R.J. Blain's Blog, page 82

The State of the Union — Blog Tour Monday

I was invited to come play on a blog tour Monday thingie — I’m not even sure what it is, except people getting together and blogging about writing on a Monday. But hey, I like writing, and I like blogging, so I figured why not? Nothing to lose, and a chance to procrastinate a chance to let you all know what I’ve been up to lately.

David Ellis invited me to come play. He’s one of my clients this year. Go say hi to him!

The biggest thing on my plate is the publication of Inquisitor on May 16, 2014. I’m really hoping this urban fantasy does well… and not just because I need to rewire my house.

The second biggest thing is that I need to rewire my house. Badly. The breaker needs rewired to industry standards, and I have several blown outlets, and an entire circuit that no longer works upstairs. Bathing will be a candlelit affair for the next few months. Why? I’m a writer. While my husband makes good money, we don’t make ‘drop $10k on electrician repairs on a dime’ good money. I’m increasingly making better money as I release more books and get a feel for how to reach out to readers, but I don’t make good money. Yet. I may never. But, at least until the foreseeable future, I will be spending all of the royalty money I do make on fixing my house.

On days like today, I wish I had a winning ticket for the lottery jackpot. Then I could completely renovate my house room by room.

At least it wasn’t the circuit with the fridge or the freezer. It is, however, the circuit with my office. Cue sadface and saying goodbye to all of my plans for spring writing in my office on my laptop.

Well, okay, I’ll buy a really long extension cord so I can run power to my office that way to charge my laptop as I use it. Maybe not entirely goodbye to my spring writing plans.

For other writing-related news, I’ll be having another installment of my Orangeberry blogging tour review in the next month or so. We started a new phase of promotion, so I’ll have more data for you soon. I’m also gearing up for another blog tour with a different group for Storm Without End.

Speaking of Storm Without End, I have over 75,000 words of Storm Surge drafted. Storm Surge will be the next novel I release this year. I’m tentatively planning on August. Right before I go on vacation to Las Vegas. Worst plan ever. 

City of Clocks is over 20k drafted now, and it will likely become the third novel I release this year, leaving me in a mad scramble to finish Royal Slaves for the end of the year.

On a client editorial front, I have a lot of second reads to do, and with the problem with the wiring in the house, I didn’t get anything done today. Cue more panic and things.

In short, I’m going to fondly remember 2014 as the year I completely lose my sanity. You’ll find a lump of something gibbering in a corner. Go ahead and ignore it.

It is just me.

I’m tagging Lisa Cohen & Ryan Toxopeus for next week. Why? Because they’re really cool writers. It doesn’t hurt they’re past and current clients.

Publisher Announcement: Missing Chapter in Blades of the Old Empire

Angry Robot has released an announcement regarding a missing chapter in its newly-released title, Blades of the Old Empire.

Read more directly from Angry Robot here.

kboards promotions: A Review

kboards is a popular forum for kindle fans, both readers and writers. They offer advertisement on their forums, their blog, their facebook page, and their twitter account.

I purchased their one-day package, which cost me $20.00.

Setup for the promotion was extremely simple. I was given a very short list of things needed in order for the book to be promoted. The folks at kboards handle the creation of all advertising material from your amazon buy link.

I did this promotion in conjunction with a countdown deals.

Turnaround time was extremely fast for the promotion. It was live within 48 hours of me submitting my order, which makes it an excellent immediate boost — if your book matches reading desires of their audience.

While I don’t want to say this service was a wash, I only recouped 50% of my investment. Unlike the other tours I have done, there is little interest in ‘backlog’ of posts, and a lower SEO value.

This is not a service I will be purchasing again, and I don’t really recommend it — at least not for someone who writes epic and traditional fantasy. Other genres might enjoy more success, but while kboards does have a 50,000+ following on facebook, it didn’t result in as large of a burst of sales as I needed to make this promotion worthwhile. The SEO benefits from one site linking to a product without a review isn’t significant enough, in my opinion, to make up for the lack of sales.

Considering I ran this in conjunction with a countdown deal to optimize the sales, I don’t think a longer run or different promotion package would make a significant impact on how successful using kboards for advertising is.

Another mark against this service, in my opinion, is the lack of discussion and conversation created by their promotions. This lack of conversation prevents the books featured from being really branded, lowering the value of the service for those who are interested in establishing their brand.

kboards might be a useful venue for romance authors or for popular, established authors.

Writing Product Review: Swarovski Crystal Pens

Swarovski Crystalline Lady Ballpoint Pen Rose Pearl, Vintage Rose (1097050)

It seems only appropriate that the very first pen I review is the one I write most of my books with. I have tried out many different pens over the years, and have yet to fulfill my life-long quest to find the perfect pen. Swarovski has come close with two different models of pens I have fallen hopelessly in love with. They aren’t perfect, but that’s okay. This is the closest to perfect I’ve found.

TL;DR Version: I really recommend these pens.

I will start with the pen I usually write with. I have it in several different colors, but I’ll focus on the one I bought first. The pink pen, imaged above, is Swarovski’s breast cancer awareness pen. All profits from the sale of these pens, when purchased in store, go to breast cancer research. I’m a sucker for that sort of thing, since breast cancer is something that has impacted most people, myself included. So, when I went to purchase my first pen, the Swarovski ambassador (I believe that’s what they’re called in store) recommended the pink one.

So I purchased the pink one. It doesn’t hurt that I really like pink.

I have written two completed novels (by hand) with these pens and their refills. I have also written large chunks of other books with these pens.

The Design

Swarovski USB Crystalline Pen White Pearl 1116963

These pens come in two different styles. The first style is imaged above, featuring a slim shaft designed for female hands. I mean, let’s face it. It’s a pen filled with lab-created crystals. The target audience is women. The shaft is a good length for someone with small hands, allowing precise control of writing.

The second pen, featured here, has a very special surprise located within the shaft of the pen. It is a USB drive! And a pen! All in one! This is my go-to travel pen. I load up all of my novels on it as a backup, as well as a zip file of scrivener and my license key. This way, I can access my novels anywhere I go. Now, granted, if I’m going to a less-than-savory part of town, I leave my precious pen at home.

In the image here, you can see where the USB is by the black line. When the USB is not out, the silver completely pairs to the white part (or fuchsia, as my specific pen is) so the elegance of the pen is not ruined by the presence of the USB part of the pen.

The USB stick features 4 gb of memory, which is overkill for the standard novelist.

The Writing

This is the most important part of the review, right? Just how well do these pens write? Well, let’s just say I’ve introduced this pen to some gentlemen I know. I had them give it a whirl.

Despite all of its feminine charms, the pen was impressive enough they’d consider writing with it.

This amuses me to no end. In short, this is a good product. The pen uses Schmidt pen refills. These are easy to replace when they run out. You unscrew the cap of the pen, pull out the refill, and separate it from the little plastic cap on the end of the refill. You put the cap on the new refill, put it back in the pen, and screw it into place. Done! The first time you take off the cap from the refill (it screws into place) you may need to use a pair of pliers. I have had to use pliers twice on the four pens I own. But, once you take it off the first time, it unscrews easily for very quick replacement of the cartridge.

I find I can get anywhere from 50-100 moleskine pages worth of writing on a single refill, which costs about $1 to replace. One thing you may want to be aware of with the brand-new pens is that age matters on these refills. If the pen has been sitting in the store or a warehouse for a long time, you may not get as much longevity in the first ink cartridge. Buy a few extras when you first get your pen, so you don’t run out of ink at a bad time!

The ink flows reliably, though sometimes I need to take my nail and clean the ball. Since this is a ballpoint pen, this is a universal problem with all ballpoint pens I’ve encountered. The pen will, over time, pick up all of the little bits of crud on the paper (no matter what paper you use) and potentially clog the ball. This is fixed with a quick drag of the nail over the ballpoint.

Another good thing about this pen is that the ink really does last until the dredges of the cartridge. However, once it gets near the end of its lifespan, the pen has a tendency to get spotty and temperamental. This is when I replace the cartridge for a new one.

I buy my pens and my refills directly in store. The slim-shaft pens come in a velvet sheath. The USB pen comes in a proper box. If you go into a store, request a sheath used with the slim-shaft pens. My store was more than happy to give me one, as I like putting all of my pens their little cases before storing them in my purse.

The Materials

These pens are made of lightweight metal with enameled surfaces. So far as I can tell, the clear casing for the 200 crystals is a strong plexiglass or resin, not a cheap plastic or easily-broken glass. The pen is very durable. I’ve dropped my pens multiple times, because I’m clumsy, and have not scratched the ‘glass’ or the enamel of the pen.

Price vs Value

At $35 and $75+, these pens aren’t cheap. However, the value and reliability for what you get is stellar. Considering the low costs for the refills, these pens are a much better investment than many others I’ve experimented with, which have refill costs of $5+.

A Little More about the Refills

As I mentioned before, the Schmidt Mini Ball Pen Refills cost about $1.00 each at regular retail price, and are available in store or online. I usually buy 5-10 refills at a time due to how often I am writing by hand. I would not purchase refills in more than a three to six month supply to prevent problems with the flow of ink. (Ink, despite common belief, does go stale!) It’s very difficult to revitalize the ink in a cartridge like this, so I would use your best judgement on the frequency of purchasing your refills.

Writing Product Review: Semikolon Tabs, Assorted Colors

Semikolon Sticky Tab Markers, Assorted Colors (5100002)

As a writer and editor, I use many different writing products on a daily basis. When I started transcribing Inquisitor, I decided I would use these Semikolon tabs in assorted colors I received for Christmas. One of my closest friends knew my favored product of choice is no longer manufactured, and took it upon herself to try to find a replacement for them.

I have a love-hate relationship with these tabs. In the real life, the colors are not nearly as neon, which I like a lot better than the overly-bright presentation on amazon’s product site. Please see the pictures below of the tabs taken with my not-fancy camera in horrible lighting. (I want a camera box for products. Oh well.)

The Adhesive

(c) RJ Blain

Sticky tabs are only as useful as the adhesive used to keep them stuck to their partner pages, and here is where the Semikolon sticky tabs really shine. It’s like the super-glue of tabs. So far, once I stick these tabs to something, they stay stuck… unless I purposefully remove them. I can do this three or four times before the adhesive gives up the ghost and mocks me for my perfectionism.

Appearance

Almost as pretty as my believed Note Tabs. Almost. Colors are nice and appealing.

Materials

(c) RJ Blain

This is where the ‘hate’ part of this review comes into play. While the stock for the notes is nice and thick — almost a card stock — it is an epic fail in how the adhesive bonds to the sticky tab beneath it. The result? Tearing. Lots and lots of tearing. Because the adhesive bonds right up to where the tab begins, I tear almost every single tab trying to get it out of its booklet. This is frustrating!!

The stock isn’t thick enough to make it resistant to potential curling, however, so this is something I’m wary of. That said, because I’m using them in moleskines, curling isn’t an issue. On research projects? It’ll be an issue. You can see a little bit of the curling on the Chapter Two tab pictured above.

The solution to these problems would be to either laminate/plasticize part of the stock, or use a much thicker, sturdier stock. As is, the stock is too thick to make good mid page markers. They’re also too large. But at the same time, they’re also too flimsy to be used as binder dividers or markers for file folders. They’re somewhere right between being ideal for either purpose.

Still, for a novelist marking chapters as I am, they work. They do the job. I’ll probably invest in another booklet of them when I go through all of these, if only because they are strong enough to withstand me grabbing the tab and flipping to the page in the moleskine.

Size

These are twice as large, approximately, as my beloved note tabs. This makes them a little awkward to use in my moleskines. Without the transparent foot on the tab, I have to peel the tab off to see the text beneath, so I have only been marking the chapters when I no longer need to reference the writing on the page. This is definitely a con for me, and unfortunately, Semikolon doesn’t offer a smaller sized sticky tab — yet.

Conclusion

For the number of tabs you receive, this is a reasonably priced product. The ‘booklet’ the sticky tabs come in is clever, letting me store them in an attractive book rather than in a loose mess like other brands. This is majorly appealing for me. Still, that said, this product could use improvement, so I’d rank this as a 3*. Tearing most of the tabs is a pain in the rump, and it’s very difficult to get them out of the booklet without them ripping.

While I’d buy them again, I’m not going to necessarily jump up and down and recommend every writer gets them for their arsenal.

 

Release Announcement: Inquisitor – Coming May 16, 2014!

Cover art by Chris Howard

When Allison is asked to play Cinderella-turned-Fiancee at a Halloween ball, the last thing she expected was to be accused of murder on the same night. She has to find the killer and quick, or she’ll be put to death for the crimes she didn’t commit. To make matters worse, the victims are all werewolves.

On the short list of potential victims, Allison has to act fast, or the killer will have one more body to add to his little black book of corpses.

There’s only one problem: One of the deaths has struck too close to home, and Allison’s desire for self-preservation may very well transform into a quest for vengeance…

Inquisitor is an Urban Fantasy. It will release on amazon May 16, 2014.

Reading Addiction Book Tours: A Review

Reading Addiction Book Tours is the second book touring group I have experimented with, and I think it’s my favorite by far. It is run by a delightful lady named Cami Hensley. She’s a gem to work with, professional, and quick to respond to questions. When she says she is going to do something, you can expect it to be done quickly and efficiently.

I definitely appreciate that out of a book tour operator. I picked the blog tour host image for this page because Reading Addiction is one of the tour groups inviting all bloggers who love books to come and participate. You see a book tour you’re interested in? There is a form you can use here to sign up and get invitations. There is also a page you can check out to find out what books Reading Addiction is currently promoting.

TL;DR Version of this Review: Recommended. I’m using this group again.

I chose my first tour to be a 40 stop Mega Blitz Tour. This promotion puts a book feature of a novel, complete with excerpt, book cover, bio, and book description, on 40+ blogs over a single day. I did this in conjunction with a countdown deals promotion. I paid $40 for the promotion, at a discount during a sale. It is normally $50.

Signing up for a Promotion

The signup process is extremely simple. Fill out the info form on the Reading Addiction Book Tour Page, submit, and wait for a response from Cami. Cami will talk with you about the tour options, answer any questions you have, and give you a form to fill out relating to your book. Once you have selected the package that suits your needs, you’ll confirm with Cami, and she’ll send you an invoice for the tour.

Setting up the Promotion

Because I’ve already been involved in a book tour for this novel, I already had a lot of the promotional material prepared. I blatantly stole the material from my other tour, made adjustments to match what I needed for the Reading Addiction tour, and sent it over to Cami.

She handled everything else.

What is needed for a Promotion

In the case of the Reading Addiction tour, I needed the cover art, book description (blurb), bio, photograph, and excerpts from the novel. I sent Cami a selection of five or so excerpts, and she picked the one she felt would work best for the tour.

For longer tours, I definitely suggest going overkill on the amount of materials you send over; Cami and her bloggers know their readership better than you do, and it is in your best interest to let them do their job and cherry pick the material they think will work best.

The Impact of the Promotion

Book blog tours are a good way to get people talking about you and your book. I discussed this in the Orangeberry services review, and it’s worth mentioning it again. Essentially, you’re paying a group to advertise and market for you, but in a way where you’re starting conversations, not just blasting out ads to the world at random.

Sometimes those conversations will move from the blogscape to twitter or facebook. Sometimes the conversations start on the blog and stay there. Orangeberry has a strong twitter focus, so the conversations tend to happen on twitter versus on the blog.

Reading Addiction is the opposite. They have a really strong, and communicative, blogging following. So, comments are more likely to happen on the blogs. Reading Addiction also does have a notable twitter following, but this is dependent on which tours decide to pick up the novel being promoted. While twitter didn’t get quite as active as with Orangeberry, it was active enough I noticed it, and at lease a few of the Reading Addiction bloggers had 5,000+ twitter followings.

Reading Addiction provides a list of links directly to the posts added to the promotion, which is a great and easy way for me to see who is talking about my book.

I’m going to showcase one example of a conversation started because of one of the blog posts from the Mega Blitz Promo Tour. Seeing this sort of conversation start made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

I only wish I was brave enough to say hi to those folks, but I didn’t want to butt in on their fun, even though those feelings and thoughts were very much at the heart of why I picked Chris Howard to create my cover art.

The Sales

This is where things get a bit muddy. Tracking the sales directly from this book promotion hasn’t been easy. Book tours tend to use affiliate linking to help make it worthwhile for their bloggers. As I believe in supporting the bloggers who are helping me, I didn’t use my affiliate link to promote the book. I let the bloggers use their affiliate links.

However, I did see a spike in sales on the day the tour was running. I would estimate an income of approximately 30-40% of the base investment on the day the Mega Blitz promotion ran.

This is a little better than Orangeberry’s performance. However, Orangeberry is a one stop per day tour versus a blast. This impacts how the tour performs. That said, I would estimate that the number of sales between the two promotions have been similar, although Orangeberry’s is a patience game versus immediate gratification.

I expect I will see an increase of sales as a result of both tours for some time. Unfortunately, my data, being that I don’t have affiliate links or singular advertising, will be skewed by the existence of the blog tours.

That said, the only form of promotion I am doing at the moment for Storm Without End is in the form of book blog tours and one instance of a sale announcement with kboards. This makes it easier to determine the true value of a book tour compared to a novel that hasn’t had a tour promoting it.

Conveniently, I have February’s numbers for sales:

Storm Without End: Promoted through 2 book tours, 1 kboard announcement: 61 sales

The Eye of God: No promotion: 28 sales.

Most of these sales were garnered through the countdown deals promotion. Prior to the promotion, Storm Without End had 9 sales at $5.99, and The Eye of God had 5 sales at $4.99.

I linked both novels to Google+, Twitter, and Facebook at the same time in the same post, so both books had identical visibility on the self-promotion front.

In Conclusion…

If I went in expecting an immediate profit or at least making it even, I’d be disappointed. But, there is more value to these tours than immediate income. I’m viewing all of the tours as a multi-pronged marketing tool to accomplish branding, sales, and hype.

In short, I really liked working with Reading Addiction. Cami’s a dream, and I’m very pleased with the results.

Orangeberry Book Tours – A Review of Many Parts – Part 2

(c) Orangeberry Book Tours

This is part two of my progress with Orangeberry Book Tours, an online promotion venue for authors.

Orangeberry is a high ranking book tour group in Alexa, Google, and other search engines. This gives the group a certain advantage when it comes to natural search promotion in addition to the benefits of working with a book tour group.

This post will go into my impressions about my three month book tour with them. At the time I’m writing this, the tour is halfway finished.

Performance Comparison

In order to get a good image of the impact of a blog tour, I feel it’s necessary to have something to compare the performance of the campaign against. In my case, I’m comparing my debut novel, which did not have any promotions done for it against my second novel, which is the one participating in the blog tour.

Prior to the blog tour, both novels were performing roughly on par. Storm Without End has always had a slightly higher performance than The Eye of God. However, this slightly increased performance has been counted in handfuls. By that, I mean a book here, a book there, for a total of a handful of books when there are no other promotions running.

Storm Without End has a tendency to do very well during countdown deal promotions, whereas The Eye of God does not perform quite as well.

January was the first month the campaign went underway. Technically, the blog tour started just after Christmas. However, I am not including the days right after Christmas because numbers were skewed for both Storm Without End and The Eye of God due to Christmas sales and gifting.

Without any promotion beyond the single book tour, here are the raw sales numbers for January.

Storm Without End sold 26 copies at $5.99 each.

The Eye of God sold 14 copies at $4.99 each.

Generally, a $5.99 sell is harder than a $4.99 sell. However, Storm Without End is a longer novel than The Eye of God. I feel this is a factor in the differential between the sales. In addition, I suspect the covers are playing a notable factor, as well as the description. For whatever reason, the cover and description pairing of Storm Without End has a stronger curb appeal.

I have recently adjusted The Eye of God’s cover, and I will be adjusting the description. I’m also going to be doing some minor editorial to smooth out some of the more common complaints with the novel.

However, I digress: Even with these factors put aside, while Storm Without End has always had minor sales advantages to The Eye of God, without promotion on either novel, they ranked very similar, and had very similar sales figures.

January saw a notable increase in the base sales figures. This could be accounted to the one thing that I was doing differently between the two novels: The Book Tour.

Notable Observations

I’ll start this with saying that I’m very pleased with how Orangeberry Book Tours has been handling something as long and complex as Storm Without End’s tour. The operators check to make certain the blogs are running the promised pieces. While they don’t list directly to each blog post, the URL of the site and the date the piece is supposed to appear is clearly listed.

My tour consists of 128 stops (as currently planned.) The interesting thing about Orangeberry Book Tours is that this number increases as more blogs agree to do reviews. The number of book reviews is estimated, but I will likely receive 60 reviews from various blogs hosted around the world.

The downside? Because the tour is so massive, the blogs aren’t required to start showing the reviews until towards the end of the tour. So, it’ll likely be another month and a half before I start seeing reviews come in.

I went into this book tour understanding this is how this group operates.

That’s an important distinction. Many authors have an expectation that book reviews will start pouring in at the start of their tour. As a reviewer, I totally understand how overwhelming it can be to have a large review list. I still have a few books I need to address myself. (Eep.)

I would like to also observe that all of the major blog tours I have looked into share one feature: They form cliques among themselves, with each tour having a set stable of blogs who promote many of their books.

This actually isn’t a bad thing, especially in terms of search engine optimization. I’d also like to point out that while varied content is important, you don’t have to make every post unique — unless you want to. It helps, a little, but even duplicate posts and excerpts function for SEO purposes.

The Value of a Book Blog Tour

While I ultimately want to find new readers and sell copies of my book, a book blog tour serves more purposes than simply producing sales. If my only focus was on sales, the investment I’ve made at Orangeberry would be a bust. However, when I look at Orangeberry and any other book blog tour, there are a few things that give it ‘unwritten, untraceable’ value.

An Online Presence

Establishing an online presence is a major issue for debut and budding authors. Many authors say you need 4-6+ books to be successful. While I do agree that it takes this many novels to really begin reaching critical potential mass, one novel can make a big difference, especially if you’re doing long term book promotion. Long term book promotion includes things like blog posts, interviews, and book excerpts. Anything that can get eyes focused on your book — and have a long shelf life — can help build your brand.

In order to build an online presence, people need to know you exist. To do that, you need to spread yourself around the internet and become known where your readers are.

That’s the point of doing a book blog tour. You’re gaining exposure for yourself and your book(s). With the appropriate linking, you can also begin building your social media platforms.

Boosting Twitter and Facebook

Orangeberry is one of the groups offering giveaway management services to those in a book tour with them. Partnering your book blog tour with a giveaway can help get your social media accounts hooked up with many new readers and begin the progress of building a fan base.

One and a half months in, and I have already noticed this working. My twitter account has had several hundred new people add it since the start of the campaign. My facebook page has more than doubled since the start of the promotion.

This is a major accomplishment, as it puts me on the map with a few more readers. Will any of these people end up buying my books?

Only time will tell. Until then, because they’re watching me, the chance exists. That wasn’t there before.

The Value of the Brand

In conclusion, building a brand is one of the key benefits to a book blog tour, and Orangeberry book tours is very good at getting the book out there on high ranking sites in search engines. This makes people aware of me and my book. Maybe it won’t lead to a sale right now, but it could lead to a reader or a fan later, when I have become more widespread.

While it can be viewed as sad by some factions of society, familiarity with a brand often equals trust in a brand. For a novelist, the name is the brand, and the more common the name appears, the more likely it will become trendy or interesting to acquire a book by that author.

There is something to be said for the bandwagon when it comes to books.

A Book Blog Tour is Not Enough Alone

This is a lesson I’m starting to learn one and a half months into this tour. Doing this book tour is already showing results and could continue to show results for months, if not years.

I don’t want to say it is an eggs in one basket situation. It’s not. A writer can have success with a single book blog tour. However, book blog tours bring hype and awareness to your books.

You have to rise to the challenge. If you’re promoting your twitter and facebook accounts, you need to make these accounts interesting and engaging for readers. You need to make the people who like the types of books you write want your book in particular.

This means forging connections with them.

A Book blog tour, like Orangeberry, gives you the tools to connect with readers. Once you have the readers’ attention, however, it is up to you to convert a reader into a fan.

Orangeberry has, so far, done exactly as advertised. They have put my books in front of readers. They have upped my visibility in search engines. (I put this to a test with some search terms, and did indeed find my book through the larger blogs on the tour — mission accomplished.)

So far, so good.

Orangeberry’s Impact on Starting Conversations about my Book

One of the goals of a book blog tour is to start conversations about my book. It is to form a brand for me, as an author, and for the title in particular. At this point in the tour, my book has appeared 55 different times. This is excluding book reviews scheduled that have not appeared yet. This includes twitter blasts (or large-scale promotion runs on a 100,000+ follower twitter account), ad promos on websites, guest posts, author interviews, book features, and book excerpts.

One of Orangeberry’s greatest strengths is its twitter presence. Since I started my tour with Orangeberry, my book and twitter account have been RT’d and promoted hundreds of times.

My twitter feed explodified. That’s not even a word, and I don’t care. It explodified. Between the giveaway and the tours linking the promotions, and people favoriting the posts being promoted, there has been a lot of exposure on twitter of my book and my name as an author. Couple this with the hundreds of new followers on twitter, and the results in this regard have been fantastic. There has also been quite a bit of feedback into Facebook as well.

What there hasn’t been is a lot of comments about the posts. I’m not surprised by that. I have a lot of people who come to my blog but rarely comment, and I expect it is no different for these bloggers and their sites as well. I get thousands of hits a month, and only a handful of comments usually. Reviews tend to generate more actual discussion than book features, in my opinion.

That’s one thing I wish Orangeberry’s blog groups had more of: Truly active commenting blogs.

But, it isn’t unusual and I’m not surprised. It’s an ‘I wish’ item that isn’t a deal breaker.

Making the Most of the Tour

I’m a very hands-on person. If I can find a way to make a mess of things, I will. I want to make my tour do well. In order to do that, I need to make effort.

So, what I have decided to do is start a pinterest board showcasing all of the appearances my book has made. I am pinning each and every place the book tour goes, so I can keep track of it and maybe drive traffic to these blogs.

They’re helping me, so it’s only fair I do my part and help them. Pinterest is a great way an author can showcase appearances and potentially garner a little favor with book bloggers and review groups, too.

It makes these people and reviewers more likely to consider working with me at the very small price of hitting a button on my browser. Just a thought for those of you who are considering a book blog tour of your own.

Final Thoughts

Was Orangeberry Book Tours the right decision for me and my book? The unfortunate truth? Only time will tell.

But, so far, I’m feeling rather good about the results of the book tour. Sadly, I’m muddying the waters as I’m expanding my marketing endeavors to other tour groups and promotion venues when I have a little spare change I can dedicate towards establishing my brand.

Still, a tour of this scale is a risk, of that there is no doubt. I’m just grateful I have started to see actual results. I know some people who have tried tours with no notable increase of sales or results.

An Interview with Anna Kashina

Greetings, Anna! Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for me. I really enjoyed reading Blades of the Old Empire. Where did you come up with the idea for this novel?

 

 Hello, and thank you for this interview. I am very glad you enjoyed my book.

My goal in writing Blades of the Old Empire was to write a good traditional fantasy with page-turning action and elements of romance. My ambition was to do it so well that the readers would feel immersed in the story and share all the fun I had writing it. I feel there is a shortage of such books out there, which readers like me enjoy.

Many ideas come to me in dreams. For this book, it all started with a beautiful woman who is also a highly skilled warrior, but the price she must pay for her skill is her freedom.  She is not permitted to love and must always follow orders. What would she do if she was driven to the extreme and found these constraints unthinkable to cope with? This image became the over-arching idea for my book.

I’ll admit it now — romance isn’t usually my thing. It almost makes me feel like I should turn in my girl card. Did you find it difficult to balance the romantic elements of Blades of the Old Empire with the fantastical elements? You’ve managed to capture quite a bit of action and adventure, magic, politics, and intrigue while having a very strong romantic feel to the story.
 

I was not planning, originally, on putting in so much romance–even though, I guess my overarching idea about the beautiful woman who is not free to pursue her love did tip the scale in that direction. I do enjoy romance myself, and believe that romantic elements, if done well, are an invaluable tool in character development. But–I was not really thinking about it when I wrote.  It just happened all by itself.

When I created my two central characters, the two Majat warriors,  I fell in love with each of them, and this love drove the story for me. I wanted to relay this feeling to the readers. The most effective way to do it was to show these characters through the eyes of those who love them in the book. For Kara (the female warrior) it was easy, since the man who is in love with her, Prince Kythar, is also the main point-of-view character for the major part of the story. The other love interest (which I don’t want to name for fear of spoilers) was not originally planned, but in my sense it worked even better. It just followed so naturally for me from seeing these characters together.

In a deeper sense I believe that what makes action fun is the emotions of the characters behind it, and love is the ultimate emotion that, if done right, can convey so much.

Now that the book is out there I am realizing that this much romance was a surprise to some conventional fantasy fans. And, I guess the real answer to your question is: I did not find the romance difficult to balance with the rest of the story, to me the thread of romance was natural and it kept the rest of the elements together so well.

 What was your favorite part about writing Blades of the Old Empire? Did any scene (without spoiling too much) really capture your affection?
 

There was a number of such scenes, actually, but it would be hard to go into any details without spoiling too much.

Generally, even though I liked working on this book from the start, my enjoyment grew as I wrote, and started reaching the high points with the development of the character who was to become Kara’s counterpart. This character was unexpected for me, originally. All I wanted was to create someone who is clearly capable of defeating Kara. The rest developed naturally, and this was so much fun. He starts off as essentially a handsome jerk, and then there is a number of occasions in which he shows new facets of his character and eventually transforms in everyone’s eyes into a likeable guy.  Each of those episodes was so fun to write, I kept looking forward to it. In the end, when he and Kara meet, it is no longer clear who we are rooting for and who is going to win–either outcome at that point feels equally devastating. I really looked forward to doing it right, and it felt very special for me when it worked out just the way I wanted.

It was especially fun because as I started each scene I had only a vague idea what was going to happen, and how. Writing it was like watching a movie in real time where everything fell into place. I knew it worked right when some of my beta readers started referring to “watching” my novel, rather than “reading” it.

 You write both male and female perspectives in Blades of the Old Empire. What was the hardest part of accomplishing this, in your opinion?
 

I did not think it was hard at all. In a big sense each point of view character has to carry a side of the author’s personality, and it becomes a question of finding the characters, both male and female, to whom I can relate best. After this is done right, the rest is all about putting yourself into an appropriate mood.

The trick, for me, is not to write different point of view chapters in the sequence in which they appear in the novel–this would cause too much alternation in voices and in the end would run into a risk of blending them all into one. Rather, I wrote large chunks of the story from each character’s point of view and then alternated pieces of them in the final version, arranged so that they are happening on the same linear time line. By the end, each of these characters became such an organic part of me that it became easy to switch.

 It’s hard acquiring a contract with a really reputable publishing house like Angry Robot Books. How did you pull it off? What advice can you give to hopeful authors wanting to break into traditional publishing?
 

My story is very atypical, so it is probably not something other authors can easily follow. On the other hand, I believe that everyone who lands a contract with a reputable publisher these days has to go through a very atypical experience, so mine is not an exception in that sense.

The truth is, by the time I finished this novel I have already given up so utterly on finding a publisher (or agent) that I wasn’t even trying hard anymore. I finished the book, sent it to a few agents (not even that many), got my rejections, and put it aside to write something new. At that point all my previously written books were placed with small presses, but I liked this book so much that I felt it deserved more, so I just tried to put it out of my mind. I thought, when I finally write a novel the agents would agree to represent, they would like this one too. I expect many authors can relate to this feeling.

When I saw an open call for submissions from Angry Robot, focused on traditional fantasy, I felt as if the description of what they were looking for was written just for my book. I decided to give it a try–without much hope. I just sent it in and went back to working on other things. And then, to my amazement, my novel got accepted.

I still feel at times that I am dreaming and none of it actually happened at all.

I always give the same advice to hopeful authors, one that I received a long time ago, which kept me going all these years: “Never give up.” I think my story is a good example of why not giving up is so important.

Can you think of any notable mistakes you’ve made as an author? What did you learn as a result, and is there anything you can tell us so we can avoid making the same mistake?

 

My early path as an author was actually full of mistakes. In the end they all came down to one thing: selling myself too short, jumping on the first offers I ever received without considering alternatives. I sold several of my books to different small presses, making them pretty much unavailable for traditional publishing. I wish I hadn’t, but I also know that at the time I did it I simply did not know any better. Each of these sales is a story of its own, definitely too long for this interview.

It is hard to advise anyone how to avoid the same mistakes. I think in my case, I made all the mistakes because of not believing in myself enough. So, my biggest advice to everyone would be to believe in yourself and in what you have set out to do. And, as before, never give up.

An author I know wrote seventeen unpublished novels, which she shelved, and then she sold her #18 to a major publisher. She never settled for anything less. And, in her case, it paid off. I always think of her as an example.

They (one day, I’ll learn who ‘they’ is…) say writers are creatures of habit. What are your rituals or habits when you’re writing?

 

It used to be writing my first draft longhand. There was a special enjoyment for me in the feeling of a pen connecting to the paper. I have abandoned it for years now, for the sake of time.

Ever since I started by demanding day job, and especially after I also had two kids, I had to shed all my writing habits. I cannot possibly have a ritual of writing at a certain time every day or doing it in a certain way. I don’t even have a desk at home that does not also serve as a play table for my children. I pretty much fit in some writing whenever I can. I probably should develop better habits in the future, but right now, to me, it is all about inspiration. If I am inspired, I can’t wait to get to my computer, and the story just flies, so the main process becomes finding a story that inspires me enough to work on. I tend to think of writing as my indulgence time.

 Coffee or Tea? If neither, what is your drink of choice? What appeals to you about your favorite beverage?
 

Coffee for personal enjoyment. Tea for company. When I grew up, drinking tea was my favourite form of a family gathering, when everyone would just sit around the table and chat. We used to do it every day when I was very little, especially when I stayed at my grandparents’ house. I still think of those times fondly, and even though my family does not quite share this enjoyment these days, I still drink tea for the sake of old memories. But I cannot possibly start the day without my coffee and I am very picky about the kind of coffee I drink.

 Do you write to music? If so, what sort of music? What about this style of music appeals to you?

 

I don’t, actually. When I listen to music it absorbs all my senses and thoughts. I cannot do anything else while listening to music.

Having said that, certain music for me resonates with my writing and I often listen to music when I think about a scene, especially when it burns in my head but I have no time to sit down and write it. My latest favourite for this purpose has been the soundtrack from “Totem” by Cirque du Soleil, which combines Middle-Eastern build with ethnic rhythms and fits some of the Majat training and fighting scenes (as well as, amazingly, calms down my kids). I also enjoy Spanish guitar and some ballroom dance music, especially tango. Some of the Majat fighting techniques stem from my understanding of dancing, and listening to the dance music helps me to think the action through.

Generally I enjoy music with Middle Eastern build and complex beats, but I am very picky about it and would probably not enjoy a random piece that fits this description. I also love classical music and some jazz.

 I have a habit of ending my interviews with a strange question. You are trapped in a collapsed tunnel with Chuck Norris, Gandalf, and Harry Potter. You have the contents of your purse to work with. How do you escape?

 

I don’t think I’d need my purse. I would send Chuck Norris to look for a way out, and Harry Potter to come up with a spell that would change rocks into jelly (or something else easily movable). Once these two are out of the way, I would sit down with Gandalf and have a nice chat. Who cares about collapsed tunnels when there is my favourite wizard to talk to?

Cover Reveal for City of Clocks, a Traditional Fantasy Novel

(c) RJ Blain – Cover Art by Chris Howard

When the Great Clock doesn’t ring in the new year, Aerrik’s life is turned upside down. He’s separated from Mya, a fellow escapee from the Duke’s usurpation of the Arasoran throne. His clock is broken, and without it, he faces the purge. Someone wants him dead or alive.

Worse still, his past comes back to haunt him.

Without Aerrik, however, Arasanor is doomed to fall. However, with the very land itself turning on the struggling island, saving them from the Duke’s reign may become the least of his troubles…

~~*~~

Legends and Myths exist in all cultures. Some turn their legends into religion. Others use it as a warning to the generations to come.

A few recognize the truth for what it is.

Lost Cities, such as Atlantis, the sunken city of Alexandria (Egypt), Port Royal (Jamaica), Dwarka (India), and the pyramids of Yonaguni-Jima (Japan) have captured the imaginations of the young and old alike.

Some — like Atlantis — are unproven myths, mysteries that encourage many to look beyond what can be seen and felt.

Others are a testament to the terrible power of time and nature.

Arasanor is one of these places. But which is it? Myth and legend? An unsolved mystery? Or is it something far more wonderful and terrible?

~~*~~

In the far north to the east, there used to be a city. When the Rift was born, and the lands were torn asunder, it vanished.

Some men say if you sail to the edge of the mists surrounding the Shattered Shores, you can catch a glimpse of Arasanor in her full glory.

But beware, traveller. Only the brave, the foolish, or the mad go to the lands even the Lady of Light has forsaken.

~ The Myths and Legends of Alskoran

~~*~~

Aerrick didn’t remember escaping the lord and his men, nor did he recall eluding their hold on him. The weight of the pocket clock wasn’t in his hand. He didn’t remember putting it away, but when he patted his pocket, he felt its shape through his clothes.

“Grab him and get out of here before the fools riot,” Lord Selerthen snapped.

Aerrik gasped in recognition of the words the Duke’s man had said but moments before. Hands reached for him — Eliss’s hands — but he wasn’t where she was reaching.

She snarled out a curse and leaped for him. “Slippery runt.”

Aerrik ran without knowing or caring where he went. It didn’t matter, so long as he escaped so he could find Mya and free her. With the lord’s snide words still ringing in his ears, the Palace perched on the edge of the sea would be the first place he searched.

Assuming he escaped the grasp of the Duke’s men again.

He careened around a corner and collided with several people. They cursed at him, to cry out when those pursuing him ran to catch up. Aerrik darted down an alley.

“Head him off, Eliss!” he heard Lord Selerthen shout.

The narrow passage opened up to the too familiar market by the sea. Muttering a curse of his own, he sprinted across the square to the promenade.

The slap of feet followed close behind him.

Aerrik dove through the bushes and tore down the slope. Mud and loose stones slipped out from beneath this feet. He slid down the hill, twisting around in his effort to slow his descent. Above him, Eliss shrieked. Moments later, she tumbled down after him.

The soles of his boots slammed into a boulder at the water’s edge. His teeth rattled from the impact and his knees were driven up to his chest. The air rushed out of his lungs in a pained gasp. Eliss crashed into his back. The force of their collision pinned him to the rock. She let out a groan, her hands pressing against his spine while her knee jabbed him in the ribs.

“Curse you, runt,” Eliss gasped.

Bracing against the rock, he shoved back as hard as he could. Eliss cried out. Before she could secure a hold on him, Aerrik scrambled over the boulder.

The waves crashed over the shoreline and drenched him. White water churned below, revealing worn stones and thick seaweed when the waves receded.

Several men in the Lord’s black eased down the hill. Lord Selerthen stood in a gap between the bushes, arms crossed over his chest. A mocking smile spread across the lips of the Duke’s man.

“Well done, boy. Ah, Aerrik, isn’t it? How unfortunate for you, that you share names with that fostered brat. You’ll be coming with us now. You’ve nowhere left to run. You’ve made this a lot harder for yourself than necessary. Unless, of course, you’re hiding something.”

Eliss got to her feet with the help of one of the other men, and she glared up at him. “I’ll get you for that,” she promised.

“Enough, Eliss,” Lord Selerthen said, pausing for a long moment before speaking again. “Well, boy? Are you going to cooperate or not?”

Aerrik swallowed, drew a deep breath, and jumped into the sea.

… Coming Soon in 2014.