Tricia Drammeh's Blog, page 24
April 1, 2015
Clash of Legends: Book Review
The 7th book in Joleene Naylor’s Amaranthine series is finally here. This is easily one of the best vampire series I’ve ever read. If you love old-school vampires, you’ve got to try these books!
Originally posted on Authors to Watch:
Clash of Legends
(Amaranthine Book 7)
By Joleene Naylor
The explosive seventh installment in the Amaranthine series brings blood, ruin, despair, and hope, for even in the darkest night there is still a moon.
After the battle in Indonesia. Katelina wakes in Samael’s domain. Though her memories are tattered, she knows someone is missing: Jorick.
Her vampire lover gathers an army to save her from the ancient, but his master Malick interferes. For five hundred years Malick has manipulated and ruined Jorick’s life. When he leaves Katelina broken and bleeding in the bowels of his oasis, it’s the final straw.
While Malick sets up his glorious war with a living legend, Jorick plans the ultimate taboo: to kill his master. He’s tried before and failed. Will this be different, or will he and Katelina be crushed in the carnage of a greater battle, between two whose blood goes back millennia?
View original 304 more words
March 30, 2015
The short life and unlamented downfall of *Clean Reader* leads to musings on the reader-author relationship
I have to share this excellent and thought-provoking article about the reader/author relationship. Readers with an overblown sense of entitlement have taken “the customer is always right” to a new level.
Originally posted on Zen and the art of tightrope walking:
The short life and unlamented downfall of Clean Reader leads to musings on the reader-author relationship
Blink and you might have missed the kerfuffle. The so-called Clean Reader app offered the chance to read without sullying your precious mind with rude words and profanity by covering them with an alternative deemed acceptable by the app’s creators. However, the backlash from authors including Joanna Harris meant that very rapidly the company was obliged to remove all books from its catalogue. The app seems to still exist (so perhaps my blog headline might be misleading) but I shall watch with interest the developments. I have a feeling we are not done with Clean Reader yet. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/27/clean-reader-books-app-censorship-victory-authors-celebrate
There were some excellent explorations about what the existence of such an app means, the best of which was here:
A conversation on Twitter set me to thinking about the relationship between reader and author…
View original 527 more words
And the winner is…
Last week, I posted about a special giveaway HERE. Today, I’m pleased to announce the winner of a free ebook copy of That Last Summer by Susan M. Toy is…
Christy Birmingham! Christy is one of my favorite bloggers and poets. You can check out her blogs here: Poetic Parfait and When Women Inspire
Congratulations, Christy! Please email me at tricia@triciadrammeh.com to claim your prize.
Tagged: christy birmingham, giveaway, susan m toy, that last summer
March 24, 2015
When you can’t be everywhere
As authors, we often hear about the importance of social media. We’re supposed to establish a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tsu, Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit, and other sites I probably have never heard of. Overwhelmed yet? I am. The idea of being in all these places is daunting, especially if you’re new to social media and are still trying to find your way around.
In addition to being told we need to have a profile set up on all the platforms listed above, we’re also told we’re supposed to have a snazzy website. We’re instructed to blog X number of times every week and to engage with other bloggers. We have to Tweet X number of times per day, but not too many Tweets about our books, or we’ll run the risk of being labeled “spammers.” YA authors are encouraged to be active on Wattpad. And in addition to all the social media sites, we’re also told we need to set up profiles (and engage) on reader-oriented sites such as Goodreads and Library Thing. Oh, and while we’re at it, there are also a whole host of writer-oriented sites and author databases we need to visit so we can register our author profiles.
And, as if all this Tweeting, blogging, Pinning, and profiling isn’t enough? We have to do it well. We can’t just set up a profile and abandon it, right? No! We have to be everywhere, all the time, because if we don’t do it perfectly, no one will know we exist and they won’t buy our books!!!
The idea of doing all these things every single day is exhausting. I’ve seen a few authors who seem to juggle all this social media stuff, but I can’t do it. Not if I want to pay my bills, feed my kids, and still have time to write.
So what is an author to do?
If we can’t be everywhere at once (and let’s face it, few of us can), we need to pick a place to be.
An author platform is a cool thing to have. I think every author needs SOME sort of author platform. In my humble opinion, here are the places we need to be and the stuff we should have.
A website/blog – If a reader (or agent or publisher) Googles you, they should be able to find all your stuff in one place – books, social media links, blog. Everything they need to know about you, including how to contact you, should be in this one, easy-to-access place. Your website doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive, but if you’re a published author, you should have something set up.
An Amazon Author page – This is really important. Amazon doesn’t link all your books together under your name. You have to do this on your own. To do so, you need to register with Author Central. You’ll add your bio, author picture, and “claim” your books. You can also link up your blog and Twitter feed, if you choose to do so. Once your Amazon Author page is set up, you don’t need to revisit it unless you’ve published a new book or changed your bio. Trust me – whatever hassle you endure setting up your author page is worth it.
A Goodreads profile – For me, becoming a “Goodreads Author” was not the easiest process. Your Goodreads author profile isn’t nearly as important as setting up your Amazon Author page, but it’s still worth doing. Once you’ve accomplished this task, you don’t ever need to return to Goodreads again. Not unless you have to change your profile. Some authors use Goodreads to do giveaways, join review groups, etc, but you don’t need to do this if you don’t want to. Just be sure to set up your page. You’ll be glad you did.
A Twitter account and/or Facebook page – Ideally, you’ll have both, but you don’t have to. Heck, you don’t have to do any of this stuff, but it’s a good idea. Readers will expect to be able to connect with you somewhere in cyber space. Facebook and Twitter are excellent places to connect with other authors and make some friends. If you’re too overwhelmed to do both, I’d recommend Facebook, but that’s just my personal preference.
In my opinion, everything else is cool, but optional. I’m signed up and registered in lots of places, and I’ll be darned if I can remember where. On Google+, Pinterest, and Tumblr, my attendance is sporadic. On some of the other sites, I’ve forgotten my password because I haven’t been there in so long.
I signed up for Authorsdb several months ago. I didn’t go back to the site until recently, and since I hadn’t been there for so long, all my information was outdated. Really outdated. I know there are other sites I’ve signed up for that are probably even more outdated than this one, but I can’t remember where.
Personally, I think it’s better to have no profile on a site than an outdated one. Don’t sign up for more sites than you can keep up with. If you really, really, really don’t want a Twitter account, don’t get one! If you don’t want to be on Pinterest, don’t do it.
You can’t be everywhere, but be somewhere. It’s up to you where you want to be.
Tagged: amazon, amazon author page, author platform, author profile, author website, facebook, social media, social media for authors, twitter 
March 23, 2015
That Last Summer Giveaway
Last week, That Last Summer by Susan M. Toy was given the Five Star Treatment, and rightfully so. This novella is a beautifully written coming of age story. I had the pleasure of reading it a few months back, and as you can probably guess, I rated it five stars.
I’m happy to report I won a copy of That Last Summer in a giveaway offered on the Five Star Treatment post! Since I’ve already read and reviewed the book, Susan asked me if I’d like to give my copy to one of my readers.
So, here’s the deal: Leave a comment on this post, and your name will be entered into a drawing to receive a free ebook copy of That Last Summer. I will announce the winner one week from today.
Good luck, everyone, and happy reading!
(To find out more about That Last Summer, and to read my review of the book, please click HERE.)
Tagged: coming of age story, five star treatment, giveaway, novella, susan m toy, that last summer
March 22, 2015
Don’t hit that button…
I’ve been working on a blog post off and on for hours. Not this one, but a different one. A really rambling, ranting one that seemed like a good idea when I started it, but turned out not to be such a great idea after all. Actually, the concept behind the blog post isn’t such a bad idea – it’s my delivery that needs some work. I’ll probably rewrite my post later when my mind is more settled.
As a blogger, I feel pressured to blog more than once a week. After multiple reblogs, I feel like I should post something original. Which led to the aforementioned rambling post I almost published.
Thank goodness I didn’t.
Rambling rants are never a good idea, even if they might seem to be at the time. It’s great to be fired up and passionate about a topic. Sometimes that passion leads to a great blog post. Sometimes it leads to something that’s argumentative. Other times (like in the case of my rambling post), it leads to something that is disjointed, nonsensical, and borderline snotty.
I’ve seen authors almost ruin their careers over a blog post. I can think of at least two authors who ended up shutting down their entire blog and pulling their books off Amazon all because of a blog post that probably seemed like a good idea when they posted it, but ended up being a complete disaster.
If you’re feeling fired up, it might be a good idea to cool down before you hit that “publish” button. Sarcastic or ranting posts don’t always come across the way we intend. A bad post can alienate readers. It can destroy our online presence.
So, before you hit the publish button, re-read your post. Set it aside for a day or two. Do you still want to post it? Does it need a little tweaking? Does your online attitude need a slight adjustment before you share that post with the world?
Blog carefully, everyone. And have a great week!
Tagged: authors, blogging, blogging advice, rambling, ranting, rants, writers
March 19, 2015
Bare Earth
Calling all poetry lovers. Jane Dougherty’s blog is a treasure trove of poetry, short stories, and excerpts from her novels. If you haven’t subscribed to her blog, it’s an absolute must.
Originally posted on Jane Dougherty Writes:
Painting by Nikolai Astrup
Bare earth,
not so bare,
bespecked with green life.
Sprouts shooting skyward,
unfolding to catch the speckled rain
spit-spatting on last years leaves.
Green grows,
unfolds and unfurls
beneath a cloud-flecked sky,
dappled light and shade.
No pixie dust scattered,
no sleight of hand,
wind, rain and the glorious sun
coax and shape,
tossing their magic in the damp breeze,
and suddenly,
the not so bare earth
is resplendent
in spring jewels.
…Authors… just a wee WURD about getting negative reviews…
Wise advice from Seumas Gallacher.
Originally posted on Seumas Gallacher:
…if yeez are like me, fellow Lads and Lassies of Blog Land, yeez’ll remember well the first ever ‘bad’ review for any of yer masterpieces… the pink cloud of having finished the first novel was still my principal means of transportation when the thunderbolt struck… a flurry of ‘nice’ supportive reviews had already landed on the Great God Amazon pages… there I was, this ol’ Jurassic, now a Proper Published Scribbler, getting real reviews from real people… the universe was beautifully smudgy round the edges, like when the dentist gives you a tad too much of the laughing gas… then in came the party-spoiler with a stab to the literary heart… ouch!…and ouch! again… a thousand times ouch!…
…the initial reaction of course, is hurt… followed by a modicum of resentment… oh. alright, a ton of resentment, bordering on outright hatred… but, sensibility settled in… the guy had…
View original 227 more words
March 17, 2015
A big thank-you to Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog
So many authors and bloggers owe Chris the Story Reading Ape bunches of bananas of gratitude. Not only does he introduce us to interesting and informative new blogs, he also gives many blogs a boost. Thank you, Chris, for everything you do. And thank you, Julie, for this excellent tribute to the Story Reading Ape.
Originally posted on Julie Lawford:
Every time my blog goes bonkers, it’s because Chris Graham over at The Story Reading Ape’s Blog, h as re-blogged one of my posts. I thought it was time I said thank you.
I’d been at it all day
on Sunday, essentially trying to write a blog post but in reality, procrastinating like mad. Eventually the post emerged, a quirky list of… yes… what I’d been doing instead of writing a blog post. I uploaded said musings, shut down my PC and came down to the kitchen to make my tea.
As I messed around with ingredients – salmon baked in a tinfoil parcel, watercress sauce, broccoli and rice, since you ask – I could hear in the next room, my iPad dinging merrily away as my WordPress App announced a succession of readers liking or commenting on my blog. That’s nice, I thought. I have to say, it…
View original 446 more words
Guest Post: Multi-touch iBooks and ‘The Sword of Air’ by R.J. Madigan
This is some fascinating information for authors. R.J. Madigan talks about iBooks. If you don’t know what an iBook is, read on…
Originally posted on Books: Publishing, Reading, Writing:
I was so intrigued by R.J. Madigan’s experimentation with new innovations in iBook formatting that I requested a Guest Post about the subject for my own blog as I believe this will be of interest to many of my readers, as well.
The Sword of Air – Punk publishing at it’s best, pushing the medium
to create something new
Visibility is the indie author’s enemy and with new titles being published every day it is getting harder and harder to stand out in such a crowded market place. This is why I decided to publish my first Young Adult Fantasy novel The Sword of Air as an iBook. With world-building creative options like music HD video, 3D modelling and photography to colour my story I was able to create a book unlike anything else on the market.
View the book trailer here.
Sales of printed books are falling every…
View original 1,349 more words
