)

5: Hop on hot topics:

You will get a lot of organic hits simply by saying something about a topic that is on the top of people's minds at the moment. Don't shy away from these. That's what the Twitter hash tags are for, after all. What is going on right now that people are interested in? Are you interested in it? Write about it. Engage other bloggers and journalists who have written about the same topic. Link to them in your post, debate with them on Facebook, tweet at them.


Remember the point is not to get mass amounts of followers who don't care. The point is to get the followers who do care, who will share--not because you asked them to, but because they find your stuff relevant and interesting--and to find the followers who are group influencers.

This is a series! I'll explain group influencers in one of the next rounds, along with more promotion tips.

Good luck!

Authors in Bloom - Blog Hop

Happily, I'm taking part in a really cute blog hop for the next couple weeks! It's called Authors in Bloom and it's put on by Diana Venetta and A Cozy Reader's Corner.



There will be recipe or gardening tips, plus more than 60 giveaways over the next ten days, and if you visit every author in the hop in that time, you're eligible for the grand prize, which is a Nook or a Kindle! (Your choice)

For me, how about a recipe? How about chocolate cake and strawberry icing?



Okay, cake first: (and they weren't kidding when they called it rich. It is amazing, but if you only like angel food type cakes, it is not for you.)

1 cup cocoa powder 2 cups boiling water
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans.2. In a medium bowl, stir the boiling water into the cocoa until smooth, and set aside.3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and set aside.4. At medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar  for 4 to 5 minutes.5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.6. Turn mixer down to low speed. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.7. Stir in the vanilla, and do not over-beat.8. Pour an equal amount of batter into each of the three prepared pans.9. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. (I used only two layers and had to bake for 45 minutes at least)10 Cool in pans set on racks for 10 minutes. Invert pans on racks, remove pans, and allow layers to cool completely before frosting. (LIES! let them cool for way more than 10 minutes.)


Great. Ready for the frosting? Now my husband first called this 'interesting,' crushing my spirit and soul, but he's since changed his opinion to 'greatest thing ever to go in a mouth.' Seriously.


Ingredients1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened8 ounces cream cheese, from the refrigerator2-1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar3 large strawberries, pureed2-3 tsp. strawberry jampinch of salt, optionalInstructionsCream butter and cream cheese for about 2 minutes.Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add in jam and slowly add pureed strawberry until you get the desired consistency.Chill before frosting
Okay, now that that's over...how about a giveaway? My newest release, Direct Contact is a dystopian romance. Here's the blurb!



Julie Gladwell has a secret. Acting as chief attendant for the New Government’s procreation program, she rears girls to carry the emperor’s heir. Only a few are chosen for the program, called “The Special Ones,” and they are given no names, only numbers. They see no one but authorized personnel until their twenty-first birthday. Which is usually when they die. Direct contact is forbidden. As she cares for these girls, no one ever suspects who she actually is.


Scientist Malcolm Odin hated his job and hated himself. Put in charge of the entire human engineering program, the experiments and suffering he witnessed made him sick. Still, it paid the bills and kept him living comfortably in Terrecina. He knew of far too many who’d fallen through the cracks, living on the earth below. The Level People, they were called.  When he confides his unease to Julie, she lets him in on her secret and into her heart. What starts as fancy ends in revolution, but how will they choose between their fellow man and each other?  
a Rafflecopter giveaway


And last but not least, the rest of the stops on the tour can be found right here!

Happy hopping and happy spring!