D.E. Haggerty's Blog, page 13

Corniest Christmas Memory #12DaysofChristmas #Christmas #Humor

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Only three days until Christmas! I thought I’d share something a bit different about Christmas on today’s 12 Days of Christmas post. Instead of sharing a favorite whatever, I thought I’d share a moment. I’m not sure if corny is the proper word for this memory, but I’m going with it. (It’s Christmas, so be forgiving.)

[image error]A bit of background before I begin. I can’t ever remember believing in Santa Claus. No, seriously, I’m not trying to brag or be weird or anything, I’m just telling the truth. I’m sure when I was a baby I believed in Santa, although at that stage I was merely a pooping machine so who knows? In my earliest memories, I don’t remember ever believing in this Santa guy. I do remember some of the cool gifts the guy supposedly brought, but that’s another story.

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Not actual footage

I’m the youngest of four girls (and don’t you dare say ‘my poor dad’ because he’s the luckiest father in the world because us girls (most of us at least) are awesome!). I don’t know if this is a characteristic of being the youngest or not, but I was a curious child. Curious may be a bit mild for my obsession to know everything and be involved with everyone. Like all parents, my parents wrapped and hid “Santa’s” gifts throughout the year. Well, what’s a curious girl to do? You know there are presents hidden in the house somewhere. Can you stand the suspense? Well, I couldn’t. I’d find presents wherever they were and unwrap them. (I re-wrapped them and even had tape for this purpose when I went snooping.) It didn’t take me long to figure out ‘Santa’ was Mom and Dad. The handwriting alone would have given it away.

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Remember these old things? 

But that’s not my corniest Christmas memory. (I can’t be the only person who unwrapped gifts.) Nope. One year my dad asked me to write my own name on a Christmas gift tag. I didn’t think much of it until Christmas day when we were opening our presents. I was handed a gift from ‘Santa’ except the gift tag was the one I had written. This was my parents’ way of telling me Santa didn’t exist. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I’d known he was a myth for years. I swear I could be an actress because I also managed not to laugh at the corniness of the entire situation (although I don’t think I knew the word corny back then).

That’s it. My corniest Christmas memory. Got any corny memories you’re willing to share?

 

Christmas in the Netherlands #MondayBlogs #12DaysofChristmas #Christmas #ExpatLife

Day 5 of the twelve days of Christmas has arrived. Can you believe Christmas Eve is just a week away? It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. We even had our first snow of the year yesterday. Although snow is a big word for what little white stuff we saw yesterday. It melted before I even had a chance to try and make a fool of myself while biking.

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Speaking of Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve isn’t part of the Christmas tradition here in Holland. I remember the first year I worked here. I was working at a big law firm and Christmas Eve was like any other day. I was highly disappointed. Since then, I’ve learned to live with it. (It helps that I work at home now and set my own hours.) I usually make plans with expat friends on Christmas Eve as I know I won’t be doing anything with my Dutch family or friends on that day. (Even the grocery store stays open, which is saying a lot in this country.)

Christmas in Holland consists of First Christmas Day (Eerste Kerstdag) and Second Christmas Day (Tweede Kerstdag). For those who are married, it works out well. You spend one day with your family and one day with your in-laws. For those who aren’t married or whose family lives in another country, you spend a day with family and a day with friends. You can also spend a day at a museum as most museums are open over the holiday. (We did New Year’s Day at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag and had the place mostly to ourselves for the first two hours. It was great, except we were starving as there was no where open to have lunch.)

[image error]What do the Dutch actually do when they get together for Christmas? What they don’t do is a ton of presents. You won’t find Christmas trees buried under gifts in this country. After all, the Dutch have Sinterklaas who brings the kiddies presents at the start of December. The Dutch are very proud of their Sinterklaas tradition. If you ask, they’ll tell you that Santa Claus is based upon Sinterklaas. So, you won’t find Santa Claus climbing through chimneys here. Although with the popularity of Hollywood movies, some parents have started to give out gifts from Santa.

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The Royal Christmas market in The Hague

Adopting traditions of other countries is typical in the Netherlands. It’s a small country and open to other cultures. Case in point? The German tradition of Christmas markets has now been firmly embraced by the Dutch. In The Hague, there are several to visit. Personally, I’m happy the German tradition of gluhwein has arrived. I love me some mulled wine on a cold winter’s day.

So, what are we up to for Christmas? We’re spending Christmas Eve with friends while Christmas day is reserved for my in-laws. On Boxing Day, I look forward to visiting the museum. There’s an Alexej Von Jawlensky exhibit I’ve been dying to see.

What’s everyone else doing for the holiday (if you celebrate)?

 

 

 

Gifts for the readers in your life #12DaysofChristmas #Christmas #Gifts #AmReading #BookAddict

Day 2 of the twelve days of Christmas has arrived. Today, I’m sharing the best gifts for the reader in your life. I love having readers on my gift list. They are so much fun to buy for! Here are some great gift ideas:

#1 Books – That’s an obvious one. Hold on a second, though! One thing I really, really hate is when someone buys me a book because they loved it not realizing that I don’t read that genre. So, go ahead and buy that book for the reader on your list but make sure it’s a book they want to read.

[image error]#2 Book gift card – This is my favorite one to receive! If you’re not sure what book your reader friends wants to read, a book gift card is the best. Here in the Netherlands, they have the boekenbon. It’s a gift card that can be used at any bookstore in the country. Awesome, right? If that doesn’t work for you because you are not lucky enough to be an expat living in Holland, you can always get a kindle gift card (or a gift card for whatever bookstore your reader frequents).

#3 EReader – OMG! This is the best present! A word of caution. There are those readers out there who are anti-ereader. I know, because I was one of those. And then I discovered that for the price of the cheapest ereader (around $50), I could read all winter for free. If you’re a book addict who is buying books every week, an ereader can be a necessity. Not all of us have money trees in our backyards!

Okay, that’s it for the obvious gifts for the reader in your life. Now, for the fun stuff.

A book clutch: How adorable are these? $78 from BAGatelle studio.

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Vintage Book Cover Locket: Know a reader’s favorite book? Why not grab one of these cute lockets from the Locket Library for €15?

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Fairytale bookmark: These are sooo cute. I may have to buy one for myself. The wicked witch is my favorite. Grab one for $25 from here.

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Folding booklamp: I’ve had my eye on one of these for a while. Grab this one off Amazon for $27.

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Your new favorite recipes: This is a cool idea! Recipes from your favorite books. I know some readers who would love this book.

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Superhero Bookend. This is not your average bookend. I want supergal to save my books! (Full disclosure: There are other superheros)

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Book phone wallets. Now that I’ve seen these, I’m pretty sure I need a new cover for my iPhone. I’m thinking .

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Library Card Socks. No list would be complete without a pair of cool socks. I need these!

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Bards Dispense Profanity Game. I admit. When I’m not reading and am forced to be social, I love to play games. This Shakespeare-inspire game looks like a good time!

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Temporary Tatoos. OMG! Who thought of this? It’s totally awesome for those of us not wanting to put permanent ink on ourselves. Grab them here.

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Off to do some shopping now! Happy 2nd day of Christmas!

 

 

Ideas for Christmas promos for writers #WriterWednesday #Christmas #Holidays #BookMarketing

My cleaner mentioned as she was leaving yesterday that she’d see me next week but not the week after as it’s Christmas. I laughed and may have rolled my eyes. It’s not Christmas yet, I quipped. She looked at me like I’m crazy and reassured me that yes, it is. Well, I checked my calendar after she left and lo and behold, she was right. It’s less than two weeks until Christmas. Where did November and December go? That said, I’m way late with this blog article. But maybe it will help anyway. So, without further ado, here are some of my Christmas marketing ideas for books.

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Write a Christmas novel. It’s a bit late for this idea and frankly I wasn’t sure this was a great idea anyway. Then, I went onto Amazon and looked at the top 100 cozy mysteries. There were a ton – a ton! – of Christmas-themed cozies. Most of these novels were part of ongoing series but featured a Christmas idea. Guess what I’m doing next year? Yep, writing a Christmas novella. I’m thinking of adding a short novella to my Death by Cupcake series.

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Add a Christmas cover to a wintery novel. This idea is more doable (assuming your graphic designer has time). Does one of your novels take place in the winter months? Add a Christmas cover and re-launch that sucker. Please note that Amazon is busy this time of year and it may take longer to get a new eBook approved and published on KDP. Experts advise having all changes for Christmas promotions uploaded before December 11th. That said I uploaded a new boxed set yesterday without any problems.

[image error]Christmas boxed set. Don’t have a Christmas novel? What about making a boxed set instead? Readers are looking for bargains this time of year and what better bargain is there than a boxed set. I actually followed my own advice (shocking, I know) and put out a first in series boxed set yesterday.

Christmas newsletter. Why not send out an extra newsletter with a Christmas theme? Make sure this newsletter isn’t just about selling your books. Instead, share Christmas or holiday related copy. For example, what’s your favorite Christmas memory? Your favorite Christmas recipe? Favorite movie, etc. Don’t be surprised if your open rates are lower than normal, though. People are busy this time of year (or so I’ve heard).

Hashtags. When you’re sharing any book marketing material in the month of December be sure to add the trending Christmas hashtags. Google Trends claims search terms related to “gifts” in the United States trend upward starting in early-mid November through Christmas Day.

[image error]12 days of Christmas. Whether on your blog or social media, you can run a 12 days of Christmas promotion. Technically, the 12 days of Christmas starts on Christmas day itself, but purchasing takes a huge dip then, so I wouldn’t recommend being literal with this ‘12 days of Christmas’ idea. Instead, share holiday content each day of the 12 days before Christmas with your followers. (And now all I can think about is how I’m going to manage this!)

Christmas giveaway. A giveaway is always a great way to create buzz around a product. Why not try a giveaway with a holiday theme? Join together with other authors to create even more buzz.

What about you? What holiday-themed book marketing ideas do you have?

 

 

My Favorite Christmas Movies #MondayBlogs #Christmas #Holidays

[image error]I was planning to write a blog post about my favorite Christmas themed novel, but then I realized I haven’t read most of the ‘classic’ novels (unless we count How The Grinch Stole Christmas from Dr. Seuss, which I love). Although I’ve seen more adaptations of A Christmas Carol than should be allowed by the law, I’ve never actually read the novel from Charles Dickens. It’s only been on my TBR for a decade or so. I’ll get around to it someday. Maybe.

[image error]I can’t even claim to have read many contemporary (romance) novels with Christmas themes. I’m not sure why. It’s not as if I hate Christmas. The only Christmassy novel I could even find on my read list on Goodreads is Visions of Sugar Plums (Stephanie Plum #8.5) by Janet Evanovich. (Have I mentioned I love Janet Evanovich? I want to be her when I grow up. Or at least write as witty scenes as she does.)

Well, there went that idea of sharing my favorite Christmas novel. Instead, I’m sharing my favorite Christmas movies. I have a bunch of movies I like to watch around Christmas that aren’t technically Christmassy, but the movies listed below are definitely Christmas-themed.

The Family Stone
A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
Frosty the Snowman
Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer
The Grinch (2018 version)
White Christmas
Love Actually
Holiday Inn
Elf

[image error]I seriously love Elf. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s cute, it’s funny, it’s heartwarming. What more do you want? I admit I even booed the New York City Park Rangers as they trotted by at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as I thought of how they chased Santa out of the park on Christmas Eve. Boo! I already watched Elf this year. I couldn’t help myself! I spent Thanksgiving in New York City and the combination of the start of the holiday season and New York City was undeniable. I had to watch Elf! I saw the new Grinch movie while I was in New York as well. It was adorable. Reminiscent of the earlier version. Just updated for modern times. I highly recommend it.

What about you? What are your favorite Christmas movies?

 

 

 

 

Tweak, tweak, tweak author ads #WriterWednesday #BookMarketing #WritersLife

I hate failing. Doesn’t everybody? So, every time I tried a new marketing strategy (Facebook ad, Bookbub ad, etc.), and it didn’t give me the results I wanted, I gave up. Gave up is a nice way of saying ~ I bitched the platform was rubbish and not worth an author’s time. Surprisingly, this strategy didn’t lead to many success stories. *Sarcasm intended*

And then, something strange happened. I did an Amazon ad for Fat Girl Begone! and it was successful. Not only that, it continues to be successful. *Insert squealing here*

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Since Fat Girl Begone! is a romcom, I decided to replicate the ad for my other romcom Molly’s Misadventures.

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Well, guess what? The ad flopped. WHAT? Both novels are romcoms, what could the problem possibly be? I tried everything. I changed the ad copy, I even got a new cover design. While these changes helped somewhat, the ad still wasn’t anywhere near as successful as the ad for Fat Girl Begone! I was frustrated. Very frustrated. Throw-my-phone-across-the-room-frustrated. What was I doing wrong?

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I started to listen to podcasts and read more book marketing ads. I kind of drove myself crazy. It took a while, but I finally learned something. Authors who are successful with book marketing don’t quit after one ad is unsuccessful. They keep trying. No, not trying the same exact thing over and over again. Instead, they tweak their marketing tactics until they find success.

What do I mean with tweaking? Make one small change to an ad at a time to determine what the problem is. Are you bidding too low? Increase your bid. Not getting impressions? Change the audience (keywords) or try a new ad graphic. Not getting sales? Check your cover, blurb, price, number of reviews.

It sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But it took me awhile to figure it. I’m still trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong with Bookbub ads – one small tweak at a time.

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Why I don’t believe in Writer’s Block #WriterWednesday #AmWriting

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Writers discuss writer’s block as if it were some scary communicable disease. There are a gazillion articles with advice to writers with ‘cures’ for this disease. I think writer’s block – at least with regard to the ‘inability to produce new work’ – is a bunch of poppycock. (And yes, I may be exaggerating a bit, so I can use the word poppycock.)

Now, hold on. Before you decide to block me and call me nasty names on Twitter, let me explain. I treat writing like a day job because it is my day job. A really crappy paying day job, but a day job nonetheless. I get up every day (okay, most days) and write. Some days the writing flows from my fingertips, but most days it’s a slug. And then there are the days when writing even a paragraph feels like an impossible task. Still, I write on.

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Calvin and Hobbes (c) Bill Watterson

 

Perhaps on those days on which writing even a paragraph is a monumental task, I am experiencing writer’s block. I don’t look at it that way, though. It’s just a bad day. No matter what job you do you will experience bad days. Even my husband, who loves his job as a pilot, has bad days.

Labeling a bad day as ‘writer’s block’ is – in my humble opinion – a bad idea. The term writer’s block has negative connotations. If I start saying I have writer’s block on my bad days, I’m going to get stuck in my head and start worrying about when this writer’s block will end. In that case, I may actually experience this mythical disease known as writer’s block. Better to avoid the term all together and just say I had a shit writing day. Tomorrow will be better. It always is. Or mostly is.

Thomas Edison said: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Writing is no different. Writing is 1% creative and 99% showing up. So, show up. Sweat it up and get it done.

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How Josh – the big ‘ol jerk from Fat Girl Begone! – Came Into Being #romcom #romance #writerslife

I was recently received a scathing review for Fat Girl Begone! The reviewer thought I was making fun of fat people in the book. That was not my intention – at all! Especially since I’m more than a little chubby myself. In this guest post I wrote ages ago, I explain my thoughts behind Fat Girl Begone! I’m sure the person who wrote the review won’t read this, but it makes me feel better to pretend she will. I hope you enjoy it!

 

How Josh – the big ‘ol jerk – Came Into Being

Josh is a Big. Fat. Jerk.

Seriously, I can’t emphasize that enough. The first time we meet the man he’s dumping our home girl, Everly, because she diets too much. That’s right. He dumps her because he’s tired of her dieting. Everly is not actually fat. Sure, at five-feet-four-inches and 160 pounds, she’s a little on the chubby side, but she’s not Fat. What she is, is a yo-yo dieter. Something I know more than I little about.

I’ve spent most of my life yo-yo dieting with the best of them. You could call me an expert – I certainly do! Most yo-yo dieters consider yo-yo dieting a way of life, but is it possible to break the habit? And what would it take for a person to end their yo-yo dieting ways? Would a break-up be enough? Hmm… sounds like a book idea.

So, I knew when I invented Josh’s character that our first glimpse of the man would be him dumping the heroine. I didn’t want Josh to leave Everly because she was fat, though. Not only is that a bit cliché (and yes, I realize making a slight tweak doesn’t completely take away the cliché), but it also didn’t seem like enough motivation to force a yo-yo dieter out of her yo-yo dieting ways. Oh, sure, I could have her lose a ton of weight and then she rides off into the sunset with some guy, but what happens after that? Does she go back to her yo-yo dieting ways? Losing weight because a guy dumps you doesn’t end the cycle of yo-yo dieting. Nope. It’s just another reason to hit a low on your scale before the yo-yo rotates and starts climbing again.

I needed more of a reason for Everly to give up her yo-yo dieting ways. But what?

That’s when I realized I had a perfectly good example to follow – my hubby. My husband is one of those annoying people who doesn’t seem to gain weight and stays in good shape. Sure, he puts effort into it, but it seems effortless – if that makes any sense. But what does this type of man – the type for which slim fit clothes were invented – think of having a wife who yo-yo diets? He isn’t bothered. Naturally, he’s proud of me when I lose weight, but when I gain some of those kilograms back, he’s not disappointed with me. If I’m upset, he’s upset on my behalf, but he doesn’t really care about how much I weigh. He loves me just as I am.

There is one thing that does bother my husband, though. He doesn’t like how I let my weight affect my life. When I was younger, I could be quite emotional about the ups and downs my scale experienced. That bothered him. He’d often tell me to just accept the higher number and let all the emotional baggage go. I didn’t take that advice – who listens to advice from a man about weight? – but I did learn to be less emotionally invested in the number on the scale.

Thinking about the hubby and how he deals with his wife’s yo-yo dieting, I came up with the idea of Josh leaving Everly because of her dieting instead of her actual weight. I thought this could be a good impetus for Everly to learn to deal with her dieting and weight instead of just losing a bunch of weight. It also opened the door for a possible return of Josh when Everly loses some weight, but that’s a different story.

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Amazon

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Dealing with Amazon’s latest hiccup #AuthorMarketing #WriterWednesday #Amazon

If you are reading this from the US, stop. This doesn’t apply to you (you lucky bastard). For those of us who live outside of the US and distribute ebooks via Amazon.com, there has been a ‘problem’ with seeing our books on amazon.com. Namely, we can’t. Yikes! Apparently, Amazon is aware of and dealing with the problem. I’m not so sure they see it as a problem, but that’s beside the point. (And maybe a tad bit cynical on my part.)

What you should care:

Not every country has a kindle/Amazon store. Many of those readers purchase ebooks from Amazon.com but are no longer able to do so. If your ads are targeted at this group, you will not only have trouble reaching your target audience, but you may be burning through ad money without the desired result.
Even though (except for a few free days) my ranking is sometimes in the four-digit range but mostly in the five- or six-digit range (and if I’m being truly honest often in an even higher digit range than that), I still want to see where I stand. Not only is this important to me to see how my ads are faring, but this gives me a good idea of which categories are working better for my books.

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Do not panic. Trust me, I’ve done enough panicking for everyone. There is a way to see your kindle books on Amazon.com. It’s a simple, two-step process. First, use a VPN to ‘hide’ your location and indicate your location is somewhere in the US. There are quite a few free VPN services out there. Unfortunately, there are mostly free for a 30-day trial and then you have to pay. I keep switching VPNs as I don’t feel like paying $10 a month to use a VPN for five minutes a day. Call me cheap. I’m currently using this one.

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Step two. Go to amazon.com and log out of your account. Your account is location based. Even if your computer indicates it’s in the US, you still won’t see kindle books (unless you live overseas but usually buy your books from .com). Once you’ve logged out of your account, you should be able to see the kindle content for all books including yours. BONUS: My also boughts suddenly reappeared as well! *Squeal*

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What I think I look like when doing my happy dance. 

 

 

 

 

My favorite things about fall ~ looking on the bright side #ExpatLife #AutumnNights #ThisIsHolland

Humans love to complain. Oh boy, do we love it! As a human myself, I know I can complain with the best of them. In fact, I’d say I can complain better than most! And you thought those years in the Army were for naught. But – sigh – complaining is negative and we must try to be positive. At least that’s what I tell myself. Complaining has reached a height now due to the changing of the clocks (oh where did that hour of sunlight go?) and the sudden appearance of fall (no matter that it’s nearly two months late). So, instead of complaining, I’m going to give several of my favorite things about this time of year. Feel free to steal ideas as necessary.

Christmas Lights. Yep, you read that right – Christmas lights. I have them all over my house. When the sun goes under at some ungodly early hour, I plug them in and – voila! – it’s suddenly cozy in my home.

[image error]Chocolate letters. In Holland, we celebrate Sinterklaas by eating treats and chocolate. Sinterklaas gives each child (and adult if you’re lucky) the first letter of your name in chocolate. Yes, chocolate. Yum. You can even choose the type of chocolate: milk, dark, with nuts, with raisins … Mmmmm…

Mulled wine. Mulled wine is sweet, red wine with spices like cinnamon and cloves. You drink it warm, and then it warms you up. Need I say more?

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My view while having a glass of wine last night.

Terraces and outdoor heaters. The Netherlands is a terrace culture. In the summer, sitting on a terrace drinking a glass of wine is one of my favorite things in the world. But sitting on a terrace under a blanket with an outdoor heater keeping you warm while staring at the fairy lights strung from the trees ain’t bad either. I admit this one is bad for the environment, but it’s not like bars put out the outdoor heaters just for me.

Dark mornings. I love writing in my office in the morning before the sun rises. There’s just something about writing in the dark before the world has awoken that gets my creative juices flowing. I’m actually annoyed with the clock going back last week. I’m missing an extra hour of writing in the dark time!

[image error]Comfy pj’s. Sure, it’s fun to wear those flirty short pajama sets when the weather is warm, but nothing beats flannel pajama pants! Nothing! Well, except fleece pajama pants. I love getting into my pj’s early during the shorter days and laying under a blanket while reading.

Cuddly blankets. What’s better than being wrapped in a cuddly, fleece blanket while watching some Netflix on a cold fall night? Nothing. Unless you add a mulled wine and a book. Heaven!

I could go on because there are lots of awesome things about the darker, colder days. And yes, I deliberately ignored the rain. If I pretend it doesn’t exist, it doesn’t. Right?

Happy fall!

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