J. Kenner's Blog, page 101
January 4, 2013
Television in the background: Join me at Delighted Reader, learn what I’m re-watching and maybe snag a copy of Release Me!
I’m over at Delighted Reader for today’s stop on the Release Me blog tour! I can’t write with music or the television on, but I can edit with background noise. Find out my favorite shows to edit by, especially late at night! And share your favorites in the comments for a chance to win a copy of Release Me.
Release Me in the “Top 13 to Read in 2013″
Thanks to WFAA in Dallas/Ft. Worth and Fresh Fiction for featuring Release Me as one of the Top 13 books to Read in 2013! Be sure to follow the link to hear all about it and get a peek at all the books on the list!
And I think it is wonderful that a television station does a regular segment featuring books! If you agree, please share this post so that WFAA knows that readers appreciate it and the segment continues!
3-2-1 Contact! Or, vetting your website to reach your audience!
I’m blog touring today, and I’m thrilled to have author (and martial arts instructor…cool!) Stephen L. Brayton guest blogging today, and talking about making contact with readers through social media.
We all understand, or should understand, how social networking is essential to marketing and eventually, producing sales. We also understand the problem of spam, Internet viruses and other harmful software, and identity theft. Let me address these issues in reverse order.
Everybody knows about Facebook, Twitter, and many other social networking or community sites. Most of these places have privacy settings. You are allowed to show the public exactly what you want to show. If you don’t feel like giving your birth date, then don’t. If you don’t want to even add a picture, you aren’t required. Especially for a place such as Facebook, You can provide as little information about yourself as you desire. Facebook gives the option of not allowing any stranger to view your information unless that person is accepted as a friend.
This same information holds true for your personal website or blog. You may give as much or as little information as you are comfortable giving. I am a member of several .ning sites and they have many options when it comes to posting blogs. There’s one option that allows only the poster to see the blog, which doesn’t make much sense unless you just want to create an online journal or diary. (Again, this doesn’t make too much sense because these are social networking sites.) You can allow anybody or nobody to comment on your blog. And of course, we’ve all seen some of the hoops we have to jump through in order to comment on some blogs, including discovering HOW to comment.
I understand the need to keep personal information private. I’m certainly not advocating giving out your social security number, the name of your bank, and the whereabouts of your children at any given time. I think responsible parents should monitor all activity your children have on the Internet. If they want to have a diary, fine, buy them one. You can still purchase diaries and journals with actual paper pages. I know, I bought one for my niece last Christmas. I mean monitor ALL Internet activity. This includes Facebook and MySpace friends if they are allowed those pages. It includes knowing about and monitoring postings, message public and private, and any presence in chat room. Your child does not have but very limited privacy when living under your roof. Look at it this way: You wouldn’t allow your child to walk up to a stranger on the street corner and start talking about personal things. It is no different than the people in these chat rooms. I know, I’ve been to many chat rooms and talked with strangers. Let me tell you, they are not shy and can be very devious.
However…
If you are an author with a website and an active blog, you DO want to be seen and interacted with. You need to have ways for the public to contact you in regards to various matters. How to buy your book. How to inquire about interviews or guest blogging. How to inquire about book reviews.
If you do not want people phoning you, then don’t list your phone number. If you want to only have people email you list the address. You can even list the address in broken form so it’s not as easy for spammers to send their crap. What I mean by broken form is this.
My email address is: slb@mahaska.org. Go ahead, contact me. I love email. If my system doesn’t recognize you, then it’ll throw you over to a spam file website where I regularly check and dispose of the garbage. If you end up there, chances are I’ll recognize you and give you an ‘okay’ with the system. A broken form listing might be: slb (at) mahaska (dot) org. I’ve seen plenty of sites with this type of listing and it’s fine.
If you are a book reviewer or a blogger who accepts interviews or guest posts, do your public a huge favor and make it easy for them to contact you. Don’t bury your email in an obscure location where people have to wade through the muck to find it. If you have an ABOUT section or a CONTACT page on your website/blog, then either of those would be an excellent place to list your contact information. Make it prominent. We’ve all seen cluttered websites and blogs. There is too much information coming at you either with advertising or other material. Sometimes it’s very difficult to enjoy the site and its offerings. If it is a site you’d like to connect with, then finding the contact information might be difficult.
What I’m saying is, if you don’t want people to contact you, that is your prerogative. But if you are accepting reviews or interviews, don’t make the contact process difficult. Recently I’ve run into several sites where I’ve given up because even though it is a pretty cool place to visit, and the owners accept interviews / guest bloggers / book reviews, I couldn’t find contact information.
I attended a seminar regarding martial arts websites. My website has a page for my taekwondo club. I came back from the seminar and immediately changed the format of the page. No, currently I am unable to do all that I want to do with the page, but you will notice my phone number and email address are listed at the top of the page without the reader needing to scroll down. My website’s contact page lists my email in large bold letters. My blog and review blog list my contact information either on the home page or the ABOUT section.
This post is not about visiting my sites (although if you would, I’d be grateful. Sorry for the BSP). This is about making sure YOUR sites are as user friendly as possible. This is about making sure people can reach you if you so desire.
It is a fast-paced Internet and people lose interest quickly. If they don’t see what they’re looking for within a reasonable amount of time (and that time varies from person to person), they’ll move on and you lose.
Stephen is a Fifth Degree Black Belt instructor in the American Taekwondo Association. He started martial arts training in 1991, earned his black belt in 1993, and gained my instructor certification in 1995. His Mallory Petersen series features a private detective who is also a martial artist!
JK here again! I think Stephen is right on. So many times I’ve been frustrated by an inability to find simple contact info on a website that obviously welcomes contact!
How about it, folks? Is your website up to snuff (for that matter, is mine?). Does this grip resonate with you?
January 3, 2013
Release Me is still number 3 bestseller-and right next to one of my favorite books!
I absolutely loved Gone Girl, so how excited am I to see that Release Me is still number 3 on the Nook Bestseller list … and right next to that awesome read? (Answer: super excited!)
Yes, the screenshot is for my digital scrapbook. I’m just that geeky!
Thanks again to everyone who’s bought it, read it, spread the word about it. Y’all totally rock!
You can find Release Me at your favorite retailers here:
Random House
Amazon (print)
Amazon (kindle)
Amazon United Kingdom
Barnes and Noble (print or Nook)
Books-A-Million
Kobo
iBooks
Indie Bound
January 2, 2013
New Year Musings-and two chances to snag Release Me!
Follow the hop for the chance to win lots of great prizes including a copy of Release Me!
Come join me on the Release Me blog tour!
You can learn about my not-too-terribly ambitious New Year’s Resolutions over at Hanging With Bells … and check out the interview with me about Release Me and my writing live in general at Book Lovers Inc!
Both stops on the tour offer a chance to win a copy of Release Me!
P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is free at most retailers for just a little bit longer!)
P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!
XXOO
--J.K.
New hair, new numbers!
Just got home from getting my hair done and I see that Release Me is number THREE for the Nook (and 87 overall at B&N) and 166 for the Kindle!!! So which is better? The numbers or the new highlights for my hair? (um, I’m gonna go with the numbers!!!!!)
Huge thanks to everyone who bought the book, reviewed the book, told a friend about the book or otherwise helped spread the word. I appreciate it!
Looking for buy links? Here are links to a variety of retailers!
Hump Day Books: New or Notable
Looking for a good read to beat t
he mid-week doldrums? I’m starting a new weekly feature to showcase new or notable books!
Be sure to check out these releases!
The Single Daddy Club: Derrick, Book 1
By Donna Fasano
Learn more here!
Lucky Love
By Nicola Marsh! Just $2.99! You can learn more at here!
RULES OF THE GAME
By Elaine Raco Chase! New price! $1.99 for an erotic romantic comedy!
Learn more and find other retailers here
Agents Under Fire (Guardian Agent, Avenging Agent, Warrior Agent)
Only 99 cents for three romantic suspense novels by Dana Marton! Learn more here!
Two related books at great prices! Click the images to go to Amazon, or learn more and find other retailers at Julie Ortolon’s site here! 
To Iraq And Back
Moving non-fiction account by a soldier and mom deployed to Iraq
Learn more at Jessica Scott’s home page! 
Warrior Rogue (The Drift Lords Series) New Release by Nancy J. Cohen! Learn more here!
Release Me: A Novel
How can I not mention my own new release, Release Me? You can read more here!
You can find all the featured Hump Day Books at this page of my Amazon Store!
January 1, 2013
Check out my USA Today Interview!
I have the very cool distinction of being the very first interview for USA Today’s HEA column, and I’m talking about Release Me!
Be sure to pop by and read the interview. I chat about moving away from writing paranormal, who has inspired me as a writer, being marketed as “for fans of Fifty Shades and the Crossfire books” and just what the title “Release Me” refers to anyway.
The interview was a lot of fun, and I hope you have the chance to pop by and take a peek!
Got questions or comments? Just let me know and I’ll answer them here!
Just a few quick notes: I'm blog-touring for the rest of the month and early January! Come by and say hi! My tour schedule is here!
And did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is free at most retailers for the rest of the year!)
And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!
XXOO
--J.K.
Thank you Barnes & Noble Readers!
I’m so excited! Release Me is in the top 100 of Barnes & Noble books (at 91!) … and it’s number SEVEN on the Nook list!
Needless to say, I’m thrilled! Thanks to everyone who’s purchased the book and helped to spread the word about the book.
It is much appreciated!
