Jen Gentry's Blog: JenGentrysBooks.com, page 2

TITLE: A Life of Gratitude: Free Kindle Book & Giveaw...

TITLE: A Life of Gratitude: Free Kindle Book & Giveaway POST HTML:

By Shelley Hitz

About the Book:A Life of Gratitude: How to Overcome Self-Pity and Negativity During a season of transition in my life, I found myself overwhelmed with negative emotions like self-pity and a complaining spirit. It was as if a dark cloud had descended over me. I prayed and asked God for wisdom on how to overcome these negative emotions. As I did, I sensed Him leading me to do a 21 day gratitude challenge. Over the course of the 21 days, God began to change me as I spent intentional time being grateful for all I had been given. I did this through writing in my journal each day and also sending a hand-written thank you note to someone different each day. This also led me to writing out 21 prayers of gratitude and compiling 21 stories of gratitude. I want to share what I learned with you in the pages of this book which includes: 21 Days of Gratitude Challenge 21 Prayers of Gratitude 21 Stories of GratitudeWhat to Expect On Each Day: Read my personal stories, struggles and reflections. Read one scripture and one quote about gratitude. Apply one personal application step from the challenge. Read one prayer of gratitude Read one story of gratitudeGet Accountability and Encouragement Along with the 21 day challenge, I also started a private Facebook group to provide accountability and encouragement for myself but also for others who decide to join me in the challenge. You will get access to this group as well. It has been amazing to see God at work in each of our lives. Will you join me on this journey to gratitude?  

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FREE on Kindle 2/27/13 & 2/28/13)

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  Shelley Hitz Shelley Hitz is an award-winning and international best-selling author. Her openness and vulnerability as she shares her own story of hope and healing through her books will inspire and encourage you. Shelley has been ministering alongside her husband, CJ, since 1998. They currently travel and speak to teens and adults around the country. Shelley's main passion is to share God's truth and the freedom in Christ she has found with others. She does this through her books, websites and speaking engagements. Follow Shelley Hitz Website | Facebook | TwitterEnter to Win a Paperback Copy and Coffee!Enter below to enter a paperback copy of "A Life of Gratitude" and a $5 Starbucks gift card, sponsored by author Shelley Hitz! a Rafflecopter giveaway   Share this FREE book and giveaway with your friends!

Hello all visiting Bloggers. Please join me in welcoming ...

Hello all visiting Bloggers. Please join me in welcoming my first guest blogger Karen Baney. Karen is a bestselling Christian author and today she is sharing with us valuable information for all authors on Book Sales Cycles. CLAP CLAP CLAP. Take it away Karen......

Book Sales CyclesBy Karen BaneyFinding real, publicly av...

Book Sales CyclesBy Karen BaneyFinding real, publicly available statistics about the seasonality of book sales is nearly impossible.  But, I believe this is a very important topic to discuss, especially for new authors who are not familiar with the ups and downs they will experience over the coming months and years.According to Anthony Wessel, a book industry veteran, book sales have tended to be flat on a week-to-week basis for the past 40 years.  However, there are some seasonal boosts, like around the holidays.(1)  I’ve witnessed this trend to some extent over the past two and a half years. Upward Trends In many of the indie author communities I’m involved in, there definitely seem to be other times where authors gripe more about slow sales and give praise for great sales.  In general, August and September seem to be better months, starting an overall upward trend for the next several months leading into the holiday season which peaks in January. Downward Trends February begins the slow slide downward bottoming out in July. Many authors have said that July is traditionally their worst month, which matches my sales reports for 2011 and 2012.  Best Sales Month Whereas, historically December is the best month.  This trend seems to have changed since 2010 as more eReaders are given as gifts for the holidays and for two years in a row, Kindles were Amazon’s top sellers during the holiday season.(2)  For me, January was my best month in 2012 and 2013, following a strong December.  I think many other authors see high sales in January for this same reason. Responding to the Trends What are the take-a-ways?  Be prepared for slow sales in the dog days of summer (June & July).  Realize that competition is fiercer during these months.  Consider ramping up paid advertising to find new readers, so they purchase your books instead of another author’s.Another good time for a solid marketing campaign is the last week of December and first two weeks of January.  Make sure those new eReaders get filled with your books.Throughout the rest of the year, persistence is critical.  Keep up with your routine marketing efforts like social media advertising, guest blog posts, author interviews, and periodic paid advertising.  Vary your marketing so you are constantly looking for new readers. Sales Tracking is Critical If you are not already doing so, start tracking your sales on a monthly basis.  Keep each year’s reports on a different tab on an Excel spreadsheet.  Then have a summary sheet so you can compare monthly totals side by side year over year.  By tracking your sales you can identify seasonal sales trends as well as poor performing titles or retailers.Certain things, like KDP Select or new releases, can skew your numbers.  For example, in January 2012, I jumped on the KDP Select bandwagon.  That month remains my best overall month, but it was largely due to a loop hole in Amazon’s algorithm where free books were given equal weight as sold books.  That loop hole was closed in March 2012 and sales stabilized after that.  Despite the wild success of January 2012, when I still had high sales in January 2013 (without KDP Select), I was more willing to identify that as an overall trend. Your Thoughts? We invite you to take a minute to weigh in.  Have you observed similar trends in your sales?  Or have you noticed something entirely different?  Were there extenuating circumstances that contributed to a particularly good month?  Have you tried anything that was successful to help boost sales in slow months during the summer time?Take a minute to share your thoughts below.
Learn more about pricing, distribution, and the other keys to book marketing success in Karen’s new book for authors, 10 Keys to eBook Marketing Success.  Now available on Amazon .
Best-selling self-published author, Karen Baney, enjoys sharing information to help authors learn about the Business of Writing.  She holds a Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University and has worked in various business related career fields for the past 20 years.  She writes Christian Historical Fiction and Contemporary Romance novels.  To learn more about her novels visit her website:  karenbaney.com .  Authors can find tips and information on self-publishing and marketing at:  www.myauthorservices.com .
Connect with Karen on Twitter , Facebook , and Google+ .
Sources:(1) http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/10/08/the-cycles-of-book-sales/(2) http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/55721-amazon-e-book-sales-soared-print-crawled.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=3069f6c3f6-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xn5fE...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xn5fE5SqTc

AN INTERVIEW WITH JEN GENTRY the author of the #1 ...

AN INTERVIEW WITH JEN GENTRY the author of  the #1 bestseller THE GIFT OF LIGHT


Interview Questions:
Tell us a bit about your book and where it’s available.‘The Gift of Light’ is the first novel in The Gifts series. This book introduces the main character in the series Emily Bell as a young girl and follows her into adulthood. Emily moves to Hook Pond in the Hamptons to live with her Aunt Gemma. Aunt Gemma is a deaf mute with a special gift. See can see angels and demons. As Emily grows she learns that she has this gift as well. This first book also introduces us to Emily’s best friend Marta Sims and her tormentor Bradley Steel. Marta and Bradley clash until Bradley goes through a profoundly life changing experience when he accepts Jesus into his heart. Together Marta and Bradley face their worst nightmare. Bradley’s father is a US Senator who is running for President and he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals even if it means murdering his own family. Using Emily’s prayers the angels of Hook Pond gather for the battle to save Marta and Bradley from the Senator and the evil demons that surround him. The book is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as a paperback and it is available as an ebook on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, Kobo, Deisel, and just about any other ebook outlet. What was the inspiration for your book?The book is very much inspired by Frank Peretti’s books This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. I read both of these books about fifteen years ago and they changed my whole perspective on the spiritual aspects of Christianity.

What was your aim for this book? What did you want readers to think and feel when reading it?My aim for this book was to present an alternative hero to our young adults, who are very much into Vampires, Zombies, Witches and the like. I want people to know that our God is a supernatural God and that Jesus is alive and well as he lives inside of those that love him. He is the ultimate hero.

If your book was going to be made into a film, who would you cast?Emily Bell---Emma StoneGemma Bell---Naomi JuddMarta Sims---Selena GomezBradley Steel---Zach EfronLiam---Chris HemsworthAzelius---Jackson Rathbone

Who would provide the soundtrack to your book?Third Day, Casting Crowns, Newsboys, Natalie Grant

What is/would be the tagline for your book? Christian Fantasy Fiction, Religious Fantasy

Do you have any other books currently available?Not yet, but the sequel ‘The Gift of Knowledge’ will be out by Spring of this year. It’s coming very soon.Do you have a favorite character from your current book?
Without a doubt my favorite character in The Gift of Light is Bradley. His life took turns in this book that even I did not see coming. His character and personality just took over and gave him clarity and substance. He turns out to be a great man of God. A man after my own heart.

What are you reading at the moment?
I just finished reading ‘Radhika’s Story’ by Sharon Hendry. It is a real look at the current sex slave and human trafficking industry that thrives in India. This book really opened my eyes and I highly recommend it.

So much has happened to me since I opened this blog site ...

So much has happened to me since I opened this blog site that I have not been able to really  work on building. The most exciting thing to happen is that I got a publisher for my book. The Gift of Light is now published by Omega Publications. Here is the link for the Paperback and Kindle editions. It is also up on Smashwords. I could use some feedback so check out the link and let me know what you think.

http://tinyurl.com/chgsjdq


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OK I Really need to get busy a get some followers. So tom...

OK I Really need to get busy a get some followers. So tomorrow is my birthday and I would consider it a great birthday present if you would follow me. I am also looking for Christian Writers who want to promote your book on my site. And would it not be great if in the tradition of Christmas if you would leave me a comment with your favorite Christmas Cookie recipe. I am planning on doing some baking this weekend with my granddaughter Emily.

Uniting Christian Authors and Readers

www.simplesite.com/gentrybooks

Biography J.L. Gentry, AKA: Jen, is a Christian writer of...

Biography J.L. Gentry, AKA: Jen, is a Christian writer of fiction and non-fiction works. She writes to entertain and inspire as well as to bring glory to her own personal savior, Jesus Christ. She is a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a Registered Nurse. Her life journey has not been an easy one. She knows what it means to walk through the fires of faith, as she knows the pain and the joys of life. She has a strange fascination with hummingbirds as one has always showed up in times of difficulty in her life, either a real one or an image of one. She loves things like old tea-pots and mopar-muscle cars from the seventies. She thinks of herself as kind of a redneck chick-slash-southern belle, as she loves to dress up fancy, but spends most of her time in jersey tee-shirts and jeans, with her hair up in a ponytail. When she is not writing or spending time with her family, you can find her with her nose stuck in a book. She loves to hear from her readers and other authors. She can be reached at jennyokiern37@gmail.com. PS. I'd like it if you would leave a comment on the site after your visit. Authors feel free to leave a link to your own website or book, but please remember that this site is for Christian Writes.