Madhuri Pavamani's Blog, page 42

Blog Every Day…For Real?

A couple of days ago as I was scanning through the blogs I follow on my WordPress feed, I saw a headline that said something along the lines that you should be blogging every day (of course, as I was just now googling for that post, I found another, claiming such a strategy is foolish. Ha! Gotta love the internet.).

At the time I rolled my eyes, skimmed it, and rolled my eyes again.

But a few days later, the idea of daily blogging is still bouncing around in my head.

It’s such an extreme concept and the complete opposite of a blog post I saw by an author I enjoy, stating quite firmly that she hates blogging. Everything about it. Detests it.

I’m not sure I agree with either, but I’m far more inclined to side with the blog-everyday guy. Mostly because unlike the author who shies away from ever blogging, I rather enjoy it. It’s a nice break from the task of writing a 400+ page book. Jotting down some coherent thoughts here and there, throwing in some humor and a few curse words is a nice breather, a chance to sit back for a second and practice your hand at something besides your novel.

Of course, there are also times when I hate it. When it feels like a job. When it’s gross. But those times usually involve marketing myself or my books. And I hate marketing marketing myself or my books.

But I don’t hate blogging.

That said, I don’t think I could blog every day. As much as I like to think I could, it would be hard as shit to come up with interesting topics 365 days of the year.

Plus, people would just get sick of me. They’d see my post and be all like “there’s that annoying girl again, babbling about more stupid shit, can you just make her go away already?”

Now were I to suddenly become rich and famous, I bet those same haters would want me blogging all over the place, multiple times a day, everyday! But we’ll cross that bridge when the time arises. Until then, I’ll stick with my here-and-there posts.

What say you – blog everyday? never? who gives a fuck?

Thursday Thoughts

care of Kate the Great

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner – The Sanctum Giveaway Winners

About a month ago I announced a giveaway in conjunction with the launch of The Boy and ran it on both my blog and The Sanctum’s Facebook page.

5 winners would receive copies of The Girl and The Boy eBooks.

So it’s time to announce the winners*:

Michael Rosen (hey! I know you)

Abby Gale Amos

Caroline Milner

Beth Ann Way (I know you, too!)

Lauren Hamilton

YEA!

Watch your emails folks…I’ll be sending you those eBooks shortly.

And thanks everyone for entering.

*Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Rafflecopter, the site I used to run the giveaway, runs a fancy algorithm against the entries and randomly selects the winners for me.

A Day of Extremes

This morning I logged onto Goodreads and checked my author’s page to see if there were any noteworthy updates. I noticed THE GIRL received a new rating, so I went to the book’s page to see what was up.

Ha! Probably should have skipped that action.

Got my first 1 star rating.

Ouch. That’s pretty much like someone saying you’re book ain’t shit.

Then tonight, while waiting for Dash’s baseball practice to end, I happened to check my Amazon author’s page and noticed I had a new review. Based on this morning’s 1 star episode, I was a little hesitant, but since patience is most definitely not one of my virtues, I scoped it.

And it made my night.

Not only was it 5 stars, but it compared me to one of my favorite authors, the fabulous Laini Taylor.

Oh. My. God.

I am not worthy…Laini-freaking-Taylor?

HOLLA.

THE GIRL – Free for 5 Days

So I did it.

I caved to the behemoth, that being the one and only Amazon, and agreed to their deal, that being an exclusive 90 day contract with their KDP Select program, for THE GIRL and THE BOY.

Why? you ask.

Simply stated, because when it comes down to it, after about 8 months of selling books, about 99% of my sales are through Amazon. I think I sold a whopping total of seven books on Nook, nothing via Google books and I never managed to work around all the specifications iBooks demands, so they weren’t even a factor to consider.

Looking at those numbers, it’s really a no-brainer. Can’t hurt at all; the only thing it can do is help.

How? you wonder.

By allowing me to take advantage of the various sales tools inherent in the KDP Select program, such as freebies and countdown deals, and getting my books into more people’s hands via the international lending network (although, I must admit, I’m curious as to whether people really borrow eBooks? Anyone have any thoughts or experience? If so, please share. Would love to hear it.).

So?

Has enrolling in KDP Select made a difference?

Over the long-term, I have no idea. I’m only just heading into day 2 of my 5 day free offer for THE GIRL. But I can say the short-term is looking mighty sweet.

Last week, prior to enrolling in the KDP Select program, I sold 7 books.

Yesterday, THE GIRL was downloaded over 1000 times and is now #7 in Amazon’s Paranormal & Urban (huh?) Kindle Store and #190 in Amazon’s Free Kindle Store.

Fuck yeah.

I’ll take that because at this stage in the game, I just want to get THE GIRL into readers’ hands with the hopes that they will love it (really, I want them to obsess about it) so much, they will come back and buy THE BOY. Reel folks in and make them want more.

So if you’re reading this and you haven’t grabbed a copy of THE GIRL yet, head over to Amazon and do so while you still have time. Only four days left. And then tell all your friends to do the same. I promise, you will not regret it. I’ll even leave you a handy-dandy little link.

THE GIRL on Amazon

Thursday Thoughts

It’s release day, people. HOLLA!

Head over to Amazon and snag a copy of THE BOY

and if you haven’t read THE GIRL,

it’s free for the next 5 days

So snag a copy of that as well, then sit back and enjoy the adventure

THE BOY on Amazon

Thursday Thoughts

#BringBackOurGirls

Book Review: Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor

If you’ve read anything about me, literally anything, even two sentences, then you probably know I love Laini Taylor. Like fan-girl kind of love. She’s a bit of an obsession for me, albeit a healthy one, not like when I was sucking down a pack of American Spirits everyday, but more like my need to hit the gym at least three times a week.

A good obsession.

(Oh my god! As I’m writing this, Ms. Taylor just favorited another one of my tweets. Good lord, I’m going to vomit.)

She just released the finale to her Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, called Dreams of Gods & Monsters, which of course, I pre-ordered, but then surprisingly, did not allow myself to read until I completed a full draft of THE BOY. It was my post-draft treat so as soon as I was able, I jumped right into G&M. And as much as I hate to write this because I so love Laini Taylor, the first few chapters left me feeling a little meh.

Maybe it was my mood after just putting the finishing touches on THE BOY and being on such a high that really nothing was going to compare, or maybe I was just in a meh mood because every time I finish an installment of The Sanctum trilogy, I’m that much closer to saying goodbye to Wyatt and Dev, which totally bums me out.

Anyway, I texted Corey (of course I texted Corey! duh.) and hinted at my blahs, she understood but thought I would like where the trilogy ends.

Girl, was that the understatement of the year, or what?

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

I loved it.

Here is what I wrote as soon as I closed the book:

I just finished Gods & Monsters and really have no words for the brilliance that is Ms. Laini Taylor. I don’t want to give away one iota of this book so I’m just going to say this: Ziri, Liraz, Akiva, Karou.

I shed tears.

Literally.

My heart is going to explode.

 

I wanted more from it, of course I did, because I always want more of my favorite things. But really, Taylor did a fabulous job, ending on such a pitch-perfect note. Her writing is flawless and gorgeous and makes you feel so deeply. Her characters are complex and unique and you find yourself loving people you did not expect to love at all. Simply put, Taylor is fantastic. If I have any critique of the novel, it would be the introduction of the character Eliza and her storyline, which did not particularly hold my attention, but opens up possible writing for the future, so I’m not going to hate.

All in all, it was the most perfect, post-draft reading treat I could give myself and as sad as I am to close the book on Karou and Akiva, I am just so very pleased to have been immersed in their world at all, so thank you Ms. Taylor for your beautiful gift.

Now go snag the trilogy and fall in love with Ms. Taylor yourself. She’s totally worth it.

 

The Boy – One Final Tease

In honor of “Teaser Tuesday” and the upcoming publication of Book II: THE BOY (yea!), here’s one final tease of what’s to come:

Dev had heard the legend since she was little, sitting at her dad’s feet, listening to Philip’s stories of great Sanctum warriors and Ramyan fighters, wise Magjisters and fearsome demons. But her favorite tale was that of the boy and his dog. It was simple and comforting and the story she always told herself when she woke in the middle of the night and could not fall back to sleep.

The boy walked the land of the dead, picking through and gathering the remains of his soul, determined to once again see the light of the living. Along the way, the grey dog appeared at his side, his loyal companion and fierce protector, his guide through the pits of darkness and depths of hell. Finally the boy and the dog completed their journey, having collected every tiny piece of the boy’s soul that had been tossed in the wind and came to the crossroads, where those who guard the way questioned him and demanded his dog in return for his passage.

The boy refused, bound to the grey dog, their souls intertwined and united for eternity. Those who guard the way became angry with the boy and threatened to deny him passage and still the boy would not part with the dog. Determined to bend him to their will, those who guard the way rose up and turned into wicked demons, screeching loudly, demanding their payment or his life, scaring the boy but not shaking his will.

He, too, rose up and met their evil stares and shouted with a booming voice for all to hear that he would not part with his dog, not on this journey or any other. Those who guard the way loomed larger, their anger reaching epic proportions and they grabbed the boy, stretching his limbs until he felt they would pop, intending to shatter his soul once and for all. And just as the boy knew he could hold on no longer and would shatter into nothingness, the dog rose and revealed its true self, its godliness and loomed over those who guard the way, shaming them for their bad acts and damning them to an eternity of begging forgiveness from all who came to their crossroads. He punished them for allowing their power to corrupt and blind them to the beauty in others, as he had easily seen such in the boy.

And then he disappeared.

And those who guard the way gave the boy passage, fearful of disobeying the god.

And the boy crossed into the land of the living, but felt so very alone without his canine companion. And he sighed and quietly shed a tear as he lay down to sleep, exhausted from his journey. And when he awoke that morning, a large, grey dog lay by his side, guarding him, protecting him, loving him and the boy never again felt alone.

Thinking of the legend reminded Dev of her father and for the first time since his passing, his memory brought a smile to her lips.

 

That’s it. No more. You’ll have to get the book to read the rest. And there’s probably going to be radio silence on this end as I scramble to meet my self-imposed publication deadline of May 15th.

Fingers crossed, bitches.

HOLLA.

Thank You, HoNY

This man hangs on the wall in my office and I just have to say, I adore him. Whenever I’m feeling a little shitty about myself, he’s right there, at eye level, making me smile. I’m so glad HoNY bumped into him and then shared him with all of us. He is such a gem.

“Julia Child would have been 101 last week. I celebrate her birthday every year. This year I cooked some smoky eggplant soup, and ate it in Central Park.”

“Were you alone?”

“Of course. I love to be alone. I’m fabulous.”